Region's Drinking Water and Public Health Professionals Meet to Discuss Water Quality and Public Health
In addition to presenters from PSW and Drexel University, the one-day conference entitled Drinking Water and Public Health: A Necessary Partnership boasts a list of distinguished speakers on topics including drinking water quality, regulations and the importance of establishing and maintaining sound working relationships between the three groups to protect public health. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III Drinking Water Branch Chief Richard Rogers will also speak about water system security in a post-9/11 era. Attendees include water supply and public health professionals and regulators from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and neighboring states.
"As a public water utility, we saw an opportunity to take the initiative to bring our peers together with the public health community and drinking water regulators to share information and ideas that will help all of us with our specific responsibilities to protect public health," said Philadelphia Suburban Water Company Vice President, Water Resources Preston Luitweiler. "One of the benefits of having a conference like this is that it allows three key groups involved in protecting public health the opportunity to work together and either build on or establish relationships prior to a problem or crisis," explained Luitweiler. "We hope that the conference will be the beginning--or in some cases a continuation--of professional relationships and contacts that will better prepare all of us for future challenges."
Dr. Marla Gold, Dean of Drexel University's School of Public Health said her school was very pleased to participate in hosting the conference. "We believe this is the right conference at the right time for the right reason," said Gold. "Protecting public health is a vast responsibility and whenever we have the opportunity to share information with and get information from other organizations whose business has a direct impact on public health, we are anxious to do so. Our educational and research programs are built on partnerships with communities, so it is easy to see why the invitation to have a leading role in this conference was an easy one to accept."
Drexel University's School of Public Health is one of only two in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and distinguishes itself from other such schools through its "problem-based" curriculum and emphasis on community needs and partnerships.
PSW is the largest subsidiary of Philadelphia Suburban Corporation--the nation's largest U.S.-based investor-owned water utility holding company. PSW serves approximately 1.2 million residents in Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Berks counties.
Editors Note: See full conference agenda attached below.
DRINKING WATER AND PUBLIC HEALTH: A NECESSARY PARTNERSHIP
A conference presented by Philadelphia Suburban Water Company in
partnership with Drexel University School of Public Health
8:30 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. Welcome
Nick DeBenedictis, Chairman, Philadelphia Suburban Water
Company
Dr. Marla Gold, Dean, Drexel University School of Public
Health
Dr. Constantine Papadakis, President, Drexel University
9:05 a.m. Introduction: Why this conference, why now?
Preston Luitweiler, Vice President, Water Resources,
Philadelphia Suburban Water Company
9:15 a.m. Rebuilding bridges between the drinking water and public
health communities
Patricia L. Meinhardt, MD, MPH, MA
Executive Medical Director of the Center for Occupational
and Environmental Medicine that is affiliated with the
Arnot Ogden Medical Center (AOMC), Elmira, New York
10:00 a.m. Cryptosporidium, Giardia and the Microbial Menagerie
Chris Crockett, Manager, Source Water Protection
Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds
Dr. Charles Haas, LD Betz Professor of Environmental
Engineering
Drexel University
10:45 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Working Up an Outbreak: Investigation, clinical diagnosis
and risk communication related to waterborne disease
Dr. Caroline Johnson, Medical Epidemiologist
Philadelphia Health Department
11:30 a.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. Metals and Minerals (Arsenic, Lead, Nitrate...)
Jeanne Bailey, Public Affairs Officer
Fairfax County (Virginia) Water Authority
Joseph Graziano, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Health
Sciences and Pharmacology and Director, Columbia
University Superfund Basic Research Program
Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University
1:15 p.m. Organics (DBPs, organic compounds on regulatory horizon)
Fred Hauchman, Ph.D., National Program Director for
Drinking Water Research
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research
and Development USEPA
2:00 p.m. The Future of Water Supply and Distribution Infrastructure
Joseph Thurwanger, P.E., Senior Project Engineer
Philadelphia Suburban Water Company
2:45 p.m. Not Just Desserts: A Mixer - great desserts and great
networking opportunity
3:15 p.m. Water System Security Post 9-11
Richard Rogers, Chief Drinking Water Branch
US EPA Region III
4:00 p.m. An Open Discussion About the Future of this Conference:
how to improve, how often to be held, future invitees,
etc.
Attendees
4:15 p.m. Farewells
CONTACT: Philadelphia Suburban Water CompanyJoanna Vishio, 610/645-4213
vishioj@suburbanwater.com
or
Randi Polanich, 610/645-1175
polanichr@suburbanwater.com