WSAA's research strategy for managing issues of drinking water quality and public health

The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) is an industry associati- on meeting the needs of 19 Member urban water businesses. WSAA Members collectively supply some 12.5 million Australians with water supply and sewerage services. Drinking water quality and public health have been identified as high priority issues and a structured research program developed to address issues such as microbiological risk from protozoan parasites, algal toxins, bioavailability ofaluminium and deterioration of water quality in distribution systems. WSAA is a strong supporter of the Corporate Research Centre (CRC) for Water Quality and Treatment because the CRC brings together medical expertise, water science and utility management into a joint research forum. In addressing drinking water and public health the fundamental objective of protecting public health must be kept in mind. The desired outcome is a healthy population not production of costly distilled water!.