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Early in the twentieth century, contamination of the water supply and outbreaks of disease led to questions
about how we purify our water and how we protect our drinking water supplies. The Public Health Service Act of 1912 set guidelines for allowable levels of contaminants related to communicable
diseases such as typhoid. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 created national drinking water standards to limit a range of substances that can adversely affect human health. These
maximum-contaminant levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are based on the health effects of a single contaminant. They do not consider the cumulative impact of a
combination of contaminants on human health, because little is known about possible synergistic effects.*
The 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act accelerated the EPA's schedule for bringing contaminants
under regulation and expanded the number of contaminants covered. It also banned all future use of lead pipes and lead solder in public drinking water systems, increased fines and
enforcement, and mandated greater protection of drinking water obtained from groundwater through the establishment of a well-head protection program.*
In 1993, the largest outbreak of waterborne disease in modern U.S. history occurred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
when the pathogen cryptosporidium infiltrated the water supply system following heavy rains. Over 4,000 people were hospitalized with the gastrointestinal disease cryptosporidiosis, and more
than 50 deaths were attributed to the outbreak.*
In 1996, Congress passed additional amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. These amendments provide an
increased emphasis on protecting local sources of drinking water by requiring a source water assessment program to identify potential contaminants of all major water sources. In addition, the
amendments require that consumers receive more information about the quality of the water they drink and what is being done to protect it. These "right-to-know" provisions will lead to
fundamental changes in the way drinking water systems must inform their customers. For example, water systems now must inform their customers within 24 hours of exceeding EPA standards that
"have the potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure." This announcement must be made through local media and include information about
whether customers should seek an alternative source, what the possible health effects are, and what is being done to correct the problem. Customers must also be notified of other violations
of less-immediate concern through water bills, annual reports, or separate mailings.*
In addition, starting in 1999, all community water systems had to begin mailing annual "consumer confidence
reports" to their customers. In 2000, 84 percent of community water systems in the U.S. compliaed with the Consumer Confidence Report Rule.* The reports identify contaminants found in the water and discuss violations and health effects, as well as potential sources of pollution. Finally, the EPA has been updating its present database on drinking water quality—which is incomplete and difficult to access—with a new national database accessible via the Internet.* Finally, the water act provides over $9.6 billion over six years for improving drinking water infrastructure through state revolving fund programs. Through the first four years, over $4.4 billion were appropriated.*
Though these laws have enhanced the safety of the public water supply, they have been a major expense for
public water systems, especially systems serving smaller populations. The EPA estimated that it costs $24 billion per year for 200,000 systems across the country to monitor the regulated
contaminants. Monitoring for 30 to 35 as-yet-unregulated contaminants in anticipation of future regulations would cost these public water systems an additional $89 billion per year.*
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