Author: Kailee Curtis

Local Health Department

Water Supply Quality and Safety

Having a safe drinking water supply is important to the public’s health. Contaminants in drinking water could affect many people because we use water every day. Some contaminants in water are naturally found in the environment, and some are human made. Examples of contaminants are bacteria, viruses, parasites, arsenic, chemicals, and fertilizers. Contaminants in drinking water can be a threat to human health, especially the health of young children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Local, state, and federal drinking water protection programs play a key role in providing safe drinking water.

Key Positions
Environmental Health Sanitarians
Environmental Health Secretaries
Environmental Health Supervisors

Local health departments respond to hazards in water supplies such as disease-causing bacteria, or chemicals such as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances)

Meets Public Health Standards:

ü	Michigan Public Health Code
ü	Michigan Local Public Health Accreditation
ü	Public Health Accreditation Board

Services:
All local health departments (LHDs) participate in public and private drinking water regulation, which leads to ground water protection. Some LHDs do more water supply quality and safety activities including complaint response, long-term groundwater quality monitoring programs, sample collection, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, drinking water testing outside of permitting requirements, laboratory specimen testing, testing of contaminated sites, geothermal well construction, water records and abandoned well tracking.
Goals:
Regulation, inspection, and monitoring activities around water supply quality and safety are meant to:
Reduce contamination of groundwater and surface water resources
Maintain the quality of drinking water for county residents
Protect natural resources from contamination

Impact:
Clean and safe drinking water can prevent diseases like E.coli, and reduce rates of waterborne disease.

Created by the Barry-Eaton District Health Department for the Michigan Association of Local Public Health with funding from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. August 2018.
*39 of Michigan’s local health departments indicated that they participate in water supply safety and quality services (of 41 who participated in the survey). Participants might not have answered each question.