PDA EPA810-F-99-0
L_ r/-A December 1999
Understanding the
Safe Drinking Water Act
SAFE DRINKI\G WATER ACT • CELEBRATING 25 YEARS • PROTECT ()i R HEALTH FROM SOURCE TO TAP
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
1 70,000 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 safejJrink-ins water is
divided among USEPA, states, tribes/^vater
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 al least 15 service
connections or serve at least 25 people per clay for 60 days of
the year.
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 does not serve the same people
year-round. There are two types of non-community systems:
- Non-Transient Non-Community Water System (there
arc approximately 20,000) - A non-community water
system that serves the same people more than six months
per year, hut not year-round, for example, a school with its
onv n aler 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. Slates 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 (he level of a contaminant in drinking
\valer below which there is no known or expected risk to health.
These goals allo\\ for a margin of safel) . Third. USEPA specifies
a maximum contaminant level, the maximum permissible level
of a contaminant in drinking water which is delivered to any
user of a public water sjstem. These levels are enforceable
standards, and are set as close to 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 Treatnu-nl, Tectiniquc which specifies a way to treat
I he 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.
SE)WA also sets a framework for the Underground
Injection Control (UIC) 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-cornpromised). 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.
(lost-Benefit Analysis
USKPA must conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis for every
ne\\ standard to determine \\liellier the benefits of a drinking
water standard justify the costs.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
Slates 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
IISKPA is required to strengthen protection for microbial contami-
nants, including CiyptosporMium, while strengthening control over
lhe byproducts of chemical disinfection. Two new drinking water
rules in November 1998 addressed these issues: others will follow
Operator Certification
\\ater system operators must be certified to ensure that systems
are operated safely. LSEPA issued guidelines in February 1999
specifying minimum standards for the certification and rccertil'ica-
tion of the operators of community and nontransienl. noncommu-
nity water systems.
Public Information & Consultation
SD\\A emphasizes that consumers have a right to know what is in
their drinking water, where it comes from, how it is treated, and
how lo help protect it. USKPA distributes public information
materials (through its Safe Drinking Water Hotline. Sai'ewater 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 drinking water standards.
Source Water Assessment Programs
Hvery state must conduct an assessment of its sources of drinking
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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