MHD-MWW Water Quality Technical Workgroup

Following a massive Cryptosporidium waterbome outbreak in 1993, the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) and Milwaukee Water Works (MWW) formed a technical workgroup to address the myriad of regulatory and public health practice issues inherent in assuring high quality and safe drinking water within the Metropolitan Milwaukee service area. The workgroup comprised a number of key stakeholders in developing protocols for early detection, routine monitoring, risk communication and response to potential water contamination events. The MHD-MWW water quality technical workgroup meets on a monthly basis to review data, evaluate current processes, examine new research and share pertinent information.

The overriding goal of the workgroup is to develop, institute and evaluate preventive measures (e.g. procedures, protocols and policies) that would mitigate the impact of any future waterborne disease incidents. Post 9/11, the workgroup has evolved to include discussions on water security in the context of an intentional contamination event.

Since 1993, the workgroup has developed pathogen specific response protocols, established parameters and thresholds for emergency response, developed utility specific benchmarks for finished water quality, conducted studies of nearby watershed influences to treatment plant source water and responded to numerous treatment plant operational "events" of public health concern. The collaborative framework has been further leveraged in the arena of "drinking water security". The MHD-MWW water quality technical workgroup has initiated dialogue around necessary planning associated with early warning and detection systems and integration of water utility response protocols into the community-wide Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The MHD-MWW collaboration represents a new paradigm in terms of a sustainable and critical partnership enjoining a common goal of assuring safe and potable drinking water within rapidly changing political, environmental and social environs.