Healthy Water
With its many uses for drinking, recreation, sanitation, hygiene, and industry, water is our most precious global resource. Clean and safe drinking water is critical to sustain human life and without it waterborne illness can be a serious problem. Water, which is necessary for recreational water activities like swimming, also helps promote healthy living. Often, water’s vital role is most apparent during an emergency or disaster.
Learn about everyday actions that you can take to protect yourself and slow the spread of COVID-19.
There is no evidence showing anyone has gotten COVID-19 through drinking water, recreational water, or wastewater. Get answers to other questions about COVID-19 and water.
Public health professionals: Watch this CDC webinar for guidance on water, sanitation, and hygiene during COVID-19.external icon Hosted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials and CDC.
Healthy Water Topics
Healthy Water Resources
Top 5 Causes – Drinking Water Outbreaks
Top 5 Causes – Recreational Water Outbreaks
For a complete listing of water-related surveillance data, see CDC’s Surveillance Summaries for Waterborne Disease and Outbreaks.
* Based on tracking of waterborne outbreaks from 1971-2010. Only confirmed causes have been included in the analyses. For outbreaks with multiple causes, each agent counted toward the total. Outbreak reporting is dependent on capacity to detect, investigate, and report the outbreaks. This requires health effects to be measured and these health effects to be easily linked to water exposure. Clusters of illnesses associated with chronic chemical exposures are not part of waterborne disease outbreak reporting or part of these lists.