About

Pages in this Report
  1. Table of Contents
  2. About
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. Overview
  5. Before an Incident—Preparing for an Advisory
  6. Organizing for Drinking Water Advisories
  7. Collaborating with Partners
  8. Developing a Message
  9. Conducting Exercises
  10. Tools & Templates
  11. During an Incident—Issuing an Advisory
  12. Initiating an Advisory
  13. Preparing an Advisory
  14. Distributing an Advisory
  15. Ending an Advisory
  16. During an Incident: Tools & Templates
  17. After an Incident—Evaluating an Advisory
  18. Reporting Requirements
  19. Debriefing an Incident
  20. Conducting an Evaluation
  21. Modifying Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  22. Continued Public Outreach
  23. Tools and Templates
  24. Appendix A: Glossary of Terms
  25. Tools and Templates
  26. Appendix C: Online Resources
  27. Bibliography
  28. List of Tables
  29. List of Figures
Related Pages

Our original goal in creating this document in 2011 was to provide a protocol and practical toolbox, based upon research and identified practices, for communicating with stakeholders and the public about water advisories.

The project was a collaborative effort among the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).

A technical workgroup of public health and drinking water agencies and drinking water system experts advised and guided the project. The project also engaged a broad cross-section of relevant stakeholders and technical experts including local government officials, emergency response professionals, and hazard communication experts.

This toolbox was reviewed by EPA and state primacy agencies. Every effort was made to ensure that it complied with the Public Notification Rule, when necessary.

More than 500 documents, protocols, regulations, and other resources related to the issuing of drinking water advisories were compiled. Nearly 100 interviews were conducted with staff of water systems, primacy agencies, and local public health departments in the United States and Canada.

These findings revealed:

  • Advice to the public varies widely from state to state and community to community.
  • Advisories are a common occurrence in some states and a rare event in others.
  • Major incidents or disasters were the primary reasons for collaboration between the staff of drinking water systems and health departments.
  • Terminology for advisories is inconsistent.
  • Templates and advisory content are difficult to change or adapt to specific audiences or needs.
  • The EPA Public Notification Handbook is the primary information source for drinking water advisories.
  • Agency responsibilities for communicating with institutions, such as hospitals, schools, and restaurants, are highly variable.
  • Good relationships between water systems and local public health departments are often dependent on established relationships between individuals.
  • Local health departments may lack the resources or expertise to address drinking water issues.
  • Local health departments are willing to be consulted by water systems when requested.
Page last reviewed: June 30, 2022
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED)