Protecting Public Health in Small Water Systems
 

 


Topics

The questions to be addressed by the working groups fall into these general categories:
  • Health risks from small water systems
  • Infrastructure needs and priorities
  • Critical management issues
  • Monitoring concerns specific to the small water system
  • Funding challenges
  • Regulatory issues
  • Policy implications

The working groups will first address a series of questions related to the above categories. Then they will be tasked to develop a set of recommendations that can be used to guide regulators and utility managers in protection of public health.  While a research agenda is also a likely outcome from this colloquium, practical recommendations to reduce public health risks from existing systems and for development of forthcoming regulations are a primary goal of this meeting.

How the process works

Our colloquium is modeled after the highly successful International Colloquia of the American Academy of Microbiology.  The meeting is designed to encourage intense, highly focused discussions.  To do this, attendees will be separated into three groups.   Each group will have two previously-identified moderators, one from the scientific community and one from the operations/regulations community.  Each group will also have a student rapporteur.  To ensure that no important information is missed, the discussion sessions will also be recorded.

Each group will be provided with the same set of questions and background material.  The questions will provide a starting point for discussion, and each one needs to be addressed by each group.  However, the discussion need not be limited to these questions.  Each evening, it is the responsibility of the moderators and the rapporteur to make sure that all information from the day's discussions has been accurately recorded.  On the final day, the moderators will present a summary of their group's discussion and conclusions.  A final report from each discussion group must be provided to the organizing committee before the end of the colloquium.

These discussion group reports will be compiled and edited by the organizing committee over the summer, 2004, and a draft will be circulated to all participants as soon as possible.  The report will summarize the discussions and findings of the colloquium and emphasize recommendations for future research, management and policy.  We plan to release the final report in early 2005.

Drinking Water in the US

In the United States, most of the standards governing the water distributed by public water systems are established by the US Environmental Protection Agency under the provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

The standards are enforced by state agencies, and states may have their own, stricter rules than the federal rules.   A good gateway to the state agencies and the U.S. NGOs is the site maintained by the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators.