Automobile Access

Bike Lane Access

Traffic Volume

Transportation

Diesel Particulate Matter

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

Ozone

Clean Environment

Park Access

Tree Canopy

Neighborhood

Above Poverty

Employed

Per Capita Income

Economic

Census Response

Voting

Social

Insured Adults

Healthcare Access

Homeownership

Housing Habitability

Severely Cost Burdened Low-Income Homeowners

Severely Cost Burdened Low-Income Renters

Uncrowded Housing

Housing

Bachelor's Education

High School Enrollment

Preschool Enrollment

Education

Outdoor Workers

Supermarket Access

Two Parent Households

Library Access

Safe Drinking Water

Public Transit Access

Decision Support

Everyone should have access to safe, affordable drinking water. Water is an essential human right needed for healthy outcomes. Contamination can occur from natural or human sources. Natural sources of contamination may include soil, rocks and fires. For example, arsenic, which is known to cause cancer, is naturally present in some rocks and soils and can lead to groundwater contamination.

 Human sources of contamination can include sewage, industrial pollutants, factories, and runoff from farms. Nitrates from fertilizer or animal manure can contaminate groundwater and wells. Nitrates can cause birth defects, miscarriages and a blood condition in infants called blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia).

 Lead can enter drinking water from aging lead service pipes, connections, and plumbing fixtures. Housing built before 1986 is more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solders. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children, babies or soon-to-be-born babies. Lead is linked to premature birth, central and peripheral nervous system damage, learning disabilities, impaired growth, anemia and hearing problems.

Drinking water standards are called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Rule R309-200 Monitoring and Water Quality: Drinking Water Standards details MCLs standards for the state. There are two basic types of MCLs standards. Primary MCLs address health concerns. Secondary MCLs include issues of aesthetics, or appearance, which include taste and odor and can affect consumer intake and confidence. The 

 maintains up-to-date information on water related laws and regulated contaminants.

This indicator is a population-weighted average of Safe Water Drinking Act violation points accrued by a community water system over the last 5 years.

Wolch, J. R., Byrne, J., & Newell, J. P. (2014). Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough.’ Landscape and Urban Planning, 125, 234–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.017

Knight, T., Price, S., Bowler, D., Hookway, A., King, S., Konno, K., & Richter, R. L. (2021). How effective is ‘greening’ of urban areas in reducing human exposure to ground-level ozone concentrations, UV exposure and the ‘Urban Heat Island Effect’? An updated systematic review. Environmental Evidence, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-021-00226-y

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2018, August). Estimating the environmental effects of green roofs: A case study in Kansas City, Missouri. EPA. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/estimating-environmental-effects-green-roofs-case-study-kansas-city-missouri

Charles River Watershed Association. (2009, March). Stormwater, trees, and the urban environment: A comparative analysis of conventional street tree pits and stormwater tree pits for stormwater management in ultra urban environments. CRWA. Retrieved from https://www.crwa.org/uploads/1/2/6/7/126781580/crwa_stormwater_trees_urban_environment.pdf

Cohen, D. A., Han, B., Isacoff, J., Shulaker, B., Williamson, S., Marsh, T., McKenzie, T. L., Weir, M., & Bhatia, R. (2015). Impact of park renovations on park use and park-based physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 12(2), 289–295. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2013-0165

United States Geological Survey. (2018). Contamination of groundwater. USGS. Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/contamination-groundwater

The United States Environmental Protection Agency. Basic information about lead in drinking water. EPA. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water#getinto

The United States Government. (2021, December 16). Fact sheet: The Biden-Harris lead pipe and paint action plan. The White House. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/16/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-lead-pipe-and-paint-action-plan/

Cranch, W., Holden, M., Goho, S., & Konschnik, K. (2014, May). Responding to landowner complaints of water contamination from oil and gas activity: Best practices. Retrieved from http://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/responding-landowner-complaints-water-contamination-best-practices.pdf

Our water system is very complex and for many, knowledge of water infrastructure is limited to what flows from the faucet. It may take some time to assess the water landscape in your community. Questions to consider: Where does your water come from and are there publicly available water testing reports? Does available data indicate that drinking water is meeting health and safety levels? How is drinking water safety perceived, especially among low-income communities and communities of color? What agencies, providers, community organizations and local coalitions are dedicated to water issues in your area? For more information, contact your local water district and the 

Communities can work to reduce water contamination from water sources themselves, as well as stormwater runoff or industry-related contaminants that ends up in the drinking water supply. To 

negate possible contamination from infrastructure

, communities should comply with state and federal water laws, remove lead pipes, and address cross connections and other building-related  plumbing infrastructure issues. To create more water resilient communities, jurisdictions should follow the recommendations detailed in 

A Guide to Low Impact Development within Utah

prevent contamination from agriculture, pharmaceuticals or oil and gas industries

, jurisdictions should ensure inspections, provide economic incentives, and address various sources of contamination. Another essential strategy is 

Improving Water Quality Data, Monitoring and Reporting

 by the local water agencies, as well as proper disclosure to community members of water contamination issues and offering resources for consumers and water purveyors alike. Local governments should also

 to prevent contamination and may want to explore creating dedicated funding streams to pay for infrastructure improvements. These improvements should prioritize areas that have failed drinking water standards in the past or present. They should also be context-sensitive to areas with small water systems and domestic wells that are more decentralized and more difficult to monitor. 

Ensure adequate reporting and monitoring of drinking water sources, and support regulation and reform processes for systems that are causing harm to communities

Promising

Create a “One Stop Shopping” Resource for Consumers

Strong Evidence

Ensure Water Safety through Robust Regulation and Oversight 

Emerging

Provide Financial Resources for Low-Income Households’ Residential Water Testing 

Best Practice

Support Innovation Using Local Authority

Prevent contaminants in the water supply resulting from industrial sources of agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas.

Mitigate Pharmaceutical Contamination

Ensure Adequate Regulation with Inspections

Promote Sustainable Diets and Reduced Food Waste

Address Increased Salinity 

Sufficient Evidence

Address Industrial Contamination

Provide Economic Incentives

Prevent storm water runoff with man-made and natural systems to reduce contaminants in the drinking water supply, while also addressing climate change.

Use Rain Gardens, Bioswales, Planter Boxes, and Other Bioretention Systems

Equity

Climate Action Planning Processes

Healthy Neighborhoods

Pollution

Physical Activity

Climate

Green Infrastructure

Utilize Sustainable Farming Techniques

Urban Greening

Green Roofs

Cool Pavements

Advance plans, policies and systems changes that promote water as a basic human right and ensure equitable access to safe, affordable drinking water for everyone.

Foster Authentic Community Engagement

Treat Water as a Basic Human Right

Integrate the Three Pillars of Water Equity

Explore funding mechanisms and partnerships that can provide adequate and sustainable resources to protect the safe drinking water supply

Prioritize Funding to Areas with Unsafe Drinking Water

Community Water Fluoridation

Develop Water Partnerships

Create Dedicated Funding for Water and Sewer Infrastructure

Share Public Information to Inform Private Domestic Well Owners

Ensure compliance with state and federal laws, improve plumbing, and reduce contaminants in the drinking water supply.

Policy Guide

Safe Drinking Water

References