Working with stakeholders
It may be useful for USGS staff to share preliminary water-quality findings with the
appropriate Federal, State, or local drinking-water agencies prior to presenting
or publishing interpretive statements about drinking-water quality. Such
agencies have regulatory responsibilities in the area of drinking water, they
will be stakeholders in the results, and they have significant technical
expertise that can be brought to bear in assessing water-quality data in the
context of human health. When appropriate, evaluations of the potential
human-health implications of USGS water-quality information can be communicated
through jointly authored publications and (or) press releases by the agency that
has responsibility for the protection of human health. For example, the first
study that applied HBSLs to ground-water quality data was conducted in New
Jersey, and the study report (USGS
SIR 2004-5174) was co-authored by representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection.
Agencies responsible for the protection of human health may
be asked the following questions by their constituents:
1. Were "problems" found? Contaminants with concentrations greater than human-health benchmarks, if any, are identified.
2. Were people informed? It may be appropriate to inform a variety of stakeholders about approved water-quality results that have undergone a quality-control review. For example, water-quality results may be sent to homeowners and water utilities that provide USGS personnel access to their property and permission to sample their wells or water supplies. Letters to these stakeholders should provide resources for additional health-related information or questions. Such resources include county or state health departments, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) fact sheets, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ToxFAQs, and USEPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (or 1-800-426-4791). Information about working with stakeholders also may be found in USGS's 1990 policy for reporting Maximum Contaminant Level exceedances (memo 90.38).
3. Were "problems" resolved? Resolving water-quality "problems" is typically beyond the USGS's mandate. However, water-quality results can be shared with the regulatory agencies responsible for cleanup and remediation of water resources.