BACKGROUND Recent public attention on drinking water supplies in the aftermath of waterborne infection outbreaks in Walkerton and North Battleford raises questions about safety. We analyzed information on waterborne outbreaks occurring between 1974 and 2001 in order to identify apparent trends, review the current status of monitoring and reporting, and gain a better understanding of the impact ...

In regional and rural areas of NSW, drinking water is provided by 107 local water utilities serving a total population of some 1.7 million and operating 323 water supply systems. NSW Health exercises public health oversight of these regional water utilities through the NSW Health Drinking Water Monitoring Program, which provides guidance to water utilities on implementing elements of the Austra...

INTRODUCTION All drinking water municipalities share the same goal of providing their communities with a reliable source of safe drinking water. To achieve this goal, most water systems must treat their water. The type of treatment used varies depending on the size, source, and water quality. Disinfection protects public water systems (PWSs) from potentially dangerous microbes. The most common ...

BACKGROUND Human health anomalies have been associated with pesticide exposure for people living in rural landscapes in the northern Great Plains of North America. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of 45 pesticides in drinking water from reservoirs in this area that received water primarily from snowmelt and rainfall runoff from agricultural crop lands. ...

The Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act (Act 399) was enacted in 1976 and enables the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to maintain the state's authority over drinking water in the state. The DEQ also contracts with local health departments to maintain non-community programs in each county. Private water wells throughout the state are clearly the most troublesome for users and reg...

A pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using the Limulus endotoxin assay to detect endotoxins in potable waters and from reclaimed advanced waste treatment (AWT) plant effluents. Water samples were tested using both Limulus lysates prepared in our laboratory and a commercial product, Difco Pyrotest. The Limulus assay procedure was easily adapted to the testing of water samp...

BACKGROUND Access to improved drinking water, sanitation and hygiene is one of the prime concerns around the globe. This study aimed at assessing water and sanitation hygiene-related attitude and practices, and quality of water in urban slums of south Delhi, India. METHODOLOGY This pilot cross sectional study was performed during July 2013 across four urban slums of South Delhi. A convenient ...

The faecal contamination of drinking water sources can lead to waterborne disease outbreaks. To estimate a potential risk for waterborne infections caused by faecal contamination of drinking water sources, knowledge of the pathogen concentrations in raw water is required. We suggest a novel approach to estimate pathogen concentrations in a drinking water source by using microbial source trackin...