Water Quality and Protection

Safe and clean water is necessary for human and environmental health and the nation’s economic well-being. Over the past 50 years, the nation’s water quality and drinking water have improved, but threats to water quality and safety remain.  

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states have identified almost 70,000 water bodies nationwide that do not meet water quality standards. Further, studies show that most people in the U.S. have been exposed to per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS)—likely from contaminated water, food, or air. Known as forever chemicals, they can persist in the environment and cause adverse health effects. PFAS can find their way into the air, soil and water through numerous pathways. EPA is working to set maximum levels for some PFAS allowed in drinking water.  

Additionally, emerging contaminants near military bases and other communities has renewed awareness about the risks that contaminants can present to public health. Lead contamination also poses a threat to the safety of drinking water in many communities across the United States. Lead is a toxic metal that, when ingested through water or other sources, can have significant effects on human health. Moreover, nation states, cybercriminals, and hacktivists have attacked the nation’s water and wastewater systems, making cybersecurity a top concern.  

The EPA and other federal agencies face a number of challenges in ensuring that the nation has access to safe and clean water. 

For instance:  

• Contaminants. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), EPA establishes legally enforceable standards that limit the levels of specific contaminants in drinking water. EPA identifies unregulated contaminants, monitors them, and determines whether to regulate them based on things like how dangerous they are to public health, and how often they occur. Public water systems must comply with monitoring, reporting, and other requirements established by EPA and responsible states. But the data that states reported to EPA did not always reflect the frequency of health-based and monitoring violations by community water systems or the status of enforcement actions. Regarding certain PFAS contaminants, public water systems will need to implement a treatment method by 2029. But treating PFAS in drinking water also creates waste that needs to be properly disposed of to avoid future environmental contamination.  

• Cybersecurity. Nations, cybercriminals, and others have targeted some of the nearly 170,000 U.S. water and wastewater systems, which are increasingly automated. A cyberattack on U.S. drinking and wastewater systems could, for example, produce drinking water with unsafe levels of bacteria or chemicals. EPA leads water cybersecurity efforts with the Department of Homeland Security, and has worked with the water sector to improve cybersecurity. In this role, EPA is required to perform specific actions to protect the water sector. EPA developed a report that evaluated its authorities to carry out this role for drinking water utilities. However, the report did not do so for wastewater treatment plants.  

• Infrastructure funding. The EPA estimates that over $1 trillion will be needed to overhaul clean water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 20 years. EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund gives states grants to build or replace such infrastructure. However, this money is allocated using a formula from 1987—which does not reflect states' current population and clean water needs.  

• Rural water infrastructure. Some rural communities across the U.S. don’t have access to drinking water or wastewater utilities. Twenty-eight USDA and EPA programs can provide financial and expert-led assistance to these communities on getting funding to meet these needs. But varying application and funding deadlines and requirements make it difficult for communities to apply for federal and state grants. 

• Lead in drinking water. Lead in drinking water comes primarily from corrosion of service lines that connect the water main to a building. The Lead and Copper Rule requires water systems to test for lead and treat water to help prevent corroded pipes from leaching lead. Many water systems face challenges identifying areas at risk of having lead service lines. By developing guidance for water systems that outlines methods for identifying high-risk locations using publicly available data, EPA could better ensure that public water systems test water samples from locations at greater risk of having lead service lines. This could also help identify areas with vulnerable populations to focus lead service line replacement efforts. However, EPA’s existing guidance excludes the use of American Community Survey data on neighborhood characteristics with geospatial data, which could ensure that public water systems identify high-risk locations. Additionally, lead in drinking water in childcare settings (such as Head Start) is also a concern. However, the Department of Health and Human Services has not finished developing a rule to require testing for lead in drinking water in Head Start facilities. EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements rule issued October 2024 includes requirements for water sampling, public education and other actions involving schools and child care facilities.  

• Nonpoint source pollution. States also play a key role in managing water pollution from nonpoint sources—such as runoff from farms, parking lots, or streets—which is the leading cause of pollution of the nation’s waters. States set water quality standards, monitor water quality, and identify water bodies that do not meet their standards. For waters that do not meet water quality standards, states must develop Total Maximum Daily Loads—a pollutant budget—which EPA approves. EPA and the states then work to restrict pollution to these levels, such as by providing incentives to landowners to reduce nonpoint source pollution. However, this program relies on voluntary measures, leaving many of the nation’s waters impaired and the goals of the Clean Water Act unmet.  

• Watershed restoration. EPA has undertaken large-scale watershed restoration efforts, which involve protecting aquatic ecosystems and wetlands in important geographic areas. For example, stormwater, sewage, and agricultural runoff have polluted the waters of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin for decades. From 2002 to 2021, the EPA awarded about $31 million for projects to help restore this basin. EPA has a plan that describes restoration goals for this basin and projects that could help reach the goals. However, it doesn't have a way to measure progress.  

• Sewage overflow. Combined sewer systems collect sewage and storm runoff in the same pipes for treatment. This means heavy rainfall can overwhelm system capacity, causing raw sewage to overflow into waterways. About 700 U.S. municipalities have such systems. Since 1994, the EPA has told these municipalities to develop plans to address overflows and comply with the Clean Water Act. However, EPA does not set goals or track progress. 

• Toxic algae. Overgrown algae can make toxins and lead to hypoxia (depleted oxygen) in water bodies, harming people and animals. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and EPA lead a federal interagency working group to manage harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. However, agencies in this working group could do more to meet the goals they set in 2016—such as establishing a goal for preventing harmful algal blooms and developing performance measures to assess the working group’s efforts.