Water & Health Advisory Council |
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My name is Chad Seidel and I've served the drinking water community for more than 20 years. I joined the Council in 2019 to help fulfill our mission to guide decision makers in creating effective drinking water policy to protect public health.
Throughout my career, I’ve been engaged by large and small drinking water utilities, state and federal agencies, and research organizations to help with water quality and contaminant challenges, optimizing existing treatment and considering new technologies. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the men and women making our drinking water safe for millions of Americans.
This month, our Council has focused on emerging contaminants of concern. The U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan recently released a PFAS Strategic Roadmap laying out plans to take action in regulating, testing and researching PFAS further. While I firmly agree that areas with high PFAS contamination should be monitored and addressed immediately, I hope the EPA considers implementing regulations using a risk- and cost-benefit analysis to determine the most effective path forward for our nation as a whole.
In my latest peer-reviewed journal article published by the American Water Works Association Water Science journal (AWWA), my co-authors and I used a calculated metric to help regulators set priorities for addressing contaminants. We use a "Relative Health Indicator" (RHI) metric to help determine whether regulating certain contaminants provides a "meaningful opportunity" in risk reduction as is required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. We looked at per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using the RHI metric and discovered that regulatory levels for PFOA and PFOS alone will not achieve a national meaningful health risk reduction as defined by previously regulated contaminants.
We hope the RHI method gives policymakers a useful framework and better context to evaluate drinking water contaminants. It is essential that lessons learned from previous drinking water contaminant regulations inform and help prioritize decisions about other contaminants.
We must prioritize and address the greatest risks that we are most confident of to maintain and improve public health protection. That’s what is needed to take more effective steps towards achieving a safe, affordable, and reliable drinking water supply for everyone.
Sincerely,
Chad Seidel, Ph.D., P.E.
President, Corona Environmental Consulting & Council member
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Member Blog | Staying Focused on the Things that Matter |
Attention and money focused on the next thing is attention and money taken away from the thing that is most impactful—the thing that best protects public health for the greatest number of people—investment in aging water infrastructure. |
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Member Research | California Drinking Water Needs Assessment 2021-22 |
The Human Right to Water “HR2W” guides the California Water Board’s mission of functioning and sustainable drinking water systems. To develop the first Statewide Drinking Water Needs Assessment, Council member Chad Seidel and his colleagues worked alongside other water professionals to evaluate the current challenges facing safe and affordable water supply in California. |
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From emergency climate-induced weather conditions to ongoing aging infrastructure needs, our nation's water supply is at risk. We must prioritize what best protects public health for the greatest number of people. |
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LA Times: Burned by wildfire, Northern California towns now fear flooding and toxic runoff from storm
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"Beyond concerns to life and property, officials are also worried about contamination of the state’s drinking water from toxic runoff. With fires only recently contained in many areas, there hasn’t been enough time to clear burned homes and businesses, where the ash can be filled with pollutants. Runoff from those sites could reach the Feather River, which flows through the Dixie burn scar, and feeds the Oroville Dam east of Sacramento, where more than a trillion gallons of water can be stored." |
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New York Times: A Move to Rein In Cancer-Causing ‘Forever Chemicals’
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"'The American Chemistry Council, a trade organization, noted that about 600 chemicals in the PFAS category are used to manufacture products like solar panels and cellphones, and said alternative materials might not be available to replace them. “The American Chemistry Council supports the strong, science-based regulation of chemicals, including PFAS substances. But all PFAS are not the same, and they should not all be regulated the same way,” Erich Shea, a spokesman for the organization, said in a statement."
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The Guardian: Michigan tells majority-Black city not to drink tap water amid lead crisis
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"“Protecting the health and safety of Benton Harbor residents is a top priority,” Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan HHS, said in a statement. “We’ve listened to the community’s concerns and out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending that residents use bottled water for cooking, drinking and brushing teeth.”" |
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AP News: Record-breaking storm douses drought-stricken California |
“To end different aspects of the drought, you are going to need a situation where parts of California get precipitation over the next three months that’s about 200% of normal,” he said, adding that “despite this really, really insane rainfall, the winter is probably going to be drier than average.” |
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