Ensuring the Safety of the Nation's Drinking Water

What Needs to Be Done | Key Reports

In general, states are responsible for overseeing drinking water facilities and enforcing the Safe Drinking Water Act; EPA is responsible for overseeing states’ implementation of the act.
EPA faces challenges in overseeing the states’ and drinking water facilities’ implementation of drinking water standards, such as the lead standard under its lead and copper rule.
Communities and Public Water Utilities are increasingly voicing concerns over the financial burden imposed by federal water requirements.
Federal revolving funds for water utilities are insufficient to cover the utilities’ infrastructure costs.
States have also asked that funding eligibilities be defined in a way that meets their own needs in addressing impaired waters, watershed protection, and other Clean Water Act goals.
Congress appropriated more than $140 million to help drinking water utilities in assessing their vulnerabilities to terrorist threats and to develop response plans. Utilities are now interested in additional funding, not only to support planning of security initiatives but also for their implementation.
GAO's work showed that physical and technological security-enhancing initiatives such as near-real-time monitoring systems are widely supported by experts. In April 2008, EPA invested $12 million to begin piloting a drinking water contamination warning system, with water quality monitoring, in New York City. Evaluating whether the system offers a cost-effective and sustainable drinking water contamination warning system will be an important next step in the project known as the Water Security Initiative.
GAO has reported on the importance of comprehensive asset management at water facilities as a way to minimize the designing, operating, and maintaining facilities over their useful lives while achieving desired levels of service.

Figure 5: The Importance of Safe Drinking Water From All Sources
Glass of Water

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

EPA needs to improve its oversight of states’ implementation and enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Highlights of GAO-06-148 (PDF)
EPA needs to take a number of steps to further protect the American public from elevated lead levels in drinking water, such as ensuring that data on water systems’ test results, corrective action milestones, and violations are current and accurate, and assessing the adequacy of EPA and state enforcement efforts.
Highlights of GAO-06-148 (PDF)
EPA needs to expand ongoing efforts to improve implementation and oversight of the lead rule.
Highlights of GAO-06-148 (PDF)
EPA should take steps to strengthen the agency’s existing initiatives on asset management and ensure that relevant information is accessible to those who need it, given the potential of comprehensive asset management to help water utilities better identify and manage their infrastructure needs and resources.
Highlights of GAO-04-461 (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

Drinking Water: The District of Columbia and Communities Nationwide Face Serious Challenges in Their Efforts to Safeguard Water Supplies: GAO-08-687T, April 15, 2008; Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 18 pages) Accessible Text

Drinking Water: EPA Should Strengthen Ongoing Efforts to Ensure That Consumers Are Protected from Lead Contamination: GAO-06-148, January 4, 2006; Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 81 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)

Federal Water Requirements: Challenges to Estimating the Cost Impact on Local Communities: GAO-06-151R, November 30, 2005; Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 41 pages) Accessible Text

District of Columbia's Drinking Water: Agencies Have Improved Coordination, but Key Challenges Remain in Protecting the Public from Elevated Lead Levels: GAO-05-344, March 31, 2005; Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 40 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)