The responsibility to protect water sources and address the issue of waterborne illnesses should not be left entirely in the hands of the government. Consumers of this water should be able to easily access information to assist the government agencies in protecting water sources and preventing waterborne illnesses. An agency website should be able to provide the following information to the consumers:
- sources of portable water
- how water is made safe for human consumption
- water quality monitoring regulations
- actions taken by health officials in protecting sources of water and preventing waterborne diseases
- hazardous materials that may be found in drinking water
- of recycling water used domestically to make it safe for human consumption
- threats and concerns concerning access to water as well as proposed solutions.
The Minnesota department of health is an example of a governmental health agency that ensures safe drinking water for the residents of Minnesota. The agency’s website draws its strength from addressing almost all of the above items. By searching through the website, one can identify that sources of potable water in Minnesota are groundwater and surface water. It outlines boiling water as one of the most effective methods of making water safe for drinking. The agency also provides information about its water quality monitoring regulation through regularly testing community water systems spearheaded by public health officials.
Additionally, the website informs the consumers about hazardous substances and chemicals that can be present in drinking water, such as pesticides and industrial contaminants. The weakness of the site centers around the failure of the agency to include the threats and concerns related to water access and its proposed solutions. The website also does not offer any information on how to recycle water used domestically to make it safe for drinking.
The website, in my opinion, concentrates more on identifying waterborne diseases and highlighting their symptoms but not on prevention. It should also focus on preventing waterborne diseases by providing information on how to recycle water used domestically for families that have to reuse water. It should provide guidelines for private well water testing because, unlike for community water systems that are tested regularly, private well water is checked only when the well is built. Also, the website should put all the inter-dependent information into one link. For example, a link directing the consumer to threats to access to water should also include proposed solutions to guide the consumer on the actions they should take.