Much progress has been made since the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. Regulations adopted under these acts served as a means of enacting many beneficial measures.  However, issues today for protecting our water supply are more complex, often having societal and personal implications, and are not fixed by quick regulatory decision. The workshop From Source Water to Drinking Water: Emerging Challenges for Public Health, discusses whether the approaches traditionally used by the government are feasible as the United States faces a growing population and increased per capita water consumption.

This workshop, which was sponsored by the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine, examined issues critical to protecting our water supply--from the source water to the drinking water.  Building off the first workshop sponsored by the Roundtable, the speakers and participants were asked to consider the broadly defined environment--one that includes the natural, built, and social environment--and to identify those areas that will impact the nation's ability to ensure safe water for our health needs.