Cleaner Water Archives - Children's Environmental Health Network

Water Quality in Child Care

kristiet_a0o04rjz on August 11, 2021

Water Quality in Child Care

By Kathy Attar, Program Manager, Eco-Healthy Child Care®

August 2021

August is National Water Quality Month. Do you know about the quality of your water in your home or child care facility?

If your water comes from a community water system, you can call to request a copy of its annual water quality report, called a consumer confidence report (CCR). Most people in the United States receive water from a community water system. Typically, customers receive the CCR with their water bill once a year. The report contains information on contaminants found, possible health effects, and the water’s source. If you do not receive a report, contact your water company to collect this important information.

If your water comes from a household well or other private source, you are responsible for assuring the water is safe. For this reason, routine testing of the most common contaminants (e.g. bacteria, nitrates, and lead) is highly recommended. Often county health departments will help you test for bacteria or nitrates. If not, you can have your water tested by a state-certified laboratory. You can find one in your area by calling the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visiting www.epa.gov/safewater/labs.

What is the source of your drinking water?

Drinking water that is supplied to homes and child care facilities comes from either surface water or a groundwater source. Surface water accumulates in streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Groundwater is water located below the ground where it accumulates in spaces within rocks and in underground aquifers. Water travels to the tap from surface water, or groundwater source through the local water utility, or through an individual water system, such as a private well. A private well uses groundwater as its water source.

Contaminants in water can cause health issues, such as gastrointestinal illness, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders. Infants, young children, and pregnant women may be at increased risk of becoming sick after drinking contaminated water. For example, lead exposure can cause permanent brain damage in infants and children.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates many contaminants that pose known human health risks.

If you are concerned about water quality at your home or child care facility, one best practice is to filter your water. However, different water filters have different uses. Certain filters can remove harmful contaminants like lead. Visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s water filter page to learn more.

For more information on lead in water and child care facilities and steps to reduce lead exposures, check out the free Lead-Safe Toolkit. The Toolkit offers easy-to-understand policies and worksheets on strategies for eliminating lead hazards in child care environments.

To learn more about what local and national public health and environmental organizations are doing to ensure clean water for all communities visit the Clean Water For All website.

Calidad del agua en el cuidado infantil

Agosto es el Mes Nacional de la Calidad del Agua. ¿Conoce la calidad del agua en su hogar o centro de cuidado infantil?

Si su agua proviene de un sistema de agua comunitario, puede llamar para solicitar una copia de su informe anual de calidad del agua, llamado informe de confianza del consumidor (CCR por sus siglas en inglés). La mayoría de las personas en los Estados Unidos reciben agua de un sistema de agua comunitario. Normalmente, los clientes reciben el CCR con su factura de agua una vez al año. El informe contiene información sobre los contaminantes encontrados, los posibles efectos sobre la salud y la fuente del agua. Si no recibe un informe, comuníquese con su compañía de agua para recopilar esta importante información.

Si su agua proviene de un pozo doméstico u otra fuente privada, usted es responsable de asegurarse de que el agua sea segura. Por esta razón, se recomienda encarecidamente realizar pruebas de rutina de los contaminantes más comunes (por ejemplo, bacterias, nitratos y plomo). A menudo, los departamentos de salud del condado le ayudarán a realizar pruebas de detección de bacterias o nitratos. De lo contrario, puede hacer que un laboratorio certificado por el estado analice su agua. Puede encontrar uno en su área llamando a la línea directa de agua potable segura al 1-800-426-4791 o visitando www.epa.gov/safewater/labs.

¿Cuál es la fuente de su agua potable?

El agua potable que se suministra a los hogares y las instalaciones de cuidado infantil proviene de aguas superficiales o subterráneas. El agua superficial se acumula en arroyos, ríos, lagos y embalses. El agua subterránea es agua ubicada debajo del suelo donde se acumula en espacios dentro de rocas y en acuíferos subterráneos. El agua llega al grifo desde el agua superficial o la fuente de agua subterránea a través de la empresa de agua local, o mediante un sistema de agua individual, como un pozo privado. Un pozo privado utiliza agua subterránea como fuente de agua.

