Newly updated National Drinking Water Alliance map tracks water safety

Since the Flint Water Crisis—the 2014 watershed moment for public health and drinking water safety in Flint, Michigan—public concern over drinking water safety, especially for children, has only grown. The National Drinking Water Alliance (NDWA) maintains an interactive map that provides a database of news stories on tap water exceedances of regulated contaminants since 2015. A recent update adds over 235 new map points with links to documenting news articles, with nearly half of the incidents emerging since 2019. The map also includes information on state policies and programs to test for lead in school drinking water. Almost one-third of US states have enacted legislation providing policy to test for lead in drinking water in schools and, in some cases, in child care centers. Policies for mandatory testing have recently passed in Oregon and Vermont. New legislative proposals are underway in Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Connecticut. Voluntary programs are now present in every state, funded by nationwide federal grants supporting testing in child care facilities and schools. More information on each state's actions can be found on the interactive map, which was updated by Nutrition Policy Institute intern, Laurel Denyer, a recent University of California, Davis graduate. The NDWA is coordinated by Christina Hecht of the Nutrition Policy Institute. For more information, and to propose additions to the map, please contact the NDWA at DWAalliance@ucanr.edu.