Water Advisory Blog
Lead with Science and Follow the Risk
EPA SAB PFAS Panel Responds to the PFAS Health Advisories In June, 2022, the EPA released interim drinking water health advisories for four per- and...
Water & Health Advisory Council Calls for Science- and Risk-Based Assessment of New EPA PFAS Health Advisories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released drinking water health advisories for four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). We...
Video: Prioritizing Risks in Drinking Water
With limited government resources, regulators at every level are pressed to make difficult decisions about drinking water investments that impact...
Water Finance & Management: What Our Nation’s Drinking Water Systems Need Now
Council member Chad Seidel discusses how science-based cost and risk analysis can be used to allocate government funds and resources to the most...
Council Statement on the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
States should be given greater latitude to address the public health risks that matter most The need for investment in the U.S. water system is at...
AWWA SOURCE Magazine: Does Regulating PFAS Represent a Meaningful Opportunity for Health Risk Reduction in Drinking Water?
Council member Chad Seidel's research was featured in the Winter 2022 issue of American Water Works Association's Source Magazine. Chad, along with...
Circle of Blue: The harrowing trail of toxic nutrients in farm country water
Council member Chad Seidel sat down with Circle of Blue to discuss the nitrate issues impacting our nation's drinking water supply: “If we were...
Statement: EPA Administrator Regan Announces Bold Actions to Protect Communities Following the Journey to Justice Tour
The Water & Health Advisory Council applauds the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Administrator Michael S. Regan for the recently...
Public Policy Institute of California: A Shrinking River Inspires Growing Collaboration
Council member Kathryn Sorensen, Director of Research at Arizona State University Kyl Center for Water Policy at Morrison Institute, and Bill...
Statement: Water and Health Advisory Council on the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency and Vice President Kamala Harris announced revisions to the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule which will...
PBS NewsHour: Tipping Point: River on the Brink
Council member Kathryn Sorensen had the opportunity to participate in a PBS NewsHour Special and talk with host Miles O'Brien about the Colorado...
LA Times: California, Arizona and Nevada in talks on new plan to save Colorado River water
Water levels in the western states are at a record low, and states must now make tough decisions to preserve their water supplies. In a recent...
Statement: Water and Health Advisory Council on the 2021 Infrastructure Bill
The Water and Health Advisory Council applauds the passing of President Biden's Infrastructure Bill which includes $55 billion to expand access to...
The Persistent Small Water System Problem and Potential Solutions
When there is a contamination or an infrastructure problem, small systems are at a great financial and personnel disadvantage. Small water systems lack economies of scale which limits their access to persons with appropriate expertise when issues arise. Even if the water quality is good and/or technology is installed, the operation and maintenance and distribution infrastructure issues are still substantial. There are practical lower cost solutions to ensuring safe drinking water in small communities, but it requires prioritizing resources.
AWWA Water Science: Does regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances represent a meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction?
By: Chad Seidel, Katherine Alfredo, Amlan Ghosh US Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water contaminant regulations must meet a qualitative “meaningful opportunity” threshold in health risk reduction. Using our Relative Health Indicator (RHI) metric, we quantify the ranges of potential health risk reductions that could be achieved from state and federal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances regulatory levels (proposed or finalized) and compare them with previous regulatory determinations of other contaminants to create a quantifiable, comparable scale of “meaningful opportunity” justifications.
California Drinking Water Needs Assessment 2021-22
The Human Right to Water “HR2W” guides the California Water Board’s mission of functioning and sustainable drinking water systems. To develop the first Statewide Drinking Water Needs Assessment, Council member Chad Seidel and his colleagues worked alongside other water professionals to evaluate the current challenges facing safe and affordable water supply in California.
25th Anniversary of the 1996 SDWA Amendments
In the early 1990s, I was privileged to be involved in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) project to evaluate and provide technical assistance to poorly performing surface water treatment plants. The project involved the evaluation of more than 100 surface water treatment plants in about 20 states. We worked with state agencies to identify and evaluate the plants that presented the greatest public health risks.
Supporting Letter In Response to H.R. 2467 PFAS Action Act
Policymakers must take a science-based approach when it comes to using our nation’s public resources. We believe funding decisions require a careful risk and cost-benefit analysis, and that includes the approach to PFAS and ALL contaminants.
Our nation’s public resources are best used where they will have the biggest impact on human health. We stand with our nation’s water professionals in their letter of opposition to the PFAS Action Act.
Guardian: Severe drought threatens Hoover dam reservoir – and water for US west
The drought in the western regions of the U.S. is putting pressure on our nation’s natural water supply and infrastructure.
In a recent article featured in The Guardian, Council member Kathryn Sorensen offers her insights into the state of water today in places like the Hoover Dam. Read her thoughtful comments on what the water scarcity in the West means for our natural systems and resources in the future.
Guardian: The US city that proves replacing lead water lines needn’t be a pipe dream
State and federal legislators and water suppliers have the responsibility to ensure that every American has access to clean water, and that includes investing in aging infrastructure. The non-compliance with the 30-year old Lead and Copper regulation in Flint and Newark were the result of lack of corrosion control on old lead service lines and galvanized plumbing. But water is not the only source of lead exposure.
As Council member Joe Cotruvo notes in the Guardian’s recent article, the CDC believes that the most significant lead exposure risks for children are from old lead paint and leaded dust in homes. Lead can release slowly from painted woodwork, and serious exposures have been noted in gentrified areas when renovations have occurred without proper precautions.
The Authority Podcast: Water Equity with Kathryn Sorensen
In Episode 8 of The Authority Podcast, council member Kathryn Sorensen discusses the concept of plumbing and the Ten Tenets of Water Equity, one of...
Staying Focused on the Risks that Matter
Like many Gen-Xers, Star Wars was my favorite movie growing up. I can still remember clutching my seat with excitement as the hero Luke Skywalker used the Force to aim his weapons at the Death Star’s exhaust system. Enemy fighters were firing at Luke and his wingman, who through the din and chaos of the battle said in a calm, determined, deep voice, “Stay on target.”