UNC professor pens column for the Raleigh News and Observer on ensuring safe drinking water for North Carolina

June 22, 2016

Earlier this year the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative released a report with recommendations for policy-makers and governmental agencies to improve how North Carolina manages and protects its residents reliant on private wells for drinking water.  The report, Safe Water From Every Tap, was a collaborative effort involving industry leaders, state and local governmental staff, community organizations, and academic experts, including a number of UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and staff.

Jackie MacDonald Gibson, an associate professor of environmental sciences and engineering in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, wrote a column for the Raleigh News & Observer detailing the recommendations in the report.

The column notes that more than 3.5 million residents in North Carolina rely on private wells for their drinking water.  These well water users are often at greater risk of health effects from their water because they are not afforded the protections under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Professor Gibson writes, “(a) comprehensive approach that works to address this disparity is paramount if North Carolina is to make progress on ensuring safe drinking water to all of its residents.”

The full opinion column can be found here: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in North Carolina

The full report from the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative can be found here: Environmental Health Summit: Safe Water From Every Tap