Ground Water and Drinking Water

Drinking Water Action Plan: Priority Area 5

Improve Transparency, Public Education, and Risk Communication on Drinking Water Safety


Goals

Provide the public with timely, clear and understandable information about drinking water quality, potential health risks, and the investments and actions needed to reliably deliver safe drinking water.

Challenges

Safe drinking water is a basic necessity of daily life upon which we rely for our very existence. Yet consumers have relatively little information on drinking water quality or related risks and operational challenges. People need more than just data; they also need better communication about the context and meaning of drinking water information.

Proposed Actions

  • Strengthen existing and new or revised rules, including through updated implementation guidance, to support more robust communication of key information to the public.
  • Develop indicators of drinking water quality utilizing enhanced water system and primacy agency data on drinking water quality that are communicated to the public through a web portal featuring key indicators and infographics.
  • Conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the required Consumer Confidence Reports.
  • Invest in strengthening risk communication expertise to better meet the needs of all members of the community.

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