SPOTLIGHT: Water Safety

Learning products and resources to assist the public health community in preventing the transmission of waterborne disease. Locate learning, certifications, and guidelines for a variety of water-related topics.

Water Safety Learning Products

04. Potable Water - EPHOC

• Intended to provide a broad introductory background on drinking water quality and regulatory issues to give a public health officer a good basic understanding of drinking water production, contaminant monitoring, and distribution

05. Wastewater - EPHOC

• Provides an introduction to wastewater treatment and disposal
• Public health concerns, water resources, and wastewater management relationships discussed

14. Swimming Pools and Recreational Facilities - EPHOC

• Describes the health risks associated with swimming pools, basic elements of swimming pool design, and the inspection process for swimming pools and bodies of water used for recreational swimming

Environmental Health Online: Water Supply and Waste Water

• Series providing a framework for understanding the major environmental factors that impact human health
• Focuses on the global supply of water and how human use and abuse can affect both the quality and quantity of that supply

Recreational Water Illness: What Every Clinician Needs to Know

• Reviews updated recommendations related to appropriate interventions to minimize the risk of acute otitis externa (AOE) and other recreational water illnesses (RWIs) and discusses the importance of reporting clusters of RWIs

Waterborne Disease Case Studies

• Developed for students and public health professionals interested in learning and practicing specific skills in outbreak investigation
• Provides three disease case studies: Cryptosporidiosis in Georgia, Norovirus in Vermont, and Typhoid in Tajikstan

Water Safety Resources

Valuable training and learning resources on the Spotlight topic, intended for the public health community.

• CDC
  • Healthy Swimming/Recreational Water
    • Certification, Training, & Education for Professionals
    • Information for Public Health Professionals
    • Information for Medical Professionals
    • Publications, Data, & Statistics
  • Health Promotion Materials
    • Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health Care Facilities: Hydrotherapy Tanks and Pools
    • Infectious Diseases in Children — Prevention of recreational water illnesses
    • Twelve (12) Steps for Prevention of Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) (for Pool and Aquatics Staff)
  • Water-related Emergencies and Outbreaks
    • Preparedness Resources
    • Drinking Water Advisory Resources & Communication Toolbox
• EPA
  • Drinking Water Academy
  • Training Opportunities
  • Urban Waters Federal Partnership
  • Watershed Academy
  • Water Quality Standards Academy
• Medscape – CDC Expert Commentary
  • To See or Not to See: Shedding New Light on a Potentially Blinding Eye Infection (Acanthamoeba keratitis)
  • When to Consider Cholera
  • Talk to Patients about Recreational Water Health Risks
• WHO Water Safety Plan Manual (WSP Manual): Step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers

Water Safety Social Media

Share information about water safety with your colleagues and others by using the following Social Media tools:

• Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases: Ads and Social Media: Water
• Emergency and Preparedness Social Media: Hurricanes
• Drownings: The Reality (Download Free Materials)

Page maintained by: Scientific Education and Professional Development Program Office

Information regarding training products and resources featured in the Spotlight was provided by

• TrainingFinder Real-time Affiliate Integrated Network (TRAIN), a free service of the Public Health Foundation
• National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)