Celebrating the Shared Evolution of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Partnership Programs

Abstract

While water professionals celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 2024, this year also marks the Partnership for Safe Water's 29‐year milestone of supporting advances in water utility optimization. Although the Partnership was established 21 years after SDWA, their histories are inextricably linked. A program originally formed as a voluntary way to encourage utilities to go beyond the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) requirements of the time has evolved to keep pace with an increasingly complex regulatory environment and an ever‐increasing body of water science knowledge.