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EPA 810-F-99-021
December 1999
Public Access to Information
& Public Involvement
SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT • CELEBRATING 25 YEARS - PROTECT OUR HEALTH FROM SOURCE TO TAP
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that drinking water quality information be
made available to the public. When SDWA was amended in 1996, numerous provisions
were added that g.ve consumers greater access to information about, and opportunities for
involvement in, drinking water issues.
Finding Out Whether Your Drinking
Water Meets National Safety Standards
USEPA sets health-based standards to protect the
nation's drinking water. Here are three ways to
find out whether your water system is meeting
these national standards:
Consumer Confidence Reports: Your water
system is the first source for specific information
about your drinking water. Starting in 1999,
these water quality reports will be prepared'
annually by each community water system.
Every customer of a community water system
will have access to a report, most commonly
through a direct mailing. The report will provide
information on the source of your water supply,
the level of any regulated contaminants detected
in the water, the health effects of contaminants
detected above federal health-based standards,
and your water system's compliance with other
drinking water regulations. All community water
systems should have issued these reports by
October 19, 1999, and by July 1 each year
thereafter. If you have not seen your report, call
your water system to obtain a copy.
State Compliance Reports: By July of each year,
every primacy state must produce an annual
report on whether water systems within the state
met drinking water standards during the previous
calendar year. These reports are available
through your state drinking water program. Many
are available via the Internet. Call the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 to
find out how to contact your state's drinking
water program, or visit USEPA's web site at
www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm and click on
your state.
Databases: USEPA collects information on every
public drinking water system in the nation and
stores it in a database called the Safe Drinking
Water Information System (SDWIS). USEPA uses
this information to gauge how safe America's
drinking water is, and to track water systems that
are violating drinking water standards. Much of
this information is available through USEPA's
Envirofacts Database. You can access informa-
tion about your water system, such as how many
people it serves and whether it has been meeting
drinking water safety standards, on the web at
www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfn.hfm
What Happens When There Is an
Emergency With Your Drinking Water?
Public Notification: If there is an immediate
threat to your health due to a violation of a
drinking water regulation or standard, SDWA
requires that your water system notify you
promptly through the media or posted signs. It is
important that you follow any instructions your
water system may give you in the notice.
Determining the Threats to Your
Drinking Water
Source Water Assessment: Between now and
2003, states will be examining each of the
nation's drinking water sources (the rivers, lakes,
groundwater, etc., from which water systems take
their water) to determine how susceptible they are
to contamination. Through these assessments,
your state and water supplier will obtain informa-
tion to answer more detailed questions about the
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potential threats to the quality of your drinking water.
States and water systems must make the results of these
assessments available to the public when they are
completed. Consumer Confidence Reports will also
include a summary of the status or results of these
Source Water Assessments.
Databases: The public has access to two databases
recently created by USEPA. These databases contain
information on the occurrence of contaminants in
drinking water, but don't identify contaminant sources.
Both databases will be available on USEPA's web site at
/. The Information Collection
Rule Database stores information that USEPA has
collected from large public water systems (those serving
at least 100,000 people) on occurrences of disease-
causing microbes and byproducts of disinfection pro-
cesses. This information has been available since
August 1999. The National Contaminant Occurrence
Database stores information on the occurrences of
regulated and unregulated contaminants in drinking
water throughout the country.
Actions That Are Being Taken to Protect
Your Drinking Water and How You Can
Gel Involved
USEPA, states, and water systems each work to protect
the nation's drinking water supply. Opportunities for
public involvement exist at all of these levels.
At the Federal Level
USEPA activities to protect drinking water include
setting drinking water standards and overseeing the
work of states that enforce federal, or their own,
stricter, standards. USEPA holds many public meetings
on issues ranging from proposed drinking water stan-
dards to the development of databases. You can also
comment on proposed regulations and drafts of other
upcoming USEPA documents. A list of public meetings
and regulations that are open for comment can be
found on USEPA's drinking water web site at
www.epa.gov/safewatpr/pubinput.html or from the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
At the State Level
SDWA gives states flexibility in implementing drinking
water protection efforts so that they can meet the
specific needs of their citizens while maintaining a
national level of public health. States are required to
seek public input on many of their activities including
those highlighted below. To find out whom to contact
in your state about any of these activities, call the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit
USEPA's web site at www.epa.gov/safewater/
dwinfo.htm and click on your state.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF):
This federal grant program provides money for states,
who, in turn, provide loans to drinking water systems
to upgrade their facilities and ensure compliance with
drinking water standards. Each year, your state devel-
ops and seeks public comment on an Intended Use
Plan that describes how it intends to use its grant to
fund projects to upgrade treatment facilities. This final
list is made available to the public. Also, a portion of
your state's DWSRF grant can be set aside specifically
for acquiring land to help protect your drinking water
source or to fund other local protection activities.
