Drinking Water Protection Act

Lead, arsenic and E. coli are deadly in large doses, but people ingest them in minute amounts every day. Lead, for example, can seep into a house's drinking water from corroding pipes. At high enough levels, the lead could cause potentially fatal brain damage, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To protect people from high levels of contaminants, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, amending it in 1986 and 1996.

Provisions

• The Safe Drinking Water Act sets national contamination-level standards by which all public water systems in the U.S.---approximately 170,000---must abide. States are primarily responsible for assessing all drink water sources within their borders and correcting any problems.

  The EPA also requires states to provide the public with annual reports regarding water sources' contamination levels and all possible health effects. However, the federal government finances states through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund---which totaled almost $1.4 billion in 2010---to make any needed repairs or upgrades to water equipment.

Prohibitions

• The Safe Drinking Water Act amendment in 1986 added, among other things, restrictions on lead. The act prohibits installing or using pipes, plumbing fixtures, solder or flux if it has lead and is intended as a public or residential water system. There is an exemption for lead joints needed to repair cast iron pipes.

  The 1996 amendment established that it was unlawful to install in a commercial business any type of lead pipe, plumbing fitting or fixture. The metal is still allowed in manufacturing or industrial processing, but the amendment also bans selling or using solder or flux with lead for plumbing work.

Contaminants

• The EPA has a list of close to 100 contaminants that the federal agency requires states to monitor. The Safe Drinking Water Act establishes six subgroups of contaminants: microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides. The act outlines the amount of the contaminants that are allowed per milligram of water, the potential health risks of overexposure and the source of the contaminants.

Penalties

• If a state department does not follow the guidelines the EPA establishes in the Safe Drinking Water Act, the federal agency can intervene by issuing an order. States have 30 days to comply with the order. If they don't, the EPA can seek legal action through a U.S. district court. The court can then order the states to fix any problems with water contamination and fine them up to $25,000.

  There are also penalties specific to certain violations. For example, if a state fails to enforce the ban on laying lead piping, the EPA can withhold up to 5 percent of federal grant money from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

History

• The Safe Drinking Water Act began in 1974 after a series of news stories questioning the quality of drinking water in the U.S. The government responded by testing 80 water systems around the U.S., after which time Congress and President Gerald Ford approved the act.

  The amendment in 1986 increased the breadth and funding of the act and instituted more restrictions with harsher penalties. The 1996 amendment emphasized the public's right to know by instituting requirements for states to provide the general public with easy access to annual reports.