Drinking enough water does not just prevent dehydration, it allows your body to regulate your temperature, cushion your joints, protect your spinal cord and get rid of waste. Reaching for water instead of a sugary beverage is one of the easiest ways for a person to improve their diet and overall health. Tap water is also an environmentally friendly choice, minimizing single use plastics, the fuel cost of transport and the distributed waste impact of artificial sweeteners.
Water is our most valuable natural resource, serving a vital role in daily life. That is why on Monday, May 6, President Ann McCullough McKaig will sign a proclamation to celebrate Drinking Water Week here in Shorewood in conjunction with the American Water Works Association. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which was passed by congress in 1974. The SDWA allows the EPA to set national health-based standards to protect the public from contaminants in drinking water. These include microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, and radionuclides. You may have heard the SDWA mentioned in the news recently. In April, five “forever chemicals” (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS) were added to the list of substances water systems must monitor and keep below a certain level. As a water-drinker, the SDWA guarantees your access to that information.
If you are curious about the water quality here in Shorewood, check out our annual consumer confidence report! It’s available at www.villageofshorewood.org/ccr with additional results from Milwaukee Water Works monitoring available at https://city.milwaukee.gov/water. You will see for yourself that the water from your tap meets the standards set by the EPA.