Knowing Your Water Source - Ground Water Awareness Week

This coming week is Ground Water Awareness Week, and this is good time to understand where your water comes from, even if it is through a municipality, and what impact there would be for your product/process if there would be a water contamination event, such as brown water coming out of the spigots, bad test results,  or an announcement of a boil advisory by the municipal provider.

There have been a number of outbreaks associated with drinking water,  but the risk of contamination to a food establishment is dependent upon the types of processes run.  So it is important to conduct a risk analysis, considering you water source, the types of contaminates that can be present, and the impact of your processes on those contaminates.

The types of contaminates in water can be found on the EPA website (US Environmental Protection Agency. Drinking water contaminants. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html).

General information on well water can be found on the CDC Websites:

• http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/index.html
• http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/training-education.html#webtraining.

Penn State Extension has a link on Preparing for a Water Emergency.