£*CDA  EPA810-F-99-J3eg"'
                                                                              wCfr-V December 1999
                                                Understanding  the
                                           Safe Drinking Water Act
            SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT • CELEBRATING 25 YEARS • PROTECT OUR HEALTH FROM SOURCE TO TAP

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Overview:
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was
originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect
public health by regulating the nation's public
drinking water supply. The law was amended
in 1986 and 1996 and requires many actions to
protect drinking water and its sources -  rivers,
lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water
wells.  (SDWA does not regulate private wells
which serve fewer than 25 individuals.)  SDWA
authorizes the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) to set national
health-based standards for drinking water to
protect against both naturally-occurring and
man-made contaminants that may be found in
drinking water. USEPA, states, and water
systems then work together to make sure that
these standards are met.

Millions of Americans  receive high quality drink-
ing water every day from their public water
systems, (which may be publicly or privately
owned).  Nonetheless, drinking water safety
cannot be taken for granted. There are a
number of threats to drinking water: improp-
erly disposed of chemicals; animal wastes;
pesticides; human wastes; wastes injected
deep underground; and naturally-occurring
substances can all contaminate drinking water.
Likewise, drinking water that is not properly
treated or disinfected, or which travels through
an improperly maintained distribution system,
may also pose a health risk.

Originally, SDWA focused primarily on
treatment as the means of providing safe
drinking water at the tap. The 1996 amend-
ments greatly enhanced the existing law by
recognizing source water protection, operator
training, funding for water system improve-
ments, and public information as important
components of safe drinking water. This
approach ensures the quality of drinking
water by protecting it from source to tap.
                                                             Roles and Responsibilities:
                                                             SDWA applies to every public water system in
                                                             the United States.  There are currently more than
                                                             170,000 public water systems providing water to
                                                             almost all Americans at some time in their lives.
                                                             The responsibility for making sure these public
                                                             water systems provide safe drinking water is
                                                             divided among USEPA, states, tribes, water
                                                             systems, and the public. SDWA provides a
                                                             framework in which these parties work together
                                                             to protect this valuable resource.

                                                             USEPA sets national standards for drinking water
                                                             based on sound science to protect against health
                                                             risks, considering available technology and costs.
                                                             These National Primary Drinking Water Regula-
                                                             tions set enforceable maximum contaminant
                                                             levels for particular contaminants in drinking
                                                             water or required ways to treat water to remove
                                                             contaminants.  Each standard also includes re-
                                                          All public water systems must have at least 15 service
                                                         "connections or serve at least 25 people per day for 60 days of
                                                          theyear.   ;

                                                          Drinking water standards apply to water systems differently
                                                          based on their type and size:

                                                          « Community Water System (there are approximately
                                                          •.-.:" 55,000) - A public water system that serves the same
                                                            people year-round. Most residences including homes,
                                                            apartments, and condominiums in cities, small towns, and
                                                            mobile home parks are served by Community Water
                                                            Systems.     .-,.                     ..','..

                                                          » Non-Community Water System - A public water system
                                                            that serves the public but docs not serve the same people
                                                            year-round. There are two types of non-community systems:

                                                            - Non-Transient Non-Community Water System (there
                                                          :   are approximately 20,000) - A non-community water
                                                             system that serves the same people more than six months
                                                             per year, but not vear-round. for example, a school with its
                                                             own water supply \s considered a non-transient system.
Transient non-community water system (there are
approximately 95,000) - A non-community water system
that serves the public but not the same individuals for
more than six months, for example, a rest area or
campground may be considered a transient water system.

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 quirements for water systems to test for contaminants in
 the water to make sure standards are achieved. In
 addition to setting these standards/ USEPA provides
 guidance, assistance, and public information about
 drinking water, collects drinking water data, and over-
 sees state drinking water programs.

