In the two years following the l996 amendments, EPA reports significant progress in implementing many of the new provisions. The l996 compliance data in the report measure compliance during the period before the amendments were effective. Of the large community water systems, which serve the majority of the nation's population, nine percent violated health or treatment technique standards. Failure by public water systems to monitor is an important violation because it can mask public health problems. The report also contains data provided by each individual state on its compliance.
Reliable data are critical to measure progress against the nation's drinking water goals.
The l996 Amendments recognized the need for better data in l999. EPA, along with its state and local partners, is initiating several steps to improve the quality of drinking water data to ensure that it will be of higher quality and increased reliability in the future. Under one of the most significant provisions of the new amendments, a new loan fund provides funding, for the first time, to enable states to help water systems upgrade their infrastructure to help solve compliance and public health problems. Compliance with public health standards is especially challenging for smaller water systems that serve less than 10,000 people, because of their size and limited resources. EPA recently published guidance and information to help states create a program to ensure that small water systems have the technical, financial, and managerial capacity to provide water that meets federal health standards.