# Presentation: 853242

**S***afe*
**D***rinking*
**W***ater*
**A***ct*

**Marty Swickard**
**drinking water program**
**EPA Region 8**

- 25 years old in 1999

**Notes:**
Humor: We frequently hear “safe drinking act”.  As much as you might wish that to be true, it is really “Safe Drinking Water Act”.

The birthday cake is for the Act, not for me (not even close).  The Act was first passed in 1974 so it is 25 years old.

## SDWA -- Pre-History (b.s.)

- Late 1800’s	(just over 100 years ago) Modern				microbiology started.  We figured 				out that living things are made of 				cells,	that bacteria exist, and that 				some of them can make us sick ...
- 1914		US Public Health Service (PHS)				developed first national standards 				(for bacteriological quality); they 				applied to water moving in 					interstate commerce (trains)

**Notes:**
The US Public Health Service (PHS) is the primary federal public health agency and makes up much of the Department of Health and Human Services.  The US Public Health Service started with the establishment of the Marine Hospital Service (in the Treasury Department) in 1798 to treat sick and injured seamen in order to bolster the merchant marine that the Country depended on for trade and protection.  The Marine Hospital Service’s work grew in scope and importance in the life of Americans to meet the challenges of disease control and public health protection.  It established a bacteriological laboratory in 1887. In1912, Congress reorganized it as the US Public Health Service.  

## SDWA -- Pre-History (continued)

- 1930’s		Classical waterborne diseases 				(e.g.typhoid fever, amoebic 					dysentery, bacillary dysentery, 				cholera) are mostly controlled in 				the US through increased use of 				disinfectants, etc.
- 1940’s		The “chemical revolution” begins
- 1946		PHS standards also applied to 				planes and buses; they now 					included some chemical standards

## SDWA -- Pre-History (continued)

- 1962	--Last revisions to drinking water 				standards made by PHS.					--Emphasis was still on infectious 				disease though some chemicals were 			included
- 			--About 20 standards - some mandatory, 		some recommended						--Also recommended use of qualified			personnel, use of water from protected 			sources, control of pollution of sources, 			chlorination of water from sources not			adequately protected

**Notes:**
The PHS standards covered bacteriological quality, heavy metals, and common ions and were last revised by the PHS in 1962.  They formed the basis for the first regulations passed by EPA under the SDWA.

Even though the PHS standards were not enforceable at the federal level against water systems, most states had adopted them to some extent and had some degree of regulatory drinking water programs.

## SDWA -- History

- 1970	A study of community systems showed 		widespread problems with water quality		and health risks associated with 				deficiencies in facilities, O&M, etc.
- 1971	The first viruses are detected in _treated_			drinking water (2 systems in 				Massachusetts)
- 1974	The first asbestos is discovered in 			drinking water (Duluth, MN)

**Notes:**
About the time that interest in the environment took off and EPA was created, more and more contaminants were being identified in the waters of the US and in drinking water served to consumers.  Pesticides were a big issue.  It was also discovered that, where certain organic compounds are present, adding chlorine for disinfection leads to the formation of trihalomethanes, most notably chloroform, suspected of being carcinogenic.

The study in the early 1970’s was only of community systems (probably meaning municipal systems at that time).  The study found poor operating procedures, inadequate facilities, and poor management in water systems of all sizes although more so in the smaller systems.

## SDWA -- History

- 1974	EPA announced finding small				amounts of 66 organic chemicals,				some carcinogenic, in New Orleans			drinking water
**Dec. 1974   Congress enacted the SDWA**
- 1975	EPA confirmed that trihalomethanes			are formed when chlorine is added to 			water containing certain organics
**1986 & 1996****	****Congress passed major ****	****	****	****	****amendments to the SDWA**

## SDWA -- Major Provisions -- 1974

- The federal government (EPA) is to set standards for drinking water
- States are to assure compliance with and enforce the standards
- Water systems are responsible for the quality of water they serve (they are the regulated entities)
- Underground sources of drinking water are to be protected from contamination from injection wells (UIC program)

## SDWA -- Major Provisions -- 1986

- Required EPA to regulate 83 contaminants by 1989 (only about 22 had been regulated so far)
- Required EPA to regulate 25 new contaminants every 3 years
- Required EPA to set requirements for filtration and disinfection of water supplies
- Banned the use of lead pipes and solder
- Established the voluntary wellhead protection program