 The most direct oversight of water systems is con-
 ducted by state drinking water programs. States can
 apply to USEPA for "primacy," the authority to imple-
 ment SDWA within their jurisdictions, if they can
 show that they will adopt standards at least as stringent
 as USEPA's and make sure water systems meet these
 standards. All states and territories, except Wyoming
 and the District of Columbia, have received primacy.
 While no Indian tribe has yet applied for and  received
 primacy, four tribes currently receive "treatment as a
 state" status, and are eligible for  primacy.  States, or
 USEPA acting as a  primacy agent, make sure water
 systems test for contaminants, review plans for water
 system  improvements, conduct on-site inspections and
 sanitary surveys, provide training and technical  assis-
 tance, and take action against water systems not
 meeting standards.

 To ensure that drinking water is safe, SDWA sets up
 multiple barriers against  pollution.  These barriers
 include: source water protection,  treatment, distribution
 system  integrity, and public information.  Public water
 systems are responsible for ensuring that contaminants
 in tap water do not exceed the standards. Water sys-
 tems treat the water, and must test their water frequently
 for specified contaminants and report the results to
 states. If a water system is not meeting these standards,
 it is the water supplier's  responsibility to notify its
 customers.  Many water  suppliers now are also re-
 quired to prepare annual reports  for their customers.
 The public is responsible for helping local water
 suppliers to set priorities, make decisions on funding
 and system improvements, and establish programs to
 protect  drinking water sources. Water systems across
 the nation  rely on citizen advisory committees, rate
 boards, volunteers, and civic leaders to actively protect
 this resource in every community in America.

 Protection and Prevention:
 Essential components of safe drinking water include
 protection and prevention. States and  water suppliers
 must conduct  assessments of water sources to see
 where they may be vulnerable to contamination.
Water systems may also voluntarily adopt programs to
 protect  their watershed or wellhead and states can use
 legal authorities from other laws to prevent pollution.
SDWA  mandates that states have programs to certify
  USEPA sets primary drinking water
  standards through a three-step process:

  First, USEPA identifies contaminants that may adversely affect
  public health and occur in drinking water with a frequency and
  at levels that pose a threat to public health. USEPA identifies
  these contaminants for further study, and determines contami-
  nants to potentially regulate.  Second, USEPA determines a
  maximum contaminant level goal for contaminants it decides to
  regulate. This goal is the level of a contaminant in drinking
  water below which there is no known or expected risk to health.
  These goals allow for a margin of safety .  Third, USEPA specifies
  a maximum contaminant level, the niaximum permissible level
  of a contaminant in drinking water which is delivered to any
  user of a public water system. These levels are enforceable
  standards,...andareLsetas..close,io-the goals as feasible, SDWA
  defines feasible as the level that may be achieved with the use
  of the best technology, treatment techniques, and other means
  which USEPA finds (after examination for efficiency under field
  conditions) are available, taking cost into consideration. When
  it is not economically or technically feasible to set a maximum
  level, or when there is no reliable or economic method to
  detect contaminants in the water, USEPA instead sets a
  required Treatment Technique which specifies a way to treat
  the water to remove contaminants.
water system operators and make sure that new water
systems have the technical, financial, and managerial
capacity to provide safe drinking water.

SDWA also sets a framework for the Underground
Injection Control (U1C) program to control the injec-
tion of wastes into ground water.  USEPA and states
implement the UIC program, which sets standards for
safe waste injection practices and bans certain types of
injection altogether. All  of these programs help
prevent the contamination of drinking water.

Setting National Drinking Water Standards:
USEPA sets national standards for tap water which
help ensure consistent quality in our nation's water
supply. USEPA prioritizes contaminants for potential
regulation based on risk and how often they occur in
water supplies. (To aid in this effort, certain water
systems monitor for the presence of contaminants for
which  no national standards currently exist and collect
information  on their occurrence).  USEPA sets a health
goal based on risk (including risks to the most sensitive
people, e.g., infants, children, pregnant women,,the
elderly, and the immuno-compromised). USEPA then
sets a legal limit for the contaminant in drinking water
or a required treatment technique - this limit or
treatment technique is set to be as close to the health
goal as feasible. USEPA  also performs a cost-benefit
analysis and obtains input from interested parties when
setting standards. USEPA is currently evaluating the
risks from several specific health concerns, including:

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microbial contaminants (e.g., Cryptosporidium); the
byproducts of drinking water disinfection; radon;
arsenic; and water systems that don't currently disin-
fect their water but get it from a potentially vulnerable
ground water source.

