1. Reducing Disaster Risk for a Healthy Pacific
WATER AND HEALTH
CAPT John Walmsley, REHS
US Dept. of Health and Human Services

2. Water and Health
Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental need and human right
Safe water is critical for:
Drinking/hydration
Food preparation and clean up
Personal hygiene
Medical care (hospitals)
Safe water also impacts:
Development of industry
Other economic development (tourism)

3. Water and Health SAFE WATER
Enormous health and economic benefits to communities
Facilitates the achievement of all eight MDGs
Lack contributes to illness and death, esp. children
Diarrhea is 2nd leading cause of death in the “under 5s”
Children under 5 represent 90% of all deaths caused by diarrheal diseases – nearly 1 in 5 deaths

4. Water and Health DISEASES TRANSMITTED THRU WATER
Diarrheal diseases including intestinal parasites and worms
Bacterial/viral infections including E.coli, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and dysentery
Wash water can also transmit diseases of skin & eyes
Surveillance and reporting systems don’t capture well
Challenging to document scope of problem
Baseline surveillance data is lacking

5. Water and Health SURVEILLANCE & REPORTING
Extent of waterborne illness not always obvious when communities have been impacted for a long time
Enhanced surveillance systems needed to develop accurate statistics and allocate program resources
Improved surveillance systems positively impact public health across the board – not just for waterborne illness

6. Water and Health WATER SOURCES
Large scale catchment systems (airport runways)
Residential rooftop catchment systems
Freshwater lenses and wells
Seawater run thru reverse osmosis systems
Streams and springs (Japanese spring containment)
Coconuts!
Imported/bottled water (Kwajelein Army Base)
Most PICTs have a need to develop and implement water source protection measures to prevent contamination

7. Water and Health DISTRIBUTION / REGULATION
Public water systems in more urbanized areas
Regulated by local EPAs or WAs
Smaller, village based water systems
May or may not be regulated
Individual water supplies: catchment, wells, streams
Usually not regulated
Bottled water companies in larger population centers
Regulation highly variable
IMPORTANT ROLE IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE

8. Water and Health WATER RESOURCE VULNERABILITIES Drought and heat waves
Tidal surge
Tsunami
Severe storms / extreme weather events
Climate change: rise in sea level will result in saltwater intrusion into freshwater supplies
CRITICAL: Any disaster can impact water resources – emergency preparedness & water safety plans should address risks posed by potential emergencies

9. Water and Health TREATMENT ISSUES
Chlorination in municipal water systems – but can be compromised due to loss of system pressure
“First Flush” mechanisms divert initial rainfall from carrying rooftop contamination into cisterns + screens
Chlorination plus periodic cleaning and sanitizing of cisterns and catchment tanks
Solar pasteurization
UV light disinfection
Boiling (often impractical)
No treatment in many island settings

10. Water and Health LOCAL EPAS/WA & HEALTH DEPARTMENTS
Health issues related to unsafe water dealt with by health departments
BUT – water systems overseen by EPAs and Water Authorities
Critical that local HDs and EPAs work together to improve on the availability of safe water
Much potential for enhanced coordination and collaboration

11. Water and Health WHO’S WORKING ON WATER ISSUES IN THE PACIFIC? US DOI
US EPA
US DHHS: OPH / CDC / FDA
PREL
SPC/SOPAC
SPREP
ADB
WHO

12. Water and Health WHO’S WORKING ON WATER ISSUES IN THE PACIFIC? UNICEF
UN-HABITAT
UoH College of Tropical Ag. and HR
UoH Sea Grant
UoG Water and Env. Research Institute
Framework for the Pacific WASH Coalition
Pacific Framework for Action on Drinking Water Quality and Health
Global WASH Cluster

13. Water and Health CURRENTLY
HHS working within the Department to synergize efforts related to EH, including water (CDC, FDA)
Enhancing relationships with DOI, US EPA and other Federal agencies active in EH and water issues
Seeking to work with regional programs to promote EH programs and issues (NPEHA)

14. Water and Health
MDG 7 – Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people w/o sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
Water and sanitation interventions are cost effective across all world regions
Economic benefits range from US$5 to US$46 per US$1 spent (Journal of Water and Health, 2007)
Investment in water services, hygiene promotion and sanitation is among the most cost-effective ways of reducing child mortality (World Bank)

15. CAPT John Walmsley, REHS
Office of Pacific Health
HHS Region IX
San Francisco, CA