WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 30, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Ohio EPA is celebrating National Drinking Water Week May 3-9, 2015, by inviting people to learn more about their public drinking water. Free resources are available online related to consumer confidence reports, drinking water advisories and plans for improved community drinking water systems.
Ohio EPA regulates the infrastructure, operation and monitoring of more than 4,800 public water systems. Ohio EPA also assists municipal water systems design and implement plans that protect their source of drinking water from contamination.
Working with individuals, businesses and municipalities, Ohio EPA certifies the men and women who operate public drinking water systems. For proper operation of Ohio’s public water systems, Ohio EPA’soperator certification program certifies and regulates more than 12,000 water and wastewater operators.
Ohio EPA determines compliance with health standards based on the results submitted by public water systems and certified laboratories. When the water does not meet a required standard, consumers are notified in the form of signs, announcements and/or consumer confidence reports. Advisories are also posted on the public drinking water advisories map. Additionally, Ohio EPA reviews plans for drinking water systems to make sure new and modified systems meet design standards, offers funding opportunities for proposed infrastructure upgrades, and responds to emergencies and complaints regarding drinking water issues.
More information is available online regarding National Drinking Water Week and Ohio’s public water systems at www.epa.ohio.gov/ddagw.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.
MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Lauer or Linda Fee Oros
CITIZEN CONTACT: Mary McCarron