Funding and Assistance:
USEPA provides grants to  implement state drinking
water programs, and to help each state set up a special
fund to assist public water systems in financing the
costs of improvements (called the drinking water state
revolving fund). Small water systems are given special
consideration, since small systems may have a more
difficult time paying for system improvements due to
their smaller customer base.  Accordingly, USEPA and
states provide them with extra assistance (including
training and funding) as well as allowing, on a case-
by-case basis, alternate water treatments  that are less
expensive, but still protective of public health.

Compliance and Enforcement:
National drinking water standards are legally enforce-
able, which means that both  USEPA and states can
take enforcement  actions against water systems not
meeting safety standards.  USEPA and states may issue
administrative orders,  take legal actions,  or fine
utilities.  USEPA and states also work to increase
water systems' understanding of, and compliance with,
standards.

Public Information:
SDWA recognizes that since everyone drinks water,
everyone has the right to know what's in it and where
it comes from. All water suppliers must notify con-
sumers quickly when there is a serious problem with
water quality. Water systems serving the same people
year-round must provide annual consumer confidence
reports on the source and  quality of their tap water.
States and USEPA must prepare annual summary
reports of water system compliance with drinking
water safety standards and make these reports avail-
able to the public. The public must have a chance to
be involved in developing source water assessment
programs, state plans to use drinking water state
revolving loan funds, state capacity development
plans,  and state operator certification programs.
 1996 SDWA Amendment Highlights:

 Consumer Confidence Reports
 All community water systems must prepare and distribute annual
 reports about the water they provide, including information on
 detected contaminants, possible health effects, and the water's
 source.      ...!.-.•

 Cost-Benefit Analysis
 USEPA must conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis for every
 new standard to determine whether the benefits of a drinking
 water standard justify the costs.

 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
 States can use this fund to help water systems make infrastructure
• or management improvements or to help systems assess and
 protect their source water.

 Microbial Contaminants and Disinfection Byproducts
 USEPA is required to strengthen protection for microbial contami-
Jnants, including Cryptosporidium, while strengthening control over
 the byproducts of chemical disinfection. Two new drinking water
 rules in November 1998 addressed these issues; others will follow.

 Operator Certification
 Water system operators must be certified to ensure that systems
 are operated safely. USEPA issued "guidelines in February 1999
 specifying minimum standards for the certification and recertifica-
 tion of the operators of community and nontransient, noncommu-
 nity water systems.

 Public Information & Consultation
 SDWA emphasizes that consumers have a right to know what is in
 their drinlcing water, where it comes from, how it is treated, and
 how to help protect it. USEPA distributes public information
 materials (through its Safe Drinking Water Hotline, Safewater web
 site, and Water Resource Center) and holds public meetings,
 working with states, tribes, water systems, and environmental and
 civic groups, to encourage public involvement.

 Small Water Systems
 Small water systems are given special consideration and resources
 under SDWA, to make sure they have the managerial, financial, and
 technical ability to comply with drinlcing water standards.

 Source Water Assessment Programs
 Every state must conduct an assessment of its sources of drinlcing
 water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells) to
 identify significant potential sources of contamination and to
 determine how susceptible the sources are to these threats.
  For More Information:
  To learn more about the Safe Drinking Water Act or
  drinking water in general, call the Safe Drinking Water
  Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, or visit USEPA's Office of
  Ground Water and Drinking Water web site: http://
  www.epa.gov/safewater/.

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