by Krystal Paco

Guam - The island residents are in good hands when they turn on the tap. Ever wonder if the water coming out of your tap is safe to drink? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has partnered with the Guam Waterworks Authority and the Guam Environmental Protection Agency to host a three-day workshop for those handling our drinking water.

According to Horsley Witten Group sustainable environmental solutions principal mark nelson, participants are learning how to protect the island's water sources, how to get the water from the ground to the tap safely, how to maintain the wastewater systems, and how to manage the infrastructure. Nelson says Guam is in good hands, but residents should always be aware of their surroundings and how it affects their tap. "Think about where your water is coming from and think about the land uses around you and your surface water systems that may be contaminating drinking water, think about where the landfills are think about where underground storage tanks may be that leak, think about where an onsite septic system might be that may be contributing contaminants to the water," he advised. "The more we know about our environment and the sources of contamination within in the better job we can do to maintain clean and safe drinking water."

Nelson says that strong regulations nationwide mean we can trust what comes out of our tap. "I think in general the testing that is done of our public drinking water systems across the United States is very rigorous and in general we have very good, clean drinking water. We remain vigilant and we have to continue to test our water and maintain our systems in a way that maintains that high quality," he said.

Residents should be advised that the impending military buildup may compromise the quality of tap water. Nelson added, "As Guam looks at the buildup or additional people coming to the island, is there adequate fresh water to provide safe drinking water for everyone and it depends a little bit on how that water is pumped out of the ground and then how its returned to the environment, and if its done in a way that allows it to be reused in a safe manner. There is a safe yield there's a limit as to how much drinking water can be pumped from the ground and that has to be understood and evaluated as this buildup is evaluated."