## SDWA -- Major Provisions -- 1996

- Eliminated the “25 new contaminants every 3 years” requirement
- Required EPA to conduct cost-benefit analysis in setting standards
- Expanded consumer information requirements
- Increased protection of source water
- Strengthened enforcement, including against Federal facilities

## SDWA -- EPA’s Rule-making Under the Act

- As required by the SDWA, EPA has *promulgated *regulations
-  to assure water systems serve safe water
-  to control underground injection wells
- The UIC rules can be found in the _Code of Federal Regulations_ at 40 CFR Parts 144 - 149 (more about these later in the training)

## SDWA -- EPA’s Rule-making (cont.)

- Regulations on water systems can be found in the _Code of Federal Regulations_ at 40 CFR Parts 141, 142, and 143

## SDWA -- EPA’s Rule-making (cont.)

**Part 141** is the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) that water systems must comply with.
- These protect human health,
- Are enforceable
- Contain the MCLs and requirements for monitoring and treatment, etc.

## SDWA -- EPA’s Rule-making (cont.)

**Part 142** covers how the States, Tribes, and EPA implement the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) program.
- Provides for delegation to states or tribes with oversight by EPA
- Provides rules for federally-issued variances or exemptions
- Provides for federal enforcement

## SDWA -- EPA’s Rule-making (cont.)

**Part 143** is the National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations (NSDWRs)
- It contains Secondary MCLs (SMCLs)
- These are recommended standards that relate to the acceptability of drinking water to consumers
- These are not enforceable (except for the public notice required for exceedance of the fluoride SMCL)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Public Water System (PWS)** -- a _system_ for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances,
- if such system has at least _fifteen service connections_ or regularly serves *an average of* at least _twenty-five individuals_
_*daily*_* at least *_*60 days out of the year*_
- (SDWA Sec. 1401(4), 40 CFR 141.2)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Community Water System (CWS)** -- a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round _residents_ or regularly serves at least 25 year-round _residents_.
- Serves people where they live.
- Exposure to contaminants could be lifetime.
- (SDWA Sec. 1401(15), 40 CFR 141.2)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Noncommunity Water System (NCWS)** -- a public water system that is not a community water system.
- There are two types of non-community systems (based on the length of exposure of the consumers to the water): transient and non-transient.
- (SDWA Sec. 1401(16), 40 CFR 141.2)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Non-transient Noncommunity Water System (NTNCWS)** -- a public water system that is not a community water system but that regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons over 6 months of the year.
- e.g., schools or businesses with their own water system
- Exposure to contaminants could be similar to that for community water systems.									(40 CFR 141.2)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Transient Noncommunity Water System (TNCWS) --** a noncommunity water system that _does not_ regularly serve at least 25 of the same individuals at least 6 months per year.
- e.g., rest areas, campgrounds, truck stops, visitor centers with their own water system
- Individual exposure to the water is very short-term. 				(40 CFR 141.2)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**MCLG and MCL (& TT)**
** ****Maximum Contaminant Level Goal****	****	****(MCLG) --** maximum level of a contaminant at which no known or anticipated adverse health effects occur with an adequate margin of safety
- 			       (SDWA Sec. 1412(b)(4)(A); 40 CFR 141.2)
- These are non-enforceable goals based on health effects only.

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

** ****Maximum Contaminant Level Goal **-- **(MCLG) (continued)**
- The MCLG for carcinogens is “0” (we don’t know of a threshold below which there is no effect).
- Must be published for each contaminant for which an MCL or treatment technique is set.

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) **--maximum permissible level of a contaminant which is delivered to any user of a public water system.					      (SDWA Sec. 1401(3) & 1412(b)(4)(B)&(D);	         40 CFR 141.2)
- Enforceable standard.

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) (cont.)**
- Set as close to the MCLG as is “feasible”.
- Feasible means feasible with the use of the best technology, treatment techniques and other means which EPA finds, after examination for efficacy under field conditions and not solely under laboratory conditions, are available, taking costs into consideration.

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Treatment Technique Requirement** **(TT) **-- If the level of a contaminant in drinking water is too hard or too expensive to test for, EPA may set a treatment technique requirement in lieu of an MCL
- e.g., the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR)

## SDWA / NPDWRs -- Basic Concepts (cont.)

**Treatment Technique Requirement** (cont.)
- Enforceable requirement
- Must be treatment techniques which, in EPA’s judgment, would prevent known or anticipated adverse effects on the health of persons to the extent feasible.
-  (SDWA Sec. 1401(1)(C)(ii) & 1412(b)(7))