County Observes ‘Drinking Water Week’

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The availability of consistent and reliable, high-quality drinking water is vitally important, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the County of Maui Department of Water Supply and the American Water Works Association are partnering this week to observe Drinking Water Week.

“This week recognizes the vital role tap water plays in daily life and the infrastructure required to deliver it to homes and businesses,” Mayor Michael Victorino said in a press release.

“I want to thank all the water professionals who work hard, behind the scenes, every day, to provide what many of us take for granted – consistent, high-quality drinking water.”

The theme of Drinking Water Week is “There When You Need It.” The week is celebrated May 3 to 9 this year.

Maui County communities, including those on Moloka’i, are fortunate to have reliable access to safe water when they turn on the tap. In largepart this stems from the regular testing DWS performs to ensure so that regulatory standards for water quality are met.

In fact, every water system must publish a Consumer Confidence Report, which details its water quality.

“Shortly after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, the EPA and CDC each reminded us that we should trustour tap water as we normally would for hygiene and hydration,” said AWWA CEO David LaFrance. “This proved to be extremely important because handwashing is an important way to stop the spread of the virus. We couldn’t do that without high-quality drinking water.”

To celebrate Drinking Water Week, water utilities, water organizations, government entities, environmental advocates, schools and other stakeholders throughout North America and beyond will encourage consumers to understand and appreciate their drinking water.