Drinking Water

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA)

two fundamental statutes that form the backbone of water protection in the United States

Clean Water Act

addresses pollution in US water sources

Safe Drinking Water Act

Sets protective standards for drinking water

Some of the SDWA’s requirements identify potential threats to drinking water, providing information that can be used to implement protection measures under the CWA

Pollutants

drinking water sources, including surface water and groundwater, can be poluted through various natural processes and human activities

debris, bacteria, viruses, radionuclides, and dissolved chemicals that can make the water unsafe for human consumption without treatmen

How does your water system work?

Approximately 90% of the population gets drinking water from a public water system

1. Water sources - the source of the water flowing from your tap may be hundreds, even thousands of miles away. Most PWSs use surface water

2. Water treatment - the PWS treats the source water

3. Water storage and distribution - the PWS may store the water in holding tanks. Eventually, the water is pumped and distributed to communities through water mains

Drinking water standards are regulations and guidelines that provide safety thresholds for different pollutants in public drinking water

Standards are created to:

Protect public health

Ensure that drinking water has acceptable taste, smell, and color - aesthetics

The United States Congress enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1974, later amending and reauthorizing it in 1986 and 1996

SDWA is the primary federal law that ensures the quality of America’s drinking water

Authorizes EPA to set national standards for drinking water to protect against health effects from exposure to naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants

EPA works with states, localities, and water suppliers who carry out these

Drinking water standards only apply to public water systems

Drinking water standards only apply to public water systems

True

Public vs. Private Water Systems

National and state drinking water standards only apply to public water systems

A public water system has at least 15 service connections and provides water for human consumption to a minimum of 25 people for at least 60 days a year

Public water systems are sometimes referred to as city water, although they may be publicly or privately owned and managed

Because they are regulated, public water systems must:

monitor their drinking water sources

treat the water to remove any pollutants

distribute the treated water to consumers through a series of underground pipes or service connections

Water reaching a customer’s tap must meet all national and state drinking water standards

Primacy - the EPA delegates the authority to enforce SDWA regulations to state regulatory agencies

In PA, the primacy agency is the Department of Environmental Protection. PA has its own SDWA, which closely follows federal SDWA

Types of Public Water Systems

Community water systems - provide water to the same population year-round

Non-transient non-community water systems - provide water to the same people at least six months a year, but not all year - schools and businesses

Transient non-community water systems - provide water to areas where people don’t stay for very long

Private water systems

are not regulated under the SDWA because they serve fewer than 25 people or have fewer than 15 service connections

they commonly serve single residential units in communities that are located outside the public water system service areas

because private water systems are not regulated, the owner or user is voluntarily responsible for protecting the water source to prevent pollution, testing water quality, and implementing treatment to improve water quality

although not required to, private water system users are encouraged to ensure that their water quality meets national and state drinking water standards to protect their health

Pennsylvania has the 2nd largest number of private water wells in the US

PA has more than one million private water wells supplying water to more than 3 million rural residents

Commercially Bottled Water

Commercially bottled water is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Bottled water can be sourced from public water systems or groundwater sources such as wells and springs

FDA regulations set guidelines on the quality of the water and requirements for labeling and manufacturing practices

Bottled water quality standards generally follow the same drinking water standards used by the EPA for public water supplies

However, water testing and reporting requirements are less frequent and less transparent than public tap water

Understanding how EPA develops a New Drinking Water Regulation

Step 1: identification

Step 2: evaluation

Step 3: regulatio

Understanding how EPA develops new drinking water regulations

EPA works to ensure that drinking water is safe by developing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

Step 1

Identification

Identify unregulated contaminants, publish them, and prioritize them

Step 2

Evaluation

EPA makes a decision on whether they should start the rulemaking process to develop a national primary drinking water regulation for a contaminant based on health risk, high occurrence, and reduction of risk

Step 3

Regulation

Taking steps to control the contaminant

State of Drinking Water in the US

The problem of water hardship in the United States is hidden, but not rare

From 2014 to 2018, only an estimated 0.41% of occupied US households lacked access to complete plumbing

489,836 households lacked access to complete plumbing

Any policy put in place must be enforceable and strong

As it currently stands, counties with elevated levels of incomplete plumbing and poor water quality in America tend to be less educated, older, and poorer

There are two categories of drinking water standards

1. National primary drinking water standards (NPDWR) - legally enforceable standards that apply to public water systems

Most contaminants with primary standards have maximum contaminant levels (MCL)

MCLs are the highest concentration of contaminants allowed in drinking water delivered to a consumer

If more than 10% of tap water samples exceed the 15 ug/L action level for lead, the utilitiz has to take action such as replacing some lead service lines and take additional steps to control the corrosivity of water

2. National secondary drinking water regulation - non enforceable guidelines or recommendations for pollutants that can negatively affect the aesthetic characteristics of drinking water

Although they do not pose health concerns, these contaminants can result in a metallic or salty taste in water or discolor water fixtures

Because drinking water can be vulnerable to contamination, public water systems use a multi-barrier approach to protect public health

1. Source water protection - utilities monitor their drinking water sources to assess the risk of contamination and also know water quality conditions

2. Water treatment - multiple treatment processes that are designed to remove or inactivate contaminants present in source water

3. Monitoring and compliance - regularly conduct water quality monitoring from the source, collect data on contaminants present and performance of treatment systems

4. Consumer awareness - community water systems are required to provide customers with a water quality report called a consumer confidence report (CCR) at least annually, share water quality with customers