EWG's Tap Water Database 2021 Update

[Environmental Working Group]

"EWG's Tap Water Database. 2021 Update.

Since 2013, water utilities' testing has found pollutants in Americans' tap water, according to an EWG drinking water quality analysis of more than 31 million state water records.

 find your stateadvanced searchTap water data.."

Drinking Water Week

"The risk of getting COVID-19 through drinking water, recreational water, or wastewater transmission is low. Get answers to other questions about COVID-19 and water.

Have you ever stopped to think about how many times a day you use water from a faucet? Learn more about where your drinking water comes from and what makes it safe to use during Drinking Water Week (May 2–8, 2021).

Drinking water refers to the water that comes out of our tap or bottled water. Every day, people rely on safe drinking water in many different ways, such as for handwashing, bathing, cooking, washing clothes, and drinking.

The United States has one of the safest drinking water supplies in the world. It’s important to know how water gets to our faucets and what makes it safe to use. Protecting our water sources is an ongoing challenge, but controlling wastewater discharges and repairing broken septic systems near drinking water sources can greatly reduce germs in our source water.

Drinking Water Week

Drinking Water Weekexternal icon is an annual observance sponsored by the American Water Works Associationexternal icon in May to recognize the critical role drinking water plays in our daily lives. This year’s theme, “There When You Need It,” highlights the work water professionals do around-the-clock to ensure high-quality drinking water is always available at your tap, right when you need it.

Keeping Tap Water Safe and Healthy

Over the last 100 years, many improvements in the health, success, and lifespan of the U.S. population can be linked to improvements in water quality. Providing safe drinking water was one of the most important public health achievements of the 20th century. Water treatment (methods to reduce germs or chemicals that cause illness) have helped ensure access to healthy and safe water for millions of Americans.

Government regulations have helped reduce pollution of the bodies of water that supply our drinking water systems over the years. However, treating water to kill or remove contaminants like harmful germs or chemicals is still critical to making sure that water is safe to drink. Drinking water can become contaminated:

• In the original water source (for example, a river)
• Through inadequate water treatment
• In storage tanks
• In drinking water distribution systems (the pipes that carry water to homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings).."
  Drinking water 

Drinking water week

"May 7–13, 2017, is Drinking Water Week. Drinking Water Week is observed each year in May to recognize the role drinking water plays in our daily lives. “Your water: To know it is to love it!” is this year’s theme, and it encourages everyone to get to know more about the water they drink. 

How Many Times a Day Do You Use Water From a Faucet?

Have you ever stopped to think about how many times a day you use water from a faucet? Drinking water refers to the water that comes out of our tap or bottled water. Americans use drinking water many times a day, every day, for many different activities such as drinking, bathing, cooking, and washing clothes, to name a few. The United States has one of the safest drinking water supplies in the world, and it’s important to know how that water gets to our faucets and what makes it safe to use..."

Drinking water
Drinking water

Drinking Water Contamination in Flint, Michigan, Demonstrates a Need to Clarify EPA Authority to Issue Emergency Orders to Protect the Public

"This report is an EPA OIG Management Alert. To avoid future public health harm through drinking water contamination, the EPA needs to clarify for its employees how its emergency authority can and should be used to intervene in a public health threat.

Report Materials

Report at a Glance (PDF)(1 pg, 180 K)

• Full Report (PDF)(16 pp, 938 k)..."
• Flint Michigan drinking  and EPA

Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS

"EPA has established health advisories for PFOA and PFOS based on the agency’s assessment of the latest peer-reviewed science to provide drinking water system operators, and state, tribal and local officials who have the primary responsibility for overseeing these systems, with information on the health risks of these chemicals, so they can take the appropriate actions to protect their residents. EPA is committed to supporting states and public water systems as they determine the appropriate steps to reduce exposure to PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. As science on health effects of these chemicals evolves, EPA will continue to evaluate new evidence.

To provide Americans, including the most sensitive populations, with a margin of protection from a lifetime of exposure to PFOA and PFOS from drinking water, EPA has established the health advisory levels at 70 parts per trillion..."
Drinking water

Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters

"What is the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters (DWMAPS)?

The Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters or DWMAPS is EPA’s online mapping tool to help you find information about drinking water in your community. This user-friendly tool provides answers to questions like:

• Who supplies my drinking water?
• Is the source of my drinking water polluted?
• Are there possible sources of pollution near my drinking water that might be affecting my community's water supply?
• How can I get involved in protecting sources of drinking water in my community?..."
  Drinking water

Flint Drinking Water Documents

 View selected Flint Michigan drinking water documents compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Flint Drinking Water

HHS to Lead Federal Response in Flint

"The team will be led by Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

Flint, Michigan is in the midst of a serious public health crisis, with high levels of lead in its water supply. President Obama signed an emergency declaration on Saturday, ordering federal assistance to support state and local response efforts.

With the emergency declaration in place, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now been designated the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating federal government response and recovery efforts.

This means that HHS will, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), identify and mobilize the capabilities of the rest of the federal partners – including the Small Business Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Education and Agriculture (USDA) -- that are already working to help residents in Flint.

The goal of the federal response will be to help state and local leaders identify the size and scope of the problem, and work with them to make and execute a plan for mitigation of the short- and long-term health effects of lead exposure..."
Flint Michigan

Global Access to Clean Drinking Water and Sanitation: U.S. and International Programs

"The President requested $302 million for USAID’s water activities for FY2012 and Congress appropriated not less than $315 million for international water and sanitation programs through the FY2012 Consolidated Appropriations. The FY2013 request for USAID’s water and sanitation efforts was slightly lower at $299.1 million. This report addresses congressional efforts to address limited access to clean drinking water and sanitation, outlines related programs implemented by USAID and MCC, and analyzes issues related to U.S. and international drinking water and sanitation programs that the 112th Congress might consider..."

Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water

Find information on how to disinfect water for drinking in emergency conditions.

A New Approach to Protecting Drinking Water and Public Health
"EPA is seeking a new approach to expand public health protection for drinking water by going beyond the traditional framework that addresses contaminants one at a time. The Agency is initiating a national conversation to identify better ways to address contaminants in groups, improve drinking water technology, and more effectively address potential risks to give Americans greater confidence in the quality of their drinking water.
EPA will focus on four principles that will provide greater protection of drinking water. The four principles are:

Address contaminants as a groups rather than one at a time so that enhancement of drinking water protection can be achieved cost-effectively.

Foster development of new drinking water technologies to address health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants.

Use the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking water.

Partner with states to share more complete data from monitoring at public water systems (PWS)..."

EPA Issues Final Aircraft Drinking Water Rule
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a final rule to ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is provided to aircraft passengers and crew. The rule provides multiple-barrier protection through requirements for coliform sampling, best management practices, corrective action, public notification, monitoring and operator training. It will better protect the public from illnesses caused by microbiological contamination.

"This rule is a significant step forward in protecting people’s health when they travel," said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. "EPA has taken this step to make sure the public has drinking water that meets standards, both in the air and on the ground."

The final aircraft drinking water rule tailors existing health-based drinking water regulations to fit the unique characteristics of aircraft public water systems. Aircraft public water systems are subject to the requirements of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The rule amends NPDWRs for these systems, building on existing aircraft operations and maintenance programs..."

2007 Drinking Water Infastructure Needs Survey and Assessment
"Local water utilities must make significant investments to install, upgrade, or replace equipment in order to deliver safe drinking water and protect public health. Every four years, EPA conducts a survey of the anticipated costs of these investments and reports the results to Congress. The results are also used to help determine the amount of funding each state receives for its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, which funds the types of projects identified in the survey.

The third report to Congress, released in 2009, is based on data collected from utilities in 2007. EPA found that the nation's 53,000 community water systems and 21,400 not-for-profit noncommunity water systems will need to invest an estimated $334.8 billion between 2007 and 2027."

EPA Issues Interim Drinking Water Health Advisory for Perchlorate
"On October 10, 2008, the Agency issued a preliminary determination for perchlorate in the Federal Register for public review and comment (USEPA, 2008a). The notice described the Agency’s preliminary decision that there is not a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction" through a national drinking water regulation. Based on the comments that it received, EPA believes that it would benefit once again from NRC input regarding perchlorate, this time in the context of the application of the physiologicallybased pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling and assumptions regarding sensitive populations in development of the interim HA level. Thus in 2009, EPA will engage the NRC to provide additional advice.

The Agency is issuing this interim health advisory to assist state and local officials in advance of a final regulatory determination. EPA expects to issue a final health advisory concurrent with the final regulatory determination for perchlorate."