E

PA estimates that approximately 16 million households

obtain their drinking water from

sources other than public water systems.

Of these households, nearly 15 million are

served by private drilled or dug wells,

while 1 million use untreated surface

water such as lakes, rivers, and springs.

The adequacy of these supplies in terms

of quality and quantity cannot be comprehensively assessed on a national or even

individual State level due to a lack of data.

This owes largely to the fact that most

private supplies are not subject to the

same rigorous federal or state monitoring

requirements as public water systems.

In addition, an unknown number of people

live in homes without running water. This

population faces an increased risk of

waterborne diseases and related illnesses, because a safe supply of running

water is essential to basic sanitation.

Needs Included in the Survey. For

households without access to safe drinking water, two DWSRF-eligible options

are available for addressing the problem.

An existing public water system can

extend service to these households or a

new public water system can be constructed to provide drinking water.

Although systems had the opportunity to

identify these DWSRF-eligible needs, the

survey likely underestimates the true

needs for households without access to

safe drinking water. The lack of comprehensive data on the water quality at

private wells obscures the extent of the

problem for many water systems and

States. Thus, respondents may have

overlooked these needs for lack of public

health data. Also, in responding to the

survey, most water systems concentrated

their efforts on identifying projects for their

current, rather than potential, customers.

Therefore, the survey estimate of $6.0

billion to extend service to homes without

safe drinking water understates the true

need.

Private Wells. A lack of monitoring data

prevents a comprehensive assessment of

the quality of water supplied by private

wells. Although EPA believes that most of

the households served by private wells

likely receive safe drinking water, several

studies have found that contamination

rates in some areas are very high.

HOUSEHOLDS NOT SERVED BY

PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS

Pipe is installed to provide safe drinking water to homes in Rensselaer

County, New York, that had previously used untreated water from a

transmission line. The DWSRF contributed $4.9 million in funding assistance

to this project.

New York State Department of Health
Page 54 1999 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey

The proximity of this

small ground water

system to a gasoline

station provides an

example of a poorly sited

well. Spills or leakage

from underground

gasoline storage tanks

could contaminate the

ground water.Wells

such as this one should

be replaced by new wells

that are drilled away

from potential sources of

contamination or,

alternatively, the source

of contamination should

be eliminated.

• Based on data from six states, a

1997 General Accounting Office

study reported bacterial and nitrate

contamination as high as 42 and 18

percent, respectively, of the private

wells tested.1

• A 1995 Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention report found that

total coliform bacteria exceeded the

health-based standard in 46, 37,

and 23 percent of the private wells

tested in Illinois, Nebraska, and

Wisconsin, respectively. The study

also detected nitrate concentrations

above the standard in 15, 15, and 7

percent of the wells sampled in

these states, respectively.2

• Although data on pesticides, heavy

metals, and volatile organic compounds are extremely limited, one

study found that lead exceeded 15

ppb (an action level for public water

systems) in 19 percent of the wells

tested in Pennsylvania.3

Improper siting and construction is one of

the main causes of contamination in older

private wells. Because of land availability

constraints, a lack of understanding of

health implications, and a desire to

minimize cost, some older private wells

are located too close to septic systems or

other potential sources of contamination.

The length of the well casing also influences the susceptibility of wells to microbial contamination, with the probability of

contamination increasing as casing length

decreases.4 Although all States now have

well construction standards, an unknown

number of private wells were constructed

before these standards were established.

Hauled Water and Untreated Surface

Water Sources. More than 1 million

households obtain water directly from

cisterns, springs, rivers, and lakes. Drinking water from untreated surface sources

is often stored in barrels or cisterns which

are susceptible to microbiological contamination. Census data show that 2

percent of American Indian households

on federally recognized Tribal lands and

20 percent of mainland Alaska Native

Village households obtain their water from

untreated surface sources.

1 Well, Well, Well Water. 1997. Environmental Health

Perspectives 105(12):1290-1292.

2 Center for Disease Control and Prevention, et.al. A

Survey of the Presence of Contaminants in Water in

Private Wells in Nine Midwestern States. Report in Draft.

3 Swistock, B.R., W.E. Sharpe, and P.D. Robillard. A

Survey of Lead, Nitrate and Radon Contamination of

Private Individual Water Systems in Pennsylvania. 1993.

Journal of Environmental Health 55(5):6-12.

4Tuthill A., D.B. Meikle, M. C.R. Alavanja. 1998.

Coliform Bacteria and Nitrate Contamination of Wells in

Major Soils of Frederick, Maryland. Journal of Environmental Health 60(8):16-20.

U.S. EPA
1999 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey Page 55

Colonias and Washeterias. A significant

number of consumers commonly use

untreated sources of water or water

hauled from unsanitary sources in areas

called colonias along the Texas-Mexico

border and in Alaska Native communities.

Colonias—Nearly 400,000 people

live in communities, known as

colonias, which extend along the

border with Mexico. These communities have the largest concentration

of people living without basic services in the nation. Most colonias do

not have a safe supply of running

water. Therefore, people must haul

water from central watering points or

untreated sources such as irrigation

canals. The lack of water service to

homes in colonias tends to limit

hand-washing and bathing. Consequently, these households face an

increased risk from communicable

diseases including Hepatitis A,

shigellosis, and Impetigo.

The Needs Survey includes the

capital needs of colonias only to the

extent that States have identified the

water systems serving these communities. The survey likely underestimates the needs of colonias, as

most States have yet to locate all of

these systems for inclusion in their

inventory.

Washeterias Serving Alaska

Native Communities—Approximately 30,000 Alaskans, or 30

percent of the population, live in

rural communities without adequate

water and sewer facilities. The only

drinking water available to many

Alaska Natives is from the community washeteria, particularly during

cold weather when snow and ice

make alternative sources of water

inaccessible. A washeteria is a

single building with showers, toilets,

and washing machines. The

washeteria often doubles as a water

treatment plant with heated water

storage. Residents haul drinking

water, usually by walking along a

boardwalk, from a watering point at

the washeteria. In most cases, the

access boardwalk is also used to

haul sewage to disposal sites. As

sewage spills are not uncommon,

there is a high risk of contaminating

the drinking water. Other sources of

water include rain, melting snow,

rivers, lakes, individual wells, and

individual storage tanks. In addition,

container vehicles are used to

transport water to, and sewage

from, these communities.

The City of El Paso, Texas, received a $15 million loan from the Texas DWSRF

program to expand the capacity of the Jonathan Rogers Treatment Plant. This

project will provide water to colonias that lack access to safe drinking water.

Texas Water Development Board
Workers retrieve a tunnel boring machine (TBM) used to excavate an underground

passage for a transmission line. TBMs allow water systems to bore through rock at

rates faster than conventional drilling and blasting methods. By avoiding the need to

tear up streets and set underground explosives, TBMs also minimize traffic disruption

and noise for the surrounding areas.

Kimberlie Staheli, Bennett Staheli, Engineers