Contact your state agency to find out if and how your
state plans to use these set-aside funds.
Source Water Assessments: As noted above, states are
implementing programs to assess and protect all
sources of public drinking water. States developed
these programs in cooperation with citizen advisory
committees made up of representatives of public
constituencies. Individuals can also help the state,
local government, or water system to complete drinking
water source assessments. This may include helping
your state inventory the potential pollution threats to
your drinking water sources.
Capacity Development Program: By October 2000,
states must develop strategies to ensure that all water
systems have the technical, financial, and managerial
capability to ensure that safe drinking water is provided
to their customers. States must involve the public in
the development of these strategies, and make the final
strategy available to the public.
Operator Certification Program: SDWA established
new requirements for certification of the people that
operate public water systems. To meet the new re-
quirements, states must resubmit their current certifica-
tion programs to USEPA by August 2000 or submit
revised program changes to USEPA by February 2001.
States must include ongoing stakeholder involvement in
the revision of operator certification programs, and
USEPA's guidelines strongly recommend that states use
stakeholder boards or advisory committees to help
implement these programs. Call your state to find out
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how you can provide input as your state revises and
implements its program.
At the Local and Water System Level
There are a number of ways that consumers can obtain
information about their water system at the local level
and find out how to assist in ensuring safe drinking
water.
Consumer Confidence Reports: By late October
1999, all community water systems were supposed to
provide their first Consumer Confidence Reports (also
called drinking water quality reports) to the public.
Beginning in 2000, water suppliers must provide their
annual reports to the public by July of each year.
These reports contain information on the condition of
the drinking water and opportunities for public in-
volvement and can spark a dialogue between the
water supplier and its customers. Having this informa-
tion allows you to better understand and participate in
decisions by your water system regarding treatment
improvements and protection efforts.
Source Water Protection: Protection of drinking
water is everyone's responsibility. You can help
protect your community's drinking water source in
several ways. As noted above, you can work with
your state and/or water utility during the assessment of
your drinking water source. You can also work with
them to periodically update the assessment to include
any land use changes that may occur over time. You .
can also work with your water supplier, local govern-
ment, an existing community watershed group, or start
your own community group to create a broader source
water protection program. If your community already
has source water protection or wellhead protection
programs in place, you can contact your water sup-
plier, local government, or watershed groups for
information on how to participate in or to improve
these protection programs. Remember that funding for
community protection activities may be available
through the DWSRF and other federal or state grant or
loan programs.
USEPA has created several publications that help
communities develop and implement drinking water
protection programs. They can be ordered through
USEPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791)
and are also available on the web at www.epa.gov/
safewater/Pubs/new/pi pdws. htm I.
Where You Can Go For More Drinking
Water Information
If you are interested in more information about drinking
water, USEPA maintains a Safe Drinking Water Hotline
and a web site. Other partner organizations also have
information available (see Resource Fact Sheet).
Telephone Hotline: USEPA operates the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791 or www.epa.gov/
safewater/drinklink.htmh that can answer questions
about the regulations and programs developed under
SDWA, and provide federal and state contacts for
specific information. It can also provide information
on other drinking water publications.
Internet: USEPA's drinking water web site
(www.epa.gov/safewateri provides information on
USEPA's implementation of SDWA, the contaminants
regulated under SDWA, educational activities and
publications on drinking water, links to state programs
and other drinking water web sites, and much more.
For more information on your watershed, see:
www.epa.gov/surf/. This web site includes watershed
maps, local and national information about watershed
impairment, information about local protection and
volunteer opportunities, and links to other web sites of
interest.
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