Outreach to public health agencies has been an element of public education required by the LCR following an exceedance. This engagement was expanded in revisions to the LCR in 2007. The current LCR revisions take this coordination several steps further:
 
  1. Whenever a compliance monitoring sample is greater than 15 micrograms per liter (15 parts per billion) the water system must provide the relevant health department with an annual report that includes information from its required analysis of the elevated values along with other risk communication materials supplied under the rule.
  2. The water system must provide the relevant health department with the results of lead in school and child care monitoring conducted under the rule.
 
The rule frames this required communication as an opportunity for water systems to collaborate with state and local health agencies. For tribal systems, this would include the Indian Health Service Area, Division of Environmental Health Services program, or applicable tribal agency.
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By working together, water systems and public health agencies can help ensure that caregivers, health care providers, and communities they serve hear and respond appropriately to information about lead in drinking water. This can also serve as an opportunity to develop public education materials in consultation with health agencies.
Opportunities to Accelerate Replacement
Engaging local public health agencies is an important aspect of building community awareness of how lead in water fits into lead risk reduction. This understanding of lead risk is informative to the community as it considers if and how to best accomplish the LSL replacement program required by the LCR and how to go beyond the rule requirements.
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Communities may consider:
  • Identify ongoing lead prevention outreach and education efforts to understand how those efforts could be leveraged to benefit the LSL replacement program.
  • Involving local public health agency experts in briefings to community leaders and the public.
  • Reviewing communication materials with public health experts prior to using them in practice.
  • Determining if local public health lead programs have any insights into lead occurrence that could inform prioritization efforts in lead service line replacement.
  • Renewing dialogue with public health agencies as key contact in reaching pediatricians, OB-GYN, and other specialties serving young children and mothers.
  • Coordinating communications among water systems, public health agencies, and community organizations, including on notices and online inventories, in advance of the deadline.
  • Proactively sharing the location of tap water sampling results with public health agencies before the information is sent to the persons served by the tap so that the agencies can be prepared for questions. 
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