The Health Department is often regarded as involved in the primary health care of the general public. This usually covers free medical services for the poor. The general public overlooks the fact that since the Health Department’s primary role is to focus on the health of people; part of their responsibility is to be on the lookout for the food and water that we take in as life sources for us. Based on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Water (1996-2008): The Bureau of Water administers programs related to public water supplies, wastewater treatment systems, the disposal of sewage, and nonpoint sources of pollution.
Programs are designed to provide safe drinking water, prevent water pollution, and assure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations such as the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. This means that aside from providing us with safe and potable water, taking care of the disposal and treatment of sewage water is part of their responsibility. This is still in congruence to the main purpose of the health department being in the lookout for the public’s health and safety.
Furthermore, since monitoring and regulating the processes undertaken to make sure that the water we drink is potable, it is important to note that this does not stop at one point because breakthroughs and technology is also employed in ensuring that the water we drink is safe. The health department also educates the public of the quality of water that is being produced for the public’s consumption. The Health Department believes that it is important to promote the public’s “right to know” about the quality of the drinking water.
(New York State Department of Health: July 2008). This includes an account of the processes undertaken to treat water and if there are new methods employed. A report of the different sources of drinking water, flood recovery and public notification requirements, to name a few is also included in it. The purpose of these accounts is not limited to simply coming up with safe drinking water but also in making sure that the public health is guarded in treating and attending even to those water that is considered as waste.
It is always important to consider that the health department is not limited to providing the public with free medical services. Instead, it is also responsible for making sure that all other means of affecting public health is taken cared of by the department.
Works Cited
“Bureau of Water”. 1996-2008. Kansas Department of Health and Environment. October 27, 2008 <http://www. kdheks. gov/water/> “Drinking Water Protection Program”. July 2008. New York State Department of Health. October 27, 2008 <http://www. health. state. ny. us/environmental/water/drinking/>