Application of the Population Health Approach to Drinking Water System Surveillance

摘要

The Drinking Water Protection Act (DWPA), recently implemented in British Columbia, has amended the Environmental Health Protection Program (EHP) within the Department of the Chief Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). The EHP now has additional responsibilities in water quality monitoring and reporting, from the perspective of public health. Having reviewed history of the drinking water system surveillance, the EHP realizes that a centralized drinking water information system is necessary to gain a working knowledge and understanding of all water supply systems (including those systems' source(s), treatment, storage and distribution facilities) and their relationship to the public, the water consumers, in the Health Authority's jurisdiction. The public health perspective on drinking water surveillance is to develop a systematic and sustainable approach to the monitoring of drinking water quality in relation to the health of the population as a whole.