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From Source Water to Drinking Water Workshop Summary (2004) / Chapter Skim
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1 Status of Science and Policies for Ensuring the Protection of Source Water and Drinking Water
Pages 13-22

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From page 13...
... The policy framework within which we live today was put in place prior to the challenges of our current modern day life and its suitability for the task before us -- delivering safe, clean, and adequate supplies of drinking water to people -- is being questioned. Lynn Goldman, professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, challenged speakers and participants to consider whether we are using the right paradigms and if we should continue to patch, repair, and expand the existing system or whether a new paradogma is required?
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From page 14...
... Thus, in 1996, the law was amended again to mandate future contaminant regulation with contaminants selected from the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List (DWCCL)
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From page 15...
... The issues that we are struggling with involve data gaps, observed Pontius. Sorting through the large The issues that we are struggling with number of potential contaminants involve data gaps.
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From page 16...
... In 1974, the SDWA specified the use of recommended maximum contaminant levels (RMCLs) as health goals; they were renamed Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs)
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From page 17...
... Source protection was contained in the first Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974 in the form of an underground injection control program. In 1986, the wellhead protection program was added, and in 1996, additional emphasis was placed on source protection through the source water assessment and source water petition programs.
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From page 18...
... ARE RECENT ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ABLE TO MEET THE HEALTH CHALLENGES OF PROVIDING SAFE DRINKING WATER? Answering the question whether science and technology are adequately providing safe drinking water requires understanding the risks that drinking water may carry, noted Jeffrey Griffiths of Tufts University School of Medicine.
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From page 19...
... One effect of the increasing population is that the number of highly sensitive individuals and the consequent demand for very safe drinking water will increase. People are especially susceptible to infections or chemical contaminants in infancy, during pregnancy, when they undergo various medical treatments, and when they become elderly.
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From page 20...
... Emerging Contaminants Multiple barriers have formed the cornerstone for ensuring safe drinking water. Different barriers, such as watershed protection, filtra tion, and disinfection, have Newly emerging diseases are provid- represented critical and treing new challenges because some of mendous advancements in public these diseases are resistant to conven- health by nearly eliminating tional treatment, humans as well as diseases such as leptospirosis, animals are involved in their spread, cholera, and typhoid from the and a tiny inoculant can infect a num- United States.
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From page 21...
... , hepatitis E, and so forth, the public health burden may be great if one of these turns out to be a waterborne disease. Griffiths questions whether scientists and public health officials know what to look for and whether the technology available will diminish the threat.
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From page 22...
... Griffiths predicted that we also will have water detection chips, which will have 50,000 or 100,000 sections of nucleic acid materials to monitor the water for chemicals and toxins. Similar results also may be achieved with technologies such as optical sensors -- which also could function as chemical indicators in identifying waterborne chemicals -- and biosensors sensitive enough to detect one anthrax spore or one Cryptosporidium.
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Key Terms

  • safe drinking
  • source water
  • providing safe
  • emerging diseases
  • maximum contaminant

  • source protection
  • waterborne disease
  • data gaps
  • water act
  • tiny inoculant

  • contaminant levels
  • conventional treatment
  • effects assessments
  • health officials
  • involve data

  • noted pontius
  • future challenges
  • real challenge
  • newly emerging
  • pontius noted

  • contaminant level
  • adequate supplies
  • potential contaminants
  • noted griffiths
  • clinical disease

  • identifying waterborne
  • control options
  • worst waterborne
  • effects assessment
  • current provisions


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