Premium
Our Public Health Legacy
Author(s) -
Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Publication year - 2006
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.1551-8833.2006.tb07673.x
Subject(s) - sanitation , public health , water source , environmental planning , population , environmental health , waterborne diseases , business , political science , engineering , geography , water resource management , medicine , environmental science , environmental engineering , outbreak , nursing , virology
In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr discusses our public health legacy, recalling the deadly epidemics of the past centuries that wiped out high percentages of the population due to contaminated water. He points out that with the discovery in the 1880s of the causative microorganisms and pathogens, and the founding of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), waterborne disease was finally brought under control through filtration, disinfection, source protection, proper waste collection, and water treatment. He ends with a call to help assist people in developing countries in providing safe water and sanitation through programs such as Water For People, and to keep the issue of public health firmly in mind.