EPA 812-R-97-001

January 1997

Office of Water

(4101)

United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Drinking Water

Infrastructure Needs Survey

First Report to Congress

Printed on recycled paper
Cincinnati's surface water treatment plant was upgraded in 1995 to include deep bed

carbon filtration. This process removes organic contaminants found in Cincinnati's

source, the Ohio River. The treatment plant (1) and untreated water storage (2) are

shown in the foreground. The intake (3) is shown on the opposite bank of the river.

The city and elevated finished-water storage tanks can be seen in the background.

1

3

2

Jim Walasek
Drinking Water

Infrastructure Needs Survey

First Report to Congress

January 1997

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Water

Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

Implementation and Assistance Division (4101)

Washington, D.C. 20460
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Contents

Executive Summary ix

iii

Overview 1

What the Survey Covers 1

How the Survey Was Conducted 3

Findings 7

Need for Compliance 7

Total 20-Year Need 8

Total Need by Category 10

Need by System Size 16

Need by Safe Drinking Water Act Regulation 21

Need for American Indian and Alaska Native Water Systems 27

Non-Community Water Systems 34

Separate State Estimates 35

Need for Households Not Served by Community Water Systems 37

Appendices

Appendix A — Methodology

Appendix B — Summary of Findings

Appendix C — Future Regulations Not Included in the Total Need

Appendix D — Separate State Estimates

Appendix E — Glossary

Exhibits

Executive Summary

ES-1 Total 20-Year Need by System Size x

ES-2 Total 20-Year Need by Category xi

ES-3 Average 20-Year Per-Household Need xii

v

Findings

2 Total 20-Year Need 8

3 Overview of Need by State 9

4 Average 20-Year Per-Household Need 16

5 Overview of Need by System Size 18

6 Current Safe Drinking Water Act Need 21

7 Future Safe Drinking Water Act Need 24

8 Estimated Need for Future Regulations Not

Included in the Total Need 25

9 Location of American Indian Tribal Lands

and Alaska Native Water Systems 33

Appendices

A-1 Approach to Statistical Survey in the States A-1

B-1 Total Need by Category B-3

B-2 Current Need by Category B-5

B-3 Total Need by System Size B-7

B-4 Current Safe Drinking Water Act Need B-9

B-5 Total SDWA and SDWA-Related Need B-10

B-6 Total Need for American Indian and Alaska Native

Water Systems by EPA Region B-13

B-7 Need by Category for American Indian and Alaska

Native Water Systems B-15

B-8 Total SDWA and SDWA-Related Need for American

Indian and Alaska Native Water Systems B-17

C-1 Estimated Need for Future Regulations Not Included

in the Total Need C-1

D-1 Separate State Estimates D-1

Overview

1 Small Drinking Water Systems in the Needs Survey Sample 5
Carl Ambrose, New York City DEP

New York City's recently completed Van Cortlandt Park valve chamber

regulates the flow of water into the city. The chamber houses 34 valves with a

total capacity of over 1 billion gallons per day.
* EPA thanks individuals who participated in the pilot test conducted to ensure that this survey could be implemented as planned.

† EPA thanks individuals who provided information on the cost of infrastructure for smaller water systems.

Cindy Thomas–Alaska Native Health Board

Stephen S. Aoyama, Richard Barror, Tom Coolidge, Karl

Powers, Dan Schubert–Indian Health Service

Thomas E. Crawford–Native American Water Association

Yolanda Barney, Max Bighorse, Delfred Gene, Lorenda

Joe–Navajo Nation EPA

David Saddler–Tohono O'Odham Utility Authority

Bernard Gajewski–Village Safe Water, ADEC

Jerome J. Healey, Robert M. Mendoza–EPA Region 1

Deborah Ducoff-Barone–Connecticut

David DiProfio–Maine

Jack Hamm–Massachusetts

Robert W. Haviland–Rhode Island

Richard Skarinka–New Hampshire

Howard Reeves–Vermont

R. K. Narang–EPA Region 2

Philip Royer–New Jersey

Laurence Keefe, Stephen S. Marshall–New York*

Frank Rivera Quintana, Oneida Santiago–Puerto Rico

David Rosoff–Virgin Islands

Don Niehus–EPA Region 3

Edward Hallock–Delaware

George Rizzo–District of Columbia

Saied Kasraei–Maryland

Renée Bartholemew, Thomas Franklin–Pennsylvania†

Thomas Gray–Virginia

Paul Daniels–West Virginia

David Parker–EPA Region 4

James Arnold–Alabama

John R. Sowerby–Florida

Onder E. Serefli–Georgia

Donald Moccia–Kentucky

Keith Allen–Mississippi

Sidney L. Harrell–North Carolina

Rose R. Stancil–South Carolina

Khaldoun Kailani–Tennessee

Kristine L. Werbach–EPA Region 5

Charles R. Bell–Illinois

Lance O. Mabry–Indiana

Donald J. Greiner, Frederick R. Scarcella–Michigan

Karla R. Peterson–Minnesota

Habib Kaake–Ohio

Terri S. Lloyd–Wisconsin†

Mark McCasland, David Reazin–EPA Region 6

Craig Corder–Arkansas

T. Jay Ray–Louisiana

David Gallegos–New Mexico

Jack Pipkin–Oklahoma

Bill Allen, Wayne Wiley, Cynthia A. Yates–Texas*

Kelly Beard-Tittone–EPA Region 7

Roy G. Ney–Iowa

A. Samuel Sunderraj–Kansas

Ronald G. Burgess–Missouri

Steven Rowell–Nebraska

Dale Murphy–EPA Region 8

John Payne–Colorado

Linda Hills–Montana

Charles A. Abel–North Dakota

Garland Erbele, James L. Wendte–South Dakota

Russ Topham–Utah

Maureen Doughtie–Wyoming

José T. Caratini–EPA Region 9

James A. Maston–Arizona

Karol Enferadi–California

William Wong–Hawaii

Joe Pollock–Nevada

Su Cox–Pacific Islands

Gerald Opatz–EPA Region 10

James R. Weise–Alaska

Alan Stanford–Idaho

Dave Phelps–Oregon

David Monthie–Washington*

EPA Office of Water

Clive Davies–Needs Survey Coordinator

Connie Bosma–Regulatory Implementation Branch Chief

Prime Contractor–The Cadmus Group, Inc.

Ralph T. Jones–Program Manager

Patricia Carroll Hertzler–Project Manager

Dan L. Fraser–Small System Site Visits

Special thanks to Michelle L. Young, Donna G. Jensen,

Amy M. Blessinger, Elizabeth A. Holland, Robert W.

Hughes, Ian P. Kline, and Sheila H. Potter

Acknowledgments

Many dedicated individuals contributed to the Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey. We would like to thank the American Indian,

Alaska Native, State, and EPA Needs Survey Coordinators for their active support and continuing interest in the survey. Not listed are the

operators and managers of the approximately 4,000 water systems that spent their valuable time searching through their records and

completing the questionnaires we sent to them. We thank them for their assistance.