Mapping Tool Identifies Communities at Risk for Public Water Challenges

Submission Date: April 2015

State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: California

States/Territories Involved: California

Funding Source: CDC

CDC Funding:

Yes

CDC Funding (Specified):

Other CDC Funding

Domain Addressed:

Epidemiology and Surveillance

Public Health Issue:

Limited Information to Address Water Challenges

• To address water quality issues for the most impacted communities, it is essential to know the areas and locations that public water systems serve. Historically, this information has been difficult to obtain because there was no central, digital map of public water systems in California, and some water systems only had paper diagrams of their service areas. It was also challenging to find information for water systems serving areas that crossed zip code or county boundaries

Program Action:

Tracking Program Creates Water Boundary Tool

• The California Environmental Health Tracking Program created an easy-to-access web-based Water Boundary Tool (WBT), which allowed water systems to produce and upload digital maps of their service areas. To date, the tool has mapped public water systems serving over 90% of the state’s population, and has been used for research on water quality and costs, as well as for the ongoing surveillance of California’s water systems. Because of its utility, several state grantees within the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network are considering using the tool.

Screen reader support enabled.

Tracking Program Creates Water Boundary Tool

• The California Environmental Health Tracking Program created an easy-to-access web-based Water Boundary Tool (WBT), which allowed water systems to produce and upload digital maps of their service areas. To date, the tool has mapped public water systems serving over 90% of the state’s population, and has been used for research on water quality and costs, as well as for the ongoing surveillance of California’s water systems. Because of its utility, several state grantees within the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network are considering using the tool.

Impact/Accomplishments:

Tool Helps Develop Regional Solutions for Water Challenges

• A cross-sector partnership between local governments, engineering firms, and non-governmental organizations used the WBT to address water quality challenges for rural and underserved communities in California. The partnership used the tool to identify the locations of water systems with poor drinking water quality and inadequate waste water facilities, especially in disadvantaged communities in the Tulare Lake Basin and Kings Basin regions.
• Using WBT-generated maps, the partnership worked with community residents to identify solutions such as improving water system efficiency, reducing water costs, and consolidating resources across water systems. Information from the WBT has informed regional and state-wide planning efforts and may be used in the future to strategically allocate resources to improve water quality in disadvantaged communities.
• “The water system boundaries from the California Environmental Health Tracking Program were a foundational piece to the Tulare Lake Basin Disadvantaged Community Water Study. Without the first layer of information showing where communities and water boundaries are located, identifying problems and developing lasting policy solutions that promote community health and well-being wouldn’t be possible.” Carolina Balazs, PhD, Research Scientist, Community Water Center

Program Areas:

Environmental Public Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance

State Contact Information:

CA
California Environmental Health Tracking Program

<< Back to All Success Stories