Potable communities: Planning for greater drinking water access in public places

The Let's Move! initiative, the Institute of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control all cite increasing the amount of access to drinking water in public places as a crucial policy tool to reduce the intake of SSBs. This research analyzes the policy approaches taken by New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Minneapolis to address this issue and highlights the prevailing structures of data collection surrounding drinking water access. After conducting a policy scan of codes and initiatives that addressed drinking water access throughout the country, case studies were selected based on geographic dispersion and diversity of approach. Interviews were conducted with various department officials and community groups involved in the development and implementation of policies regarding drinking water access in public places in each city. An assessment of organizational structure, interdepartmental collaboration, political drivers, and levels of data tracking was then conducted. Results show that securing political will leads to the most robust success and that interdepartmental collaboration and partnerships with outside groups help garner this will. However, there is often not enough communication between different departments tasked with carrying out drinking water policy and the lack of current data collection makes it difficult to quantify the benefits of these policies. This research serves to promote a conversation about how various government departments, including public health, can work together and track data to design a network of free and accessible drinking water in public places that reduces the intake of SSBs.