Safe Home Drinking Water: A Series of Six Case Study Briefs

This series highlights state and local strategies in the US for equitable home drinking water access and quality for families with children 0-5 years old with low income.


Water security means having stable access to available, acceptable, and safe drinking water, and it is key to supporting good nutrition and health. Families with low income, communities of color, and non-native English speakers are disproportionately affected by exposure to unsafe drinking water.

These briefs highlight state and local programs and policies for home water quality testing, home well water treatment device installation, filter pitcher distribution, and lead service line replacement. Partnering with organizations with established relationships with families vulnerable to unsafe drinking water like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was a key program activity.

The lessons learned from these policies and programs can inform equity-based efforts to improve water security with a focus on young children in households experiencing low income.

See the briefs, Executive Summary, and learn more about the project here.

About the Authors

Prepared by Cara Wilking, JD, independent legal consultant, Barnstable, Massachusetts; Emily Nink, MS, CPH, Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and Angie Cradock, ScD, MPE, Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.