Drinking Water Week - What do you know about H2O?

Drinking Water Week is May 4-10.  This observance is sponsored each year by a number of water organizations around the country.  This year’s theme is “What do you know about H2O?”  Drinking Water Week provides an opportunity for the public to recognize the essential role drinking water plays in our daily lives. 

During the past century, many improvements in the health, prosperity, and longevity of the U.S. population can be attributed to improvements in water quality.  Water treatment and disinfection have made U.S. tap water one of the safest and healthiest drinking water supplies in the world.  As a result of environmental regulations, such as the Clean Water Act, many sources of water pollution have been reduced over the years.  But, we must remember it’s an ongoing effort.   Contamination of drinking water sources can occur at multiple points, including in the source water, through inadequate water treatment, in storage tanks, and in drinking water distribution systems (the pipes that carry water to homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings).  This is why a sound, infrastructure of our water systems is so important!

 

     ·         In the United States, water utilities treat nearly 34 billion gallons of water every

            day

·         In the United States and Canada, the total miles of water pipeline and aqueducts equal approximately one million miles; enough to circle the globe 40 times

·         Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day

 

Groundwater plays an important role in supplying drinking water to the U.S. population—51% of our drinking water is supplied by groundwater.  Groundwater helps grow our food.  For example 64% of groundwater is used for irrigation to grow crops.  To learn more about the importance of groundwater in our lives, visit www.groundwater.org

What do you know about H2O?  Safe drinking water relies on all of us.  Do your part to get to know it and protect it!