Ensuring Water Quality in Urban Environments

Abstract

Urban environments are undergoing rapid change as a result of a variety of environmental stresses. Rapidly growing population density, aging water treatment and distribution facilities, and toxic chemicals in urban runoff will combine to increase the stresses on existing water supplies. In the future, we can expect waterborne pathogens such as Giardia, Legionella, and Cryptosporidium to be joined by hybrids of themselves and by as‐yet‐unidentified bacteria and viruses. Retraining utility personnel will be imperative as we incorporate new technologies to ensure water quality. The pressure on water suppliers to protect public health requires new forms of interagency cooperation. Water departments and public health departments must engage in collaborative planning efforts.

U.S. drinking water challenges in the twenty-first century.

“…Some represent newly emerging circumstances; others have dogged us for decades. Prudent water professionals are addressing many of them already (7)(8)(9)(10).…”