The quality of drinking water is paramount for public health. Despite important improvements in the last decades, access to safe drinking water is not universal. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 10% of the population in the world do not have access to improved drinking water sources. Among other diseases, waterborne infections cause diarrhea, which kills nearly one million people every year, mostly children under 5 years of age. On the other hand, chemical pollution is a concern in high-income countries and an increasing problem in low- and middle-income countries. Exposure to chemicals in drinking water may lead to a range of chronic non-communicable diseases (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease), adverse reproductive outcomes, and effects on children’s health (e.g., neurodevelopment), among other health effects. Although drinking water quality is regulated and monitored in many countries, increasing knowledge leads to the need for reviewing standards and guidelines on a nearly permanent basis, both for regulated and newly identified contaminants. Drinking water standards are mostly based on animal toxicity data, and more robust epidemiologic studies with accurate exposure assessment are needed. The current risk assessment paradigm dealing mostly with one-by-one chemicals dismisses the potential synergisms or interactions from exposures to mixtures of contaminants, particularly at the low-exposure range. Thus, evidence is needed on exposure and health effects of mixtures of contaminants in drinking water. Finally, water stress and water quality problems are expected to increase in the coming years due to climate change and increasing water demand by population growth, and new evidence is needed to design appropriate adaptation policies. This Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of knowledge on the links between drinking water quality and human health.

This volume describes the methods used in the surveillance of drinking water quality in the light of the special problems of small-community supplies, particularly in developing countries, and outlines the strategies necessary to ensure that surveillance is effective.

In today's chemically dependent society, environmental studies demonstrate that drinking water in developed countries contains numerous industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and chemicals from water treatment processes. This poses a real threat. As a result of the ever-expanding list of chemical and biochemical products industry, current drinking water standards that serve to preserve our drinking water quality are grossly out of date. Environmental Science of Drinking Water demonstrates why we need to make a fundamental change in our approach toward protecting our drinking water. Factual and circumstantial evidence showing the failure of current drinking water standards to adequately protect human health is presented along with analysis of the extent of pollution in our water resources and drinking water. The authors also present detail of the currently available state-of-the-art technologies which, if fully employed, can move us toward a healthier future.* Addresses the international problems of outdated standards and the overwhelming onslaught of new contaminants. * Includes new monitoring data on non-regulated chemicals in water sources and drinking water.* Includes a summary of different bottled waters as well as consumer water purification technologies.

This document is intended to provide an overview of the major components of surface and ground water quality and how these relate to ecosystem and human health. Local, regional and global assessments of water quality monitoring data are used to illustrate key features of aquatic environments, and to demonstrate how human activities on the landscape can influence water quality in both positive and negative ways. Clear and concise background knowledge on water quality can serve to support other water assessments.

This book chiefly focuses on environmental flow, water pollution and water quality. Several chapters also cover water treatment technologies and management. In today’s context, climate change and climate variability are important issues in the water sector, which is called upon to develop adaptation strategies to cope with their negative impacts. Human health depends upon the quality of water used for drinking and irrigation purposes. These core issues are discussed and addressed in several chapters. The book explores the impact of climate change on water resources and considers various climatological scenarios. In this regard, it carries out a trend analysis and compares the performance of various Global Climate Models (GCMs). Further, it conducts a water quality analysis and water quality mapping so as to provide information on the most vulnerable areas in the context of water quality. Emerging pollutants, generated from paper mills, are identified in order to choose an appropriate treatment technology. Bioremediation techniques are included for the characterization of improved water quality parameters. The book also presents a low-cost treatment technology for fluoride removal, which can help water managers ensure potable water to stakeholders. In terms of maintaining river ecology in the downstream areas of water resources project sites, the book provides a number of case studies on assessment of environmental flows. Advanced treatment technologies that can be highly advantageous for removing water pollutants are presented. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for academics, water resources practitioners, scientists, water managers, environmentalists, administrators, NGOs, researchers and students who are involved in water management with a main focus on water pollution, the environment, climate change and health.

