Water
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Water Safety is a critical environmental health issue, necessary to ensure the safety of individuals, families, and communities, eliminate health disparities, and change public health practice. Two out of every five Americans rate their quality of water as poor. A government report shows that within the next ten years, at least 36 states will face water shortages. Contaminated water kills 3 million people annually, making it the single leading cause of death. Drinking Water NACCHO partnered with George Washington University and the Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Clinics to provide a framework for partnerships among water utilities, local health departments (LHDs), and medical communities. This two-year effort was designed to increase knowledge of the key elements for successful communication collaborations. Water utilities, LHDs, and the medical community learned to pool their resources to address emergent threats to drinking water supplies. Funded by a grant from the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, the program outlined the components of an effective communication strategy. More>> Waste Water
NACCHO joins the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) in celebrating National Ground Water Awareness Week, March 7–13, 2010. Local health departments are uniquely positioned in their roles in safeguarding water supplies because they are responsible for protecting both the health of the communities and the environment.
In the U.S., over seven million tons of residual sludge are produced each year and a majority of the treated sewage sludge (or biosolids) are applied to land to fertilize crops and enrich the soil. Franklin County Health Department, Ohio, has recently embarked on an 18-month long project to pilot test a protocol to help local health officials better understand and respond to citizens that report health effects associated with the land application of biosolids and other soil amendments. The project is second in a series funded by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) to systematically collect and manage complaints, exposures, and human health symptoms in relations to biosolids land application and other soil amendments. More » |
The EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management funded outreach efforts by NACCHO and the National Association of Counties (NACo) to increase county officials’ knowledge of onsite decentralized wastewater systems. The program assessed the need for cities and counties to reduce pollution from onsite decentralized wastewater systems and determined ways to increase their responsibilities in this area. 
