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Public Access to Information /
& Public Involvement |
SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT • 1974-2004 • 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 give consumers
greater access to information about, and opportunities
for involvement in, drinking water issues.
Finding Out Whether Your Drinking
Water Meets National Safety Standards
US EPA 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. Since 1999,
each community water system
is required to prepare a water
quality report annually. 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 must issue these reports by
July 1 each year. 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 US EPA's web site at www.epa.gov/safevvafer/
dwinfo and click on your state.
Databases: US EPA 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). US EPA 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 US EPA's Envirofacts
Database. You can access information 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/safewafer/dwinfo.
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: States examined each
of the nation's drinking water sources (the rivers, lakes,
groundwater, etc., from which water systems take
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their water) to determine how susceptible they are to
contamination. Through these assessments, your state
and water supplier have obtained information to answer
more detailed questions about the potential threats to the
quality of your drinking water. States and water systems
must make the results of these assessments available
to the public. 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 US EPA. These databases contain
information on the occurrence of contaminants in
drinking water, but don't identify contaminant sources.
Both databases are available on US EPA's web site at
www.epa.gov/safewafer/dafaibases.html. The Information
Collection Rule Database stores information that US EPA
has collected from large public water systems (those
serving at least 100,000 people) on occurrences of
disease causing microbes and byproducts of disinfection
processes. 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
Get Involved
US EPA, 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
US EPA activities to protect drinking water include
setting drinking water standards and overseeing the
work of states that enforce federal, or their own, stricter,
standards. US EPA holds many public meetings on issues
ranging from proposed drinking water standards to the
development of databases. You can also comment on
proposed regulations and drafts of other upcoming US
EPA documents. A list of public meetings and regulations
that are open for comment can be found on US EPA's
drinking water web site at www.epa.gov/safewafer/
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 US EPA's web site at
www.epa.gov/safewafer/dwinfo 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
develops 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: In accordance
with the Safe Drinking Water Act, states developed and
are implementing EPA-approved strategies to ensure
that water systems acquire and maintain the technical,
managerial, and financial capability to ensure that safe
drinking water is provided to their customers. States
continue to involve stakeholders in the implementation of
their strategies.
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Operator Certification Program: In accordance with
the Safe Drinking Water Act, US EPA issued guidelines
in February 1999 specifying minimum standards for
the certification and recertification of the operators
of community and non-transient, noncommunity water
systems. These guidelines apply to state Operator
Certification Programs. All states are currently
implementing EPA-approved operator certification
programs, which include ongoing stakeholder
involvement. Contact your state for more information.
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: In October 1999, all
community water systems provided their first Consumer
Confidence Reports (also called annual drinking water
quality reports) to the public. Today, community water
systems are required to provide their consumers with
these annual reports by July 1st of each year. The reports
tell where drinking water comes from, what's in it, and
how consumers can protect their water source. These
reports also provide opportunities for public involvement
which can spark dialogue between the water supplier
and its customers. The information contained in these
reports provides relevant information about their drinking
water quality allowing the consumers to make informed
choices and to better participate in decisions pertaining
to improving treatment, bill increases, and drinking water
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 government, 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 supplier, 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.
US EPA has created several publications that help
communities develop and implement drinking water
protection programs. They can be ordered through US
EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426- 4791)
and are also available on the web at www.epa.gov/
safe wafer/pubs.
Where You Can Go For More Drinking
Water Information
If you are interested in more information about drinking
water, US EPA maintains a Safe Drinking Water Hotline
and a web site.
Telephone Hotline: US EPA operates the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline (1 -800-426-4791) 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: US EPA's drinking water web site (www.
epa.gov/safewafer) provides information on US EPA'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.
Office of Water (4606)
www.epa.gov/safewater
EPA 816-F-04-039 June 2004
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