Drinking Water Week

Drinking Water Week is observed nationwide the first full week of May each year. Drinking Water Week is designed to make people more aware of the vital role water plays in our daily lives. A safe, reliable water supply is critical to the success of any community. It creates jobs, attracts industry and investment and provides for the health and welfare of citizens. We often take water resources for granted, unless we find ourselves in a drought or when depleted water supplies threaten a community's future.

One way the Missouri Department of Natural Resources observes Drinking Water Week is by highlighting the importance of safe drinking water. Where do we get our drinking water? How is that water protected, cleaned and delivered throughout a community? What regulations and standards exist to safeguard the public health?

By far the largest source of drinking water for Missourians is water from the Missouri River. The abundant supply of water in the Missouri River and its closeness to the state's major population centers is what makes it a popular drinking water source. Groundwater from water wells is the next most used source of drinking water for Missouri's communities. Some water systems have the best of both worlds and use wells in valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi river system, where they can get large amounts of water without surface contaminants. More than half of Missouri's population receives their drinking water from the Missouri River or its wells. The importance of this resource cannot be overstated. 

After the water is collected, water professionals – from engineers designing infrastructure to operators monitoring treatment plants around the clock – work to ensure the water is safe to drink and readily available to residents and visitors of Missouri. Each public water system is required to hire trained certified operators and monitor conditions at individual water plants. Water systems are also required to regularly sample and test the water for different contaminants to verify the water they are serving to the public meets all federal and state standards. These water samples must be analyzed by a state-approved laboratory and the results must be reported to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The department would like to express our appreciation for local water professionals and their efforts to keep safe drinking water flowing in our communities. 

Want to learn more about your drinking water? Read your public water supply's Consumer Confidence Report or review other various drinking water reports about the state of Missouri's drinking water. The department's Public Drinking Water Branch oversees Missouri’s public water supplies.