Los contaminantes en el agua pueden causar problemas de salud, como enfermedades gastrointestinales, problemas reproductivos y trastornos neurológicos. Los bebés, los niños pequeños y las mujeres embarazadas pueden tener un mayor riesgo de enfermarse después de beber agua contaminada. Por ejemplo, la exposición al plomo puede causar daño cerebral permanente en bebés y niños.

La Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA por sus siglas en inglés) regula muchos contaminantes que presentan riesgos conocidos para la salud humana.

Si le preocupa la calidad del agua en su hogar o en el centro de cuidado infantil, una de las mejores prácticas es filtrar el agua. Sin embargo, los diferentes filtros de agua tienen diferentes usos. Ciertos filtros pueden eliminar contaminantes dañinos como el plomo. Visite la página de filtros de agua Centro para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades para obtener más información.

Para obtener más información sobre el plomo en el agua y las instalaciones de cuidado infantil y los pasos para reducir la exposición al plomo, consulte el Kit de herramientas seguro para el plomo gratuito. El kit de herramientas ofrece políticas y hojas de trabajo fáciles de entender sobre estrategias para eliminar los peligros del plomo en los centros de cuidado infantil.

Para obtener más información sobre lo que están haciendo las organizaciones ambientales y de salud pública locales y nacionales para garantizar el agua limpia para todas las comunidades, visite el sitio web Agua limpia para todos.

Celebrating 48 Years of the Clean Water Act

kristiet_a0o04rjz on October 22, 2020

Celebrating 48 Years of the Clean Water Act

October 18th marked the 48th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act was a long-awaited reaction to the irresponsible dumping of pollution into our waterways. When the Act was passed, nearly two-thirds of the country’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters had become unsafe, polluted with untreated sewage, oil, trash, chemicals, and other industrial waste.

As we celebrate this anniversary, it is also a rallying call to protect the progress made so far, and to hold our elected officials accountable. Even today, 39% of American rivers, 45% of our lakes, and 51% of the estuaries monitored in the US are contaminated. In fact, the current administration has continued to work relentlessly to undermine the protections provided by the Clean Water Act for the past 48 years. They have rolled back vital safeguards and given corporate polluters access to wage an assault on our public health and safety.

Clean water is fundamental to public health. This year, in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, clean water has become even more central to protecting our nation’s health. Just as black and brown communities have borne the brunt of COVID-19, low income communities and communities of color are often disproportionately impacted by polluted water. These communities are also the ones most immediately impacted by climate change, which poses an increasing threat to our water sources.

Water equity, just like health equity, matters. The ability to access safe water for drinking, cleaning, cooking, and enjoying is absolutely necessary to cultivate happy, healthy communities, where all are able to thrive and reach their full potential. Access to clean water is a fundamental right that every child in this country should be afforded. Our leaders have a moral obligation to protect and uphold this right. We cannot hope to accomplish justice for all if we do not protect safeguards for the water on which our communities and our children depend, like the Clean Water Act.

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards like water pollution. Their bodies are still developing, so a smaller dose of a pollutant can have a bigger impact than on an adult and can have long-lasting physical and mental impacts on a child’s life course. For instance, childhood lead exposure from polluted water sources can damage a child’s brain and nervous system, slow their growth and development, and cause learning and behavior problems and lowered IQ.

Much like our water sources, our children are some of our most valuable resources, yet their health and that of their families and communities have not been at the forefront of our nation’s policies and programs. The Children’s Environmental Health Network’s 2020 Voter Guide helps engaged citizens assess their local, state, and federal candidates’ commitment to five key issues: Children’s Health and Equity, Climate Action, Clean Air, Clean Water, and Toxic-free Environments and Products.

The 2020 elections offer an opportunity to reset our national, state, and local priorities and to put children’s health and their environment at the center of decision-making, including prioritizing clean water for all. Please use this resource as you go to the polls this fall, and share it widely, especially with those who may not be familiar with water quality and children’s environmental health issues. Let’s celebrate the Clean Water Act’s anniversary by uniting at the polls for equity, and a clean and healthy environment for ALL children!

Water Quality in Child Care

Celebrating 48 Years of the Clean Water Act

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