Simple Ways to Keep Public Drinking Water Safe

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Simple Ways to Keep Public Drinking Water Safe

1 September, 2025

You can help keep public drinking water safe. You can do this by making small changes each day. About 25% of people in the world do not have safe water. That is about 2.1 billion people.

Water safety keeps you healthy. It also helps your community.

Key Findings	Details
Disease Reduction	Clean water and sanitation lower diarrheal diseases by 33%.
Child Mortality	Unsafe water leads to up to 2 million child deaths each year.

Everyday Actions

Dispose Chemicals Safely

You can help keep water safe by getting rid of chemicals the right way. Many things in your house can hurt public drinking water if not handled carefully. Some examples are:

Household cleaning agents like bleach and oven cleaners
Drain cleaners with strong ingredients
Furniture polish with solvents
Disinfectants with chlorine
Mothballs with harmful chemicals
Pesticides and gasoline
Dry-cleaning solvents and degreasing agents
Volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)
Synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs)

If you pour these chemicals down the drain, toilet, or on the ground, you can pollute groundwater and drinking water. Always check the label for safe ways to throw them away. Take unused chemicals to a hazardous waste site in your area. You can ask your local health or fire department for help. Many places have Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Days. Doing these things helps protect water sources and keeps your community safe.

Tip: Never flush toxic chemicals or pour them into storm drains. This easy step helps keep water safe for everyone.

Septic System Care

Your septic system needs regular care to stop pollution and protect water sources. If you have a septic tank, get it checked every 1 to 3 years. Most tanks need pumping every 3 to 5 years. If your system has moving parts, get it checked every year.

Badly cared for septic systems can cause many problems:

Groundwater pollution from untreated wastewater
Pollution in lakes, rivers, and streams
Pathogens like E. coli getting into water
Too many nutrients causing algae blooms
Overflow and flooding near your house
Soil pollution and erosion
Chemicals leaking into water tables
Soil damage from heavy metals

Regular care keeps your system working well. You help stop pollution and keep water safe. You also help protect water sources for your neighborhood.

Lawn Product Choices

The things you use on your lawn can affect public drinking water. Some chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides can leak into groundwater. This hurts water safety and makes it harder to protect water sources.

Product Name	Pesticide Leaching Potential (PLP) Index
Propiconazole	N/A
Myclobutanil	N/A
Chlorothalonil	N/A
Mancozeb	N/A
Thiophanate-methyl	N/A
Azoxystrobin	N/A
Mefenoxam	59

You can pick safer choices for your lawn:

Alternative	Benefits	Source
Natural fertilizers	Better for the environment, give nutrients, avoid pollution	Natural Lawn Care
Manual weeding	Uses fewer chemicals, keeps wildlife safe	Natural Lawn Care
Native plants	Uses less water, helps biodiversity	Native Plants

You can also:

Pull weeds by hand instead of using herbicides
Use corn gluten meal or vinegar for weed control
Plant native grasses to use fewer chemicals

Choosing these options helps keep water safe and protects water sources.

Conserve Water

You can help a lot by using water carefully. Saving water keeps drinking water clean and ready for everyone. Environmental agencies suggest these ideas:

BMP Number	Description
BMP #1	Water Management Planning
BMP #2	Information and Education Programs
BMP #3	Distribution System Audits, Leak Detection and Repair
BMP #4	Water-Efficient Landscaping
BMP #5	Water-Efficient Irrigation
BMP #6	Toilets and Urinals
BMP #7	Faucets and Showerheads
BMP #8	Steam Boiler Systems
BMP #9	Single-Pass Cooling Equipment
BMP #10	Cooling Tower Management
BMP #11	Commercial Kitchen Equipment
BMP #12	Laboratory and Medical Equipment
BMP #13	Other Water Intensive Processes
BMP #14	Alternate Water Sources

You can:

Put in high-efficiency plumbing fixtures
Fix leaks and check your pipes every year
Use native plants in your yard to save water
Measure your water use and keep track
Use controlled irrigation to waste less water

These steps help you save water and protect water sources. You help your community and keep water safe for the future.

Source Water Protection

You are important in keeping source water safe. Nature and people can both harm water quality. Weather, climate change, and disasters can change water. People can pollute water with waste from factories and farms. Bad waste handling also causes problems. Protecting water at the source keeps drinking water safe. It also means less money is needed to clean it.

Volunteer for Cleanups

You can help by joining cleanup events near you. These events remove trash from rivers, lakes, and streams. Cleaning up stops trash from getting into water. It also helps stop algal blooms. When you help, you make water better and feel proud of your community.

Cleanups take away both natural and man-made waste.
They keep trash and pet waste out of water.
These actions lower pollution and help animals.

