To thwart growing source water contamination and promote consumer confidence and public health, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed its "Millennium Principles," a four-point plan to improve public drinking water quality. AWWA made its announcement at the Association's 119th annual conference and exhibition held in June in Denver, Colo.
"The Millennium Principles are the blueprint for the drinking water profession's effort to improve drinking water quality," said AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr. "The plan represents our bedrock values and will serve as the cornerstone of our work both inside and outside of the water treatment plant for years to come."
AWWA is the oldest and largest organization of drinking water professionals in North America, with over 56,000 members. Its 4,200 utility members provide 67 percent of American drinking water. AWWA's Board of Directors approved the Millennium Principles plan in light of the increased demands being made on community water suppliers by federal regulators and more inquisitive consumers. With the Millennium Principles, AWWA has given the drinking water profession a framework from which to build better relationships amongst one another and with consumers.
"For over 100 years, AWWA's mission has been to protect and promote public health through the provision of safe drinking water," Hoffbuhr said. "Our methods may change with the millennium, but our commitment to public health remains as strong as ever."
To fulfill that commitment to public health, the Millennium Principles plan promotes three courses of action:
- Total Water Stewardship
- Continuous Utility Improvement
- Dedication to Consumer Confidence and Satisfaction
The total water stewardship principle acknowledges that the water coming into the water treatment plant these days contains many man-made pollutants in addition to naturally occurring organisms that threaten human health. Community water suppliers have had great success in dramatically reducing the threat posed to humans from disease causing organisms, but face greater - and unnecessary - challenges in treating for chemical pollution that enters the nation's waterways.
Today, drinking water quality is challenged by chemicals leaking into groundwater from leaking underground gasoline storage tanks and other substances accumulating in waterways due to runoff from farms, logging operations, cities and suburbs before it ever reaches the water treatment plant. EPA reports over 170,000 miles of U.S. waterways do not meet federal water quality standards due to contamination by pesticides and disease-causing microbes from runoff.
"AWWA recognizes that improving drinking water quality begins by cleaning up our rivers, lakes and streams and protecting them from becoming polluted in the future," Hoffbuhr said. "Consumers must remember that safe drinking water begins with clean source water."
The Millennium Principle plan also calls on utilities to work harder to become better on their own. Through rigorous self-assessment and peer evaluation, AWWA expects its members to improve the way they work, and in doing so, improve the quality of the drinking water they produce. AWWA has initiated the QualServe program to assist utilities in this effort and is an active member of the Partnership for Safe Water, a consortium of water quality stakeholders including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), also seeking to improve the work practices of utilities.
"The expertise and dedication of drinking water professionals is our best resource in improving our drinking water," Hoffbuhr said. "It was drinking water professionals - not regulators or environmentalists - who successfully eradicated lethal waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery from the American water supply, and AWWA believes that the drinking water profession will again lead the way in continuing to improve drinking water quality in the future."
The final point of AWWA's Millennium Principles requires utilities to commit to improving consumer confidence and satisfaction. AWWA believes an integral part of that commitment is the free exchange of information and concerns between utilities and their customers.
AWWA has strongly supported the public's right to know about its drinking water in the past, working closely with its members and EPA to ensure that Consumer Confidence Reports, the annual water quality reports every community water supplier in the country must produce, are effective. More recently, AWWA collaborated with EPA to provide utilities with the requisite information for compliance with the new Public Notification Rule, which guarantees consumers have quicker access and more information about violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act that impact their local water supply.
The Millennium Principles plan confirms the important role public communication plays in improving drinking water quality and establishes better rapport with consumers as a guideline for success.
"For years, community water suppliers worked in silence and behind the scenes as they provided their customers with safe drinking water," Hoffbuhr said. "However, consumers can and should play a role in ensuring their drinking water needs are met."
AWWA's plan is designed to improve drinking water at every step of the process: at the source, in the treatment plant, and with consumers.
"Getting safer, cleaner drinking water to consumers will require more than just the good faith efforts of the drinking water profession," Hoffbuhr said. "With the Millennium Principles, AWWA has recognized the need for more people to be involved in improving drinking water quality and has set up a plan for their incorporation into this important work."
