ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses several diverse topics that go beyond drinking water composition to address broader issues that have major impacts on drinking water availability, consumer perceptions, and more novel and sustainable water sources and processes such as desalination and potable water recycling. It addresses distribution system risks, which are actually the most dominant, default factors used in drinking water risk assessments, and provides perspectives on foodborne versus waterborne disease risks, and fracking. Boiling is a very effective way to eliminate waterborne pathogens. Boiling advisories are accompanied by information on how long to carry out the boiling. The drinking water treatment goal is to eliminate the pathogens to below the limit of detection, but at least to get below the infective dose. Boiling is also appropriate when camping or traveling where the available drinking water is not known to be safe.
