Water is used for many purposes such as drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning, and recreation. Contaminants in even a single drinking water system can harm many people. Because water is so important and common in daily life, there are many opportunities for contaminated water to enter the body. In some cases, people can inhale contaminated water through steam from dishwashers, showers, or washing clothes. However, this is only true for volatile organic compouds (VOCs). Some contaminants can be absorbed through the skin as well. It is important to remember that all contaminants do not act the same way; some contaminants can make people sick very quickly and others require exposure over many years before negative health effects are seen.

There are many ways in which contaminants can enter a drinking water system. Human activities such as fertilizer, pesticide, livestock operations, and manufacturing processes use chemicals that could enter drinking water systems. Contaminants can also enter the water through naturally occuring chemicals and minerals such as arsenic, radon, and uranium. Other times, sewers overflow, wastewater treatment plants malfunction, or other accidents happen that can contaminate drinking water. Contaminants in drinking water can lead to a number of health issues, such as gastrointestinal illness, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders. It is important to remember that the type of health issue and its severity depends on contaminant type, its concentration in the water, and duration of exposure.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to set and oversee standards to protect drinking water and make sure it is safe for consumption (see the Safe Drinking Water Act).

People who may be especially susceptible to contaminated water are:

• Children
• Pregnant women
• People with a weakened immune system
• The elderly

Be Informed About Your Water

• Read your annual Consumer Confidence Report (sometimes called a Water Quality Report) about your public water system. You can find data and information about your public water system through the Utah Division of Drinking Water Public Water System Online Reports tool.
• If you are part of the 10 percent of Americans who use their own source of drinking water, like a well, cistern, or spring, you are responsible for protecting your water supply. Find out what activities are taking place in your watershed that may impact the drinking water quality. Also, talk with local experts, test your water periodically, maintain your well, and close it properly.

Be Observant About Your Water

• Be aware and alert to announcements in the local media about local activities that may pollute your source water.
• Call 911 if you see suspicious activity in or around your water supply.

Be Involved With Your Water

• Attend public hearing about new construction, stormwater permitting, and town planning.
• Ask questions on any issue that may impact your water source. (What specific plans have been made to prevent water contamination?)

Prevent Water Contamination

• Reduce or eliminate pesticide application
• Reduce the amount of trash you create by recycling and reusing containers, plastics, aluminum, and glass
• Be aware of what you put in your septic system; chemicals may enter your drinking water

For more suggestions, see the U.S Environmental Protection Agency's list Protect Your Drinking Water for Life.

Resources

• Public Water System Online Reports - Utah Division of Drinking Water
• About Consumer Confidence Reports for Drinking Water - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Pesticides in US Streams and Rivers: Occurrence and Trends during 1992-2011 - US Geological Survey
• EJSCREEN Tool - EJSCREEN is a mapping tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It combines environmental and demographic information about environmental justice topics. Relevant to drinking water, EJSCREEN provides data on the count of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) major direct water discharger facilities within 5 km.
• EnviroAtlas home page - EnviroAtlas is a tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EnviroAtlas provides interactive resources for exploring the benefits people receive from nature, or "ecosystem goods and services." It uses seven broad categories to organize its information and data: clean air; clean and plentiful water; natural hazard mitigation; climate stabilization; recreation, culture, and aesthetics; food, fuel, and materials; and biodiversity conservation.
• Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST) - C-FERST is a tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that helps communities learn about environmental issues and risks. Topics include air quality, air toxics assessment, air pollutant emissions inventory, water discharge sites, water quality inventory report, NPL (Superfund) sites, and more. It also includes data on demographics, schools, and political boundaries.

Program Websites

• Utah Department of Environmental Quality - Division of Drinking Water home page
• Drinking Water information - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Ground Water and Drinking Water - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Drinking Water Contaminants

• Yearly Mean Concentrations of Drinking Water Contaminants in Community Water Systems, by Year

Find data and information about your public water system using the Public Water System Online Reports tool provided by the Utah Division of Drinking Water.

Click here to view all available public queries and metadata for all secure portal queries on the Utah EPHT website.

The Utah EPHT Network receives drinking water data from the Division of Drinking Water of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

The frequency of drinking water testing depends on factors such as the number of people served by a drinking water system, the type of water source, and the types of contaminants. Certain contaminants are tested for more frequently than others.

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