United States	Office of Water
Environmental Protection WH-550
Agency
EPA 570/9-90-005
April 1990
oEPA Citizen Monitoring:
Recommendations to Public Water
System Users
How can you as a user of a public water supply be assured of the safety of the
water you drink? In what activities do water officials engage to provide an
adequate water supply? What substances or human actions represent poten-
tial threats to your water? Are there activities that can be pursued in the home
to further the public health quality of the water you drink? This fact sheet is
intended to help answer these questions as well as provide additional informa-
tion on drinking water quality.
Approximately 85 percent of the Nation's citizens (230
million people) consume water from public supplies or sys-
tems. These systems are regulated by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and most State health or environ-
ment departments under a body of law known as the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
By virtue of being regulated, public systems must ensure that
their water meets health standards as defined by the govern-
ment. That is, the water must be "safe" for people to consume.
In general, most water from public systems meets Federal
standards and is safe to consume.
Potential Drinking Water Contaminants and
Their Related Health Threats
Probably one of the most important and basic concepts to
understand about the Earth's water is that it is not pure. The
composition of water is such that materials — both natural
and man-made — are easily dissolved upon direct contact.
The level or quantity of a substance in water is the central
issue with respect to determining whether the water is ade-
quate for human consumption.
Potential drinking water contaminants include both micro-
biological and chemical substances. These agents can be found
in nature or be the result of some past or present human
activity. Microbiological substances of concern include bac-
teria, viruses, and protozoa. Chemical contaminants primarily
include metals, minerals, and both organic and inorganic sub-
stances.
The health effects related to drinking contaminated water can
either occur over the short- or the long-term, depending upon
the nature of the pollutant. Short-term or acute effects are
those that occur within hours or days following consumption
of contaminated wa ter. Long-term or chronic effects are those
that occur after water with low doses of a contaminant has
been consumed over several years or a lifetime.
Microbiological organisms in drinking water are generally
associated with human and animal wastes. These organisms
are naturally occurring. They can enter a system with the
source water or contaminate treated water during distribu-
tion. Microbiological organisms can cause acute health ef-
fects. Although the potential for serious disease remains a
concern, the most common illnesses due to the microbiologi-
cal contamination of drinking water are short-term gastroin-
testinal disorders. Typical symptoms include cramps and
diarrhea that may be mild to very severe.
Naturally occurring chemical contaminants found in some
drinking water are primarily metals (e.g., chromium, mer-
cury, and zinc) and minerals (e.g., asbestos). Some naturally
occurring chemical contaminants, such as radium and radon,
are radioactive.
Man-made chemicals found in drinking water are primarily
organics and inorganics. These substances have numerous
industrial, agricultural, municipal, and residential applica-
tions. The improper discharge or use of man-made chemicals
in the environment can result in their presence in drinking
water.
The health effects related to the consumption of chemicals in
drinking water are highly chemical-specific. With a few ex-
ceptions (e.g., nitrates), these effects are chronic (long-term)
in nature. Some of the important health risks resulting from
high exposure to chemical contaminants include liver, kid-
ney, and nervous system disorders, cardiovascular and hy-
pertensive effects, anemia, and carcinogenicity.
Public Water System Users—1
Printed on Recycled Paper

-------
How Public Water Supplies Are Regulated
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that public
systems test their water on a routine basis for the presence of
contaminants. In addition, the law requires that when neces-
sary public systems treat their water continuously to remove
or reduce specific contaminants to levels that will not ad-
versely affect human health.
Public water systems are defined by the SDWA as systems
connecting to 15 or more households/businesses, or systems
serving 25 or more persons daily at least 60 days out of a year.
Some States, however, define public water supplies more
broadly. The State of Washington, for example, considers any
system connecting to more than one household/business as
a public supply.
In instances where a contaminant is found at an unacceptable
level in a public supply, the system in question is required to
notify consumers of such contamination as well as take reme-
dial action through treatment or other means. If the contami-
nation problem cannot be resolved in a short time frame, the
public system is to provide consumers with an alternative
source of drinking water.
ao «0 0O ao flO ao
ao	aO aO 0(~*> a^->
Action Steps for the
Consumer
1)	Contact your State Drinking Water Office for the
information identified below. [The drinking water
office is usually located in the State's health or
environment department; consult the blue gov-
ernment pages of the phone book. ]
a)	Federal and State laws governing public water
systems; listingof drinking water contaminants
for which testing and treatment is required by
such systems; listingof contaminants for which
household testing would be useful (i.e., lead
and bacteria).
b)	The name and address of the public system
from which you receive water. In addition,
obtain the system's compliance record (i.e., has
the system had frequent, infrequent or no viola-
tions of safe drinking water laws) and a listing
of recent monitoring results.
c)	A listing of laboratories certified by the State to
conduct drinking water analyses. This informa-
tion will be especially useful if testing is con-
ducted on water from household taps. [Refer to
Action Steps in the Home for further discussion.l
2)	Contact EPA'sSafe Drinking Water Hotline (800/
426-4791) to obtain explanations of drinking water
standards and to obtain copies of health informa-
tion relative to specific drinking water contami-
nants.
3)	Engage in a tour of your public water facility to
learn more about the source and treatment of your
drinking water. Ask to review the public water
system's compliance records; compare this infor-
mation with that obtained from the State.
~
°0 °0 a0 oO ao <0
ao 00 oO 00 00 "O ao
2—Public Water System Users

