National Drinking Water Week

Overview

Each year, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and an alliance of organizations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sponsor National Drinking Water Week to highlight the importance of tap water and the need to reinvest in water infrastructure (1).

The United States is fortunate to have one of the safest public drinking water supplies in the world. In 2000, the United States alone used 408 billion gallons of water per day (2)! This is the equivalent of approximately 1400 gallons of water per day for every man, woman, and child. This amount is enough to fill 14 standard-size bathtubs and includes both direct water use (drinking, bathing, flushing the toilet, etc.) and indirect water use (watering the lawn, washing the car, growing crops, manufacturing, etc.). (3)

Water plays a critical role in the success of a society, from meeting the basic public health needs of providing potable water and sanitation to supporting agricultural and other economic activities. Water also provides a range of societal functions and ecological services such as fire control and habitat protection. Access to safe drinking water lowers morbidity and mortality rates by protecting the population from waterborne diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. One hundred years ago, life expectancy in the United States was only 47 years, in part due to potentially fatal water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid fever that can be transmitted through drinking water. Today we have one of the safest drinking water supplies in the world, in large part due to disinfection and treatment of our drinking water.

Related Websites

• http://epa.gov/OGWDW/waterweek/index.html (EPA)
• http://www.awwa.org/Government/Content.cfm?ItemNumber=3862&&navItemNumber=3863 (AWWA)

Dates of Celebration and Additional Resources

2009

May 3-9, 2009

• MMWR: Notice to Readers: National Drinking Water Week 2009

2008

May 4-10, 2008

• CDC Features - National Drinking Water Week
• Podcast - Safe Drinking Water (2:54)
• MMWR: Notice to Readers: National Drinking Water Week

2007

May 6-12, 2007

• CDC Features - National Drinking Water Week

1. American Water Works Association. Only tap water delivers: drinking water week 2007. Available at http://www.awwa.org/Government/Content.cfm?ItemNumber=3862&navItemNumber=3863 .
2. United States Geological Survey. Estimated use of water in the United States in 2000. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2004/circ1268/ .
3. Water Systems Council. Wellcare information for you about water conservation. Available at http://www.watersystemscouncil.org/vaiwebdocs/wscdocs/2026952insert_conserv.pdf  (PDF, 40 kb, 4 pages).

• Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.