The Safe Drinking Water Act

Abstract

Drinking water is one of the few essential requirements for life. Throughout history, human settlements have been built with ready access to sources of safe drinking water. Without this, no population can long remain in place, and it has always been so. The basic task of providing safe water comprises three distinct challenges. A safe source must be identified, the source must be free from contamination (whether through source protection or treatment), and the water must be moved safely to the final point of consumption. To protect the population from waterborne diseases, every one of these tasks must be effectively managed, and each presents its own set of quite difficult technical, policy, and legal challenges. This article focuses on EPA’s implementation of the federal legislation in this domain – The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (SDWA).