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Evidence Base Home » Water Quality » The extent of water-related illnesses can be from microbial or chemical contamination

Articles in The extent of water-related illnesses can be from microbial or chemical contamination.

  • From 1991 - 2000, there were 123 outbreaks of waterborne illness in the US, affecting over 430,000 Americans, causing 653 hospitalizations and 58 deaths.

    Barwick RS, Levy DA, Craun GF, Beach JF, Calderon RL. 2000. Surveillance for waterborne-disease outbreaks - United States, 1997-1998. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 49(SS-4):1-35.

  • 6% - 40% of the 99 million cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses with vomiting or diarrhea may be related to drinking water.

    Payment P, Richardson L, Siemiatycki J, Dewar R, Edwardes M, Franco E. 1991. A randomized trial to evaluate the risk of gastrointestinal disease due to consumption of drinking water meeting current microbial standards. American Journal of Public Health 81:703-708.

  • Groundwater is currently the source for drinking water for 80% of the public water systems. California extracts the highest amount of water from groundwater and surface water in the US.

    Levin RB, Epstein PR, Ford TE, Harrington W, Olson E, Reichard EG. 2002. US Drinking water challenges in the twenty-first century. Environmental Health Perspectives 110(S 1):43-52.
    Solley WB, Pierce RR, Perlman HA. 1998. US Water use. US Geol Surv Circ 1200:22.

  • Waterborne illnesses can be caused not only by drinking contaminated water, but also by eating produce irrigated with untreated water, eating seafood caught in contaminated water, and swimming or other recreation in polluted water.

    Craun GF. 1992. Waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States of America: Causes and prevention. Word Health Statistics Quarterly 45:192-99.

  • In Milwaukee in 1993, an outbreak of contamination in the City's water supply sickened 403,000 people.

    MacKenzie W, Hoxie N, Proctor M, Gradus M, Blair K, Peterson D. 1994. A massive outbreak in Milwaukee of Cryptosporidium infection transmitted through public water supply. New England Journal of Medicine 331:161-167.

  • Point sources of chemical contamination include factory drainpipes, untreated sewage. This type of pollution led to Clean Water Act in 1972.

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  • Non-point sources of chemical contamination include runoff from farms, parking lots & streets, golf courses - and include pesticides, metals, nitrates, pharmaceuticals, and organic chemicals.

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