20
Dec
2019
Disinfect for Health

What’s in Your Showerhead?
15
Nov
2019
Treatment
by Bob G. Vincent, MPA, and Stephen A. Hubbs, PE

How to Disinfect Water Storage Tanks Using Chlorine Bleach

Eight-five percent of Americans get their daily drinking water from a community water system. About 15% rely on a private well for some or all of their household water. But just about everyone has seen and drunk water from a water storage tank or trailer. They come in all shapes and sizes. Many are permanent; others are temporary like those used at large outdoor events and “water buffalos” used by the military.... Read More »
25
Oct
2019
Wastewater
by Water Quality & Health Council

Launching the Global Water Pathogen Project to Address Wastewater Treatment Challenges

Spreading the gift of safely managed drinking water and sanitation to the developing world is fundamental to helping people everywhere live healthy and productive lives. But despite the rapid pace of science and technology in the fields of water and wastewater treatment, some 6,000 children around the world die every day from a water-related illness.1... Read More »
18
Oct
2019
Drinking Water
by Stephen A. Hubbs, PE

Building the Workforce for Tomorrow’s Safe Water

Reliable, 24/7 operation of the nation’s water utilities depends on access to a qualified workforce—particularly sufficient numbers of certified water operators who run the equipment and control the treatment processes for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater. These allied and evolving fields are increasingly linked through water reuse to ensure that Americans have access to clean and safe water and to help protect the environment. ... Read More »
11
Oct
2019
Treatment
by Bruce K. Bernard, PhD

Water Quality Testing and Treatment Systems for Pharmaceuticals

Nearly half of all Americans take one or more prescription drugs, with the percentage soaring to 85 percent for persons aged 60 and above (myself included). Water is the most widely used substance in the production, formulation, and packing of myriad pharmaceuticals, which are compounds manufactured for use as medicinal drugs. Given the public health importance and global footprint of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, there are extensive testing and safety requirements to control the quality of water used throughout the manufacturing processes. This article explains how water impacts the medicines you take, and what lengths are taken to keep them safe.... Read More »
04
Oct
2019
Treatment
by Chris Wiant, MPH, PhD

Addressing Water Scarcity: Future Plans for U.S. Water Reuse

Although snow-capped mountains are visible from much of Denver where I live, Colorado is one of 40 states that anticipate water scarcity challenges in the next decade. The Water Quality & Health Council has written dozens of articles on drinking water quality and the public health imperatives of safe treatment, disinfection, storage, and distribution. Yet water quality goes hand in hand with water availability, use, conservation, and increasingly—water reuse. A newly launched report and national effort led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Draft National Water Reuse Action Plan, is making the news. The plan succinctly puts these needs and connections into perspective: “Safe and reliable water supplies for human consumption, agriculture, business, industry, recreation, and healthy ecosystems are critical to our nation’s communities and economy.” Water scarcity challenges are also global; two of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals emphasize water reuse.... Read More »
20
Sep
2019
Outbreaks
by Joan B. Rose, PhD

An Update on Legionella Bacteria Management in Building Water Systems

Lower photo credit: CDC/Margaret Williams We continue to write about U.S. waterborne disease caused by Legionella bacteria and their management in building water systems because of their unrelenting public health significance. Legionnaires’ disease first made headlines following the 1976 American Legion conference in Philadelphia. That infamous outbreak included 182 cases of severe pneumonia and 29... Read More »
23
Aug
2019
Drinking Water
by Joan B. Rose, PhD

Reducing Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Inequalities around the World

It is unsettling to realize that in our high-tech world there are still large segments of the population that lack access to the drinking water and sanitation services most of us take for granted. The theme of this year’s World Water Week, Water for Society: Including All, seems particularly apt in light of this observation. Meanwhile, a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (image at right) provides a “special focus” on global “WASH” (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) inequalities. A product of the Joint Monitoring Program, the report concludes that while significant progress has been made toward achieving universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene, progress is uneven. And although there is a laudable commitment at the heart of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind,” the reality is there are many groups potentially in that precarious position. ... Read More »