UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WSG8A
Date Signed: December 8, 1976
Revised: November 1998
Revised by: Wendy Warren
MEMORANDUM
TO: Joseph Hugo
Environmental Engineer
Office of Water Supply (WH-550)
FROM: Thomas A. Larsen (signed by T.A.L.)
Attorney-Advi sor
Office of General Counsel (A-131)
Matt O'Meara
Legal Clerk
Office of Water Supply (WH-550)
SUBJECT: Application of the Safe Drinking Water Act to Persons
Adding Corrosion-Reducing Chemicals to Drinking Water
Region IV has requested an interpretation as to whether persons1 that add compounds such
as sodium silicate to drinking water supplies to reduce corrosion should be designated as "suppliers
of water" for purposes of regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Under the Act, a "supplier of water" is "any person who owns or operates a public water
system."2
A "public water system" is defined as:
...a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes
or
other
constru
cted
convey
ances,
if such
1 Under the SDWA: "The term 'person' means an individual, corporation, company,
association, partnership, states or municipality." Section 1401(12).
2 SDWA, Section 1401(5)
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system
has at
least
fifteen
service
connec
tions or
regular
iy3
serves
at least
twent
y-five
Individ
uals
daily at
least
60
days
out of
the
year.4
Under Section 1411 of the Act, each such public water system is subject to regulation under the
SDWA, unless it is a system which:
(1) consists only of distribution and storage facilities (and does not have any collection and
treatment facilities).
(2) obtains all of its water from, but is not owned or operated by, a public water system to
which such regulations apply;
(3) does not sell water to any person; and
3 The regulations under the SDWA explain the term "regular" by stating that a public
water system must have at least fifteen service connections or regularly serve an average of
twenty-five individuals daily at least sixty days out of the year. 40 CFR 35.603(c), 41 F.R.
2913, Jan. 20, 1976.
4 National Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NIPDWR), Section 141.2(e),
(December 24, 1975).
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(4) is not a carrier which conveys passengers in interstate commerce, (emphasis added).5
Assuming that a system obtains its water from a public water system; does not sell water
and is not an interstate carrier, the critical issue is whether the on-site introduction of corrosion-
reducing substances into drinking water supplies constitutes "treatment facilities" within the
intended meaning of the SDWA.
The standard dictionary definition of "to treat" is "to subject to some agent or action to
bring about a particular result." Water can be "treated" with a chemical agent, such as sodium
silicate, in order to bring about a reduction in corrosion. The addition of such a substance
necessarily changes the chemical composition of the water into which it is added. As such, the
addition of chemicals into drinking water to reduce corrosion should be considered "treatment"
within the meaning of the SDWA, Section 141 l(a). The legislative history of Section 1411 makes
it clear, moreover, that Congress only intended to exempt those public water systems, such as
hotels or trailer parks, which "merely store and distribute water."6
Thus, when the operator of a public water system treats drinking water to reduce corrosion,
and does not merely store and distribute it, the Section 1411 exemption is not intended to apply.
Furthermore, the standard dictionary definition of a "facility" is "something designed to
serve a specific function." Presumably, the on-site addition of corrosion-reducing chemicals into a
water supply requires devices, holding tanks, or units to regulate the mixture. Therefore, the
addition of corrosion-reducing substances into water supplies presumably requires "treatment
facilities" within the meaning of the SDWA.
Generally, the term "treatment facilities" should be interpreted broadly. Otherwise, the
unregulated proliferation of individual on-site chemical treatment of drinking water supplied by
public water systems could seriously interfere with efficient regulation of the quality of drinking
water, contrary to the purpose of the SDWA to regulate all public water systems "to protect health
to the maximum extent feasible."7
SUMMARY
Thus, for example, a hotel which serves at least twenty-five individuals, and which adds a
corrosion-reducing chemical, or any chemical, to its drinking water supply, is a public water
system which is not exempt from regulation under the SDWA.
5 SDWA, Section 1411, see House Report No. 93-1185, pp. 16-17.
6 House Report No. 93-1185, p. 17 (emphasis added).
7 House Report No. 93-1185, p. 1.
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