This document is out of print. Senate Bill 1 enabled the agency to enact rules and policies that promote consolidation of regional or areawide systems while discouraging the creation of smaller water systems that are more likely to suffer from financial, technical, and management problems. Experience shows that consolidation usually provides higher quality drinking water, and in some cases, lowers costs for Texas communities. Texas Water Exceeds Standards More than 97 percent of Texans served by public water systems are receiving water that meets or exceeds federal standards.
Local systems continue to improve.
Bacteriological and treatment violations for drinking water have decreased from 401 bacteriological violations found at 345 drinking water systems in 1994 to 250 violations in 225 drinking water systems in FY 1998. Statistics on statewide compliance with standards for chemicals in drinking water are likewise encouraging. Inspectors found 183 violations of the primary organic and inorganic levels at 140 relatively small drinking water systems in FY 1998. Most of the chemical violations statewide were due to high fluoride and nitrate-nitrogen levels that occur naturally in groundwater. In FY 1996, there were 185 violations in 164 drinking water systems.