Drinking Water:

Key Quality Assurance Program Is Flawed and Underfunded

T-RCED-93-31: Published: Apr 19, 1993. Publicly Released: Apr 19, 1993.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

GAO discussed its report on state sanitary survey programs, focusing on: (1) whether state sanitary surveys are comprehensive enough to determine if public water systems are capable of providing good-quality drinking water; and (2) what the survey results reveal about the operation and condition of water systems nationwide. GAO noted that: (1) many states did not adequately conduct, document, or interpret sanitary survey results; (2) 45 states did not evaluate one or more of the 14 major components that the Environmental Protection Agency recommended for evaluation; (3) state documentation of survey results is needed so that state officials can assess survey adequacy and inspectors can follow up on detected problems; (4) the most frequent deficiency cited in state surveys was inadequate cross-connection control programs; (5) most public water systems appeared safe, but many systems had deficiencies that could affect the quality of drinking water; (6) many state surveys revealed recurring problems with equipment maintenance and records, deficiencies in water systems' maintenance and operations, and inadequate protection of