Water is a fundamental part of our lives. We need it. But what is the quality of the water we are drinking? Derrick Emms explains what is happening to our water, what the effects are and what we can do about it.

After graduation from medical school in Bristol I spent some years working as a clinician in both hospital and general practice before entering specialist public health training in Northern England. After completing this training I worked as a consultant epidemiologist then a consultant in PH Medicine for 5 years in Newcastle, before moving to the Scottish Borders. I remained in Borders as a CPHM until I retired in 2016 and over these years was very involved in training and also held an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer position at Uni of Edinburgh, teaching on the MPH course. I've published on a variety of subjects from the prevention of CVD to cataract extractions and served on a number of national committees in both England and Scotland.