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A Fork in the Road
Author(s) -
Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1999.tb08559.x
Subject(s) - distrust , credibility , general partnership , business , government (linguistics) , public relations , public health , key (lock) , environmental planning , public administration , political science , environmental science , computer science , computer security , law , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , nursing , finance
In this column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr explores the AWWA Water Utility Council's answers to questions about future trends for the drinking water profession. A key issue is the public distrust of government institutions. To combat this, water utilities must develop a culture based on communicating with and involving their consumers, governing boards, and other stakeholders to establish trust and credibility. Also, regulatory officials and elected representatives must also make an effort to involve the public in discussions about drinking water, where it fits in the overall public health picture, and the course that future regulation should take. A key issue should be how to best regulate drinking water. The current contaminant‐by‐contaminant method is showing the strain of too many contaminants for the available science. There is not enough scientific data to establish sound contaminant levels for many substances. Consumer driven programs for addressing public health are being instituted by utilities. Partnership for Safe Water and QualServe use local solutions to meet national public health objectives. They are an example of how to develop a successful regulatory program that does not depend on a contanimant‐by‐contaminant approach.