Steve Wilson posted on August 31, 2011 08:00
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released a new document, the Drinking Water Advisory Communication Toolbox. This 162 page document was a collaborative effort among 6 organizations that all work in the drinking water and environmental health fields.
What Is It?
The Toolbox provides protocols for communicating with stakeholders and the public about water advisories and has practical information on how to plan for, develop, implement, and evaluate drinking water advisories.
How is this document different?
It is to date, the most far reaching effort to help prepare and assist drinking water systems in dealing with drinking water advisories to their customers that we have seen. The document recognizes the degrees of severity where advisories might be needed, from a drop in pressure,to a hurricane, and everything in between. It has practical solutions that affect the types of tools, planning, and communication needed for specific situations.
More importantly, it was developed by consensus among a tremendous number of stakeholders, industry folks, water systems, and technical assistance providers. The list of acknowledgements is over 3 pages long and includes over 50 water systems. They really did their research, compiling over 500 documents related to advisories, and conducting over 100 interviews.
What does that mean for me?
It means it will be a useful tool that you can use when you need to prepare a drinking water advisory. It also means the document is well thought out, organized, practical, and useful.
That's a lot to read!
We agree, the problem is that it is 162 pages long. We hope to help with that aspect by breaking the toolbox down in subsequent blog posts and highlighting the things we feel are most relevant for small systems. Stay tuned for more, but if you get the chance, take a look. You can find the report here.