Event Name	Year Started	Total Volunteers	Debris Removed
Clean The Bay Day	1989	165,500	7.18 million pounds
Spring Sweep 2025	2025	1,233	10,460 pounds

Tip: Always tie up your trash and pick up after pets. This keeps water sources clean and healthy.

Join Local Groups

You can join groups that work to protect water. Working with others helps you learn about water needs. Groups often do studies, plan cleanups, and ask for better water rules.

Group work helps lower nutrients in water.
Members teach others and help change habits.
Some groups talk to leaders to make better water laws.

Evidence Type	Description
Influence	Big campaigns can help people act safer with water.
Community Role	Doctors can help water policy by joining local panels and groups.

Educate Others

You can teach your friends and family about protecting water. Sharing facts helps everyone make good choices. When people learn, they care more about water and use safe habits.

Key Findings	Description
Education Level	More education means people know more about water safety.
Public Awareness	Telling people about water quality helps keep everyone healthy.

Source water checks help find risks to water. The EPA makes rules to keep water safe from bad things. Local rules and teaching programs help people see why clean water matters. When you learn and share, you help keep water safe now and later.

Protecting Public Drinking Water

Report Issues

You help keep public drinking water safe. If you see a problem, tell your local utility. Problems can be bad taste, weird smells, or water that looks different. Germs in water make many people sick each year in the U.S. Legionella germs cause most sickness outbreaks. Sometimes, chemicals like PFAS are found in water. Some water bodies do not meet safety rules. When you report problems, your utility must tell you about health risks and any limits. This keeps your water safe and clean.

Bad taste or smell
Germs like Legionella
Chemicals such as PFAS
Water not meeting rules

Tip: If you think there is a problem and have not gotten a notice, call your water company right away.

Attend Public Meetings

You can help water safety by going to public meetings. These meetings let you talk about worries and learn about water safety. Meeting often helps people trust each other and learn about water problems. You can ask questions and give ideas. Meetings usually follow these steps:

Strategy	Description
Establish Purpose	Say why the meeting is happening.
Series of Meetings	Plan more meetings for hard topics.
Publicize Effectively	Tell people so many can come.
State Goals Clearly	Share goals and plans.
Accessibility	Make sure everyone can join, even with disabilities.
Ground Rules	Set rules for good behavior.
Facilitation	Make sure everyone gets to speak.

Note: When service users and health groups join, it helps keep things fair.

Support Safety Plans

You help keep water safe by supporting local safety plans. These plans follow EPA rules from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Your community makes plans to fix risks and improve water quality. About 150,000 public water systems must follow these rules. Local agencies check and fix systems that break rules. You can ask your utility about their safety plan and how you can help. Your support helps keep water clean and safe.

Aspect	Description
EPA Standards	Make rules for water quality.
Local Safety Plans	Focus on local risks and fixes.
Compliance	Water systems must follow the rules.
Enforcement	Agencies protect health by checking rules.

Drinking Water Safety Plans

Water Safety Plans help keep your community’s water safe. These plans check every part of the water supply. They look from the source all the way to your tap. Water Safety Plans help find risks early. They fix problems before they get worse. You are important by learning about these plans. You can support your local water system.

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is the first step in a Water Safety Plan. You look for things that could hurt your water. This can be natural disasters, pollution, or cyber threats. Here is how risk assessment works:

Step	Description
1	Do a Risk and Resiliency Assessment (RRA)
2	Change the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) after the RRA
3	Tell the EPA when you finish both the RRA and ERP
4	Update the RRA and ERP every five years
5	Check for cybersecurity problems in the plans

You can help by learning about your water utility’s risk checks. Ask questions about how they find risks. When you know the risks, you help your community get ready.

Tip: Ask your water provider how they find risks and what they do to keep water safe.

Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies can happen at any time. Floods, wildfires, or chemical spills can hurt your water. Emergency preparedness means having a plan before trouble starts. Here are some important parts of a good emergency plan:

Emergency Preparedness Measures	Description
Risk Assessment	Find and list dangers like wildfire, flooding, or contamination.
Coordination	Work with local emergency teams and groups.
Emergency Response Procedures	Make clear steps for workers and responders.
Detection Systems	Build systems to warn about hazards or spills early.
Notification Protocols	Tell managers of other facilities about possible releases.
Risk Reduction Measures	Use extra ways to lower risks.

You can join practice drills or share emergency contacts. Some water systems use simple plans for small towns. Bigger systems make detailed plans. These plans say who to call, what to do, and how to keep water safe.

Note: When you help with emergency planning, you protect your family and neighbors.

You help keep water safe by making good choices. Many people use public water systems. What you do can make a difference. When water quality gets worse, people buy more bottled water. Bottled water sales go up by 14% when there are health risks. People in rural and low-income places do less to protect water. These areas have more risks but take fewer actions. Working together with others helps make water safer. Local groups and partnerships help protect water. Staying involved helps keep water safe for everyone.