-------
Action Steps in the Home
1)	If you are concerned that your water may not meet
Federal or State health standards, you may wish to have
water from your own individual tap or faucet tested.
This step would be especially worthwhile for such
contaminants as lead, nitrates, and bacteria since these
substances can enter drinking water after it has left the
treatment plant.
Lead can get into drinking water following treatment
since it is present in many of the plumbing materials
that carry water to and within homes. Until a ban was
introduced on lead plumbing materials in 1986, pipes
and solder containing lead were often used in water
systems and homes.
Lead is a poison that can accumulate in the body and
cause brain, kidney, or nerve damage in addition to
anemia and even death. Lead is especially dangerous to
children and pregnant women. While lead exposure
through various media can happen, it hasbeen found to
occur in drinking water at sufficient levels to warrant
concern.
In addition to lead, nitrates can also enter water follow-
ing treatment. The presence of nitrates in water sug-
gests the possibility that human and/or animal wastes
or fertilizers used in agricultural or gardening activities
are entering the system. Faulty cross-connections with
wastewater piping are often the source of nitrate con-
tamination when itoccurs in treated water. Nitratesare
of special concern to young children and women of
child-bearing age. Excessive Ievelsof nitrates have been
linked to the occurrence of "Blue Baby" syndrome.
Bacteria can enter water following treatment in both the
distribu tion system and household plumbing networks.
Coliform bacteria are used as an indicator of the presence
of these organisms in water.
2)	Contact your public water system and describe any
problems or suspicions you may have about your wa-
ter. The system may, in turn, send an official to your
home to investigate and/or collect water samples for
analysis.
3)	Contact State and local drinking water officials for
information on water testing services. Some govern-
ment agencies provide such services to consumers free
of charge.
4)	Consult State-certified drinking water laboratories for
information on testing procedures and their costs. Lab
tests are generally substance-specific or specific to a
given class of contaminants. It is not likely that one test
will cover all contaminants of concern to a consumer at
any one time. Depending upon the sophistication of a
given sampling and testing procedure, the lab will
either collect the appropriate sample(s) or will provide
sampling equipment and instructions to the concerned
consumer. Be certain toshoparound among labs before
embarking upon testing; prices can be expensive and
are likely to vary from lab to lab.
5)	Regardless of how or by whom testing is conducted,
have test results explained by lab personnel or askState
or local drinking water officials for assistance. Concen-
trations of contaminants, if detected, for which testing
has been conducted will be listed on the test result
form. Results will be expressed in milligrams or micro-
grams per liter (parts per million and parts per billion,
respectively). Test results should be compared to rele-
vant Federal and State standards for the particular
contaminant(s) in question. Remember, a contaminant
may exist below some level in water at which it does not pose
a threat to human health, just because a substance is detected
through testing does not mean that the water from which the
sample was taken is harmful to health.
6)	If testing reveals concentrations of contaminants above
levels acceptable to human health, you may wish to
conduct additional tests. Ifrepeat testsalso show unac-
ceptable levels of a given contaminant, consult your
State drinking water office and your public water sys-
tem. An investigation may need to be initiated to find
the source of the contamination. If the problem is
caused by household plumbing, remediation could be
the responsibility of the homeowner. Public systems
are generally responsible for problems at the treatment
plant and in the distribution system.
7)	Installation of new plumbing materials or making
plumbing repairs represent two possible remedies if
contamination problems are occurring in the home.
Home treatment units also represent a means for reme-
diating some contamination problems. It is important to
keep in mind that no single household treatment unit will
remove all potential drinking water contaminants. Treat-
ment is very specific to the substanceis) of concern.
Public Water System Users—3

-------
Selected Sources of Information
•	State Drinking Water Office
•	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe
Drinking Water Hotline, 800/426-4791 or 202/382-5533.
•	Public Water System
For Information on Home Treatment Units,
Contact:
National Sanitation Foundation
P.O. Box 1468
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Water Quality Association
P.O. Box 606
Lisle, IL 60532
Applicable Reference Materials
•	Safety on Tap: A Citizen's Drinking Water Handbook.
Available from League of Women Voters, 1730 M
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202/429-1965.
Publication No. 840.
•	Drinking Water: A Community Action Guide. Available
from CONCERN, Inc., 1974 Columbia Road, NW,
Washington, DC 20009,202/328-8160.
•	Is Your Drinking Water Safe? Publication No. 570/9-
89-005. Available from EPA Safe Drinking Water
Hotline.
•	Lead and Your Drinking Water. Publication No. OPA-
87-006. Available from EPA Safe Drinking Water
Hotline.
4—Public Water System Users
	

-------