This work provides those involved in water purification research and administration with a comprehensive resource of methods for analyzing water to assure its safety from contaminants, both natural and human caused. The book first provides an overview of major water-related issues in developing and developed countries, followed by a review of issues of sampling for water analysis, regulatory considerations and forensics in water quality and purity investigations. The subsequent chapters cover microbial as well chemical contaminations from inorganic compounds, radionuclides, volatile and semi-volatile compounds, disinfectants, herbicides, and pharmaceuticals, including endocrine disruptors, as well as potential terrorist-related contamination. The last chapter describes the Grainger prize-winning filter that can remove arsenic from water sources and sufficiently protect the health of a large number of people. - Covers the scope of water contamination problems on a worldwide scale - Provides a rich source of methods for analyzing water to assure its safety from natural and deliberate contaminants - Describes the filter that won the $1 million Grainger prize and thereby highlighting an important approach to remediation

The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine was established in 1988 as a mechanism for bringing the various stakeholders together to discuss environmental health issues in a neutral setting. The members of the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine come from academia, industry, and government. Their perspectives range widely and represent the diverse viewpoints of researchers, federal officials, and consumers. They meet, discuss environmental health issues that are of mutual interest, and bring others together to discuss these issues as well. For example, they regularly convene workshops to help facilitate discussion of a particular topic. The Rountable's fifth national workshop entitled From Source Water to Drinking Water: Ongoing and Emerging Challenges for Public Health continued the theme established by previous Roundtable workshops, looking at rebuilding the unity of health and the environment. This workshop summary captures the discussions and presentations by the speakers and participants, who identified the areas in which additional research was needed, the processes by which changes could occur, and the gaps in our knowledge.

A range of natural earth materials, like arsenic or fluoride, have long been linked to significant human health effects. Improved understanding of the pervasive and complex interactions between earth materials and human health will require creative collaborations between earth scientists and public health professionals. At the request of the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, this National Research Council book assesses the current state of knowledge at the interface between the earth sciences and public health disciplines. The book identifies high-priority areas for collaborative research, including understanding the transport and bioavailability of potentially hazardous earth materials, using risk-based scenarios to mitigate the public health effects of natural hazards under current and future climate regimes, and understanding the health risks that result from disturbance of earth systems. Geospatial information - geological maps for earth scientists and epidemiological data for public health professionals - is identified as one of the essential integrative tools that is fundamental to the activities of both communities. The book also calls for increased data sharing between agencies to promote interdisciplinary research without compromising privacy.

The safety of the nation's drinking water must be maintained to ensure the health of the public. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating the levels of substances in the drinking water supply. Copper can leach into drinking water from the pipes in the distribution system, and the allowable levels are regulated by the EPA. The regulation of copper, however, is complicated by the fact that it is both necessary to the normal functioning of the body and toxic to the body at too high a level. The National Research Council was requested to form a committee to review the scientific validity of the EPA's maximum contaminant level goal for copper in drinking water. Copper in Drinking Water outlines the findings of the committee's review. The book provides a review of the toxicity of copper as well as a discussion of the essential nature of this metal. The risks posed by both short-term and long-term exposure to copper are characterized, and the implications for public health are discussed. This book is a valuable reference for individuals involved in the regulation of water supplies and individuals interested in issues surrounding this metal.

Water is at the core of all life on Earth and exists as one of the main components of the human body. Because water is essential to life, addressing water pollution and sustainability issues is of great concern to environmentalists and public health specialists alike. Impact of Water Pollution on Human Health and Environmental Sustainability highlights several important water-related issues and explores a number of potential solutions to the problem of water sustainability. Focusing on research-based perspectives on water availability, industrial and agricultural pollution, water contamination, and their impacts on the human population as well as the environment, this crucial publication is a necessary addition to academic and government libraries serving graduate-level students, environmental scientists, public health workers, policy makers, and legislators seeking the latest information on sustainable and contaminant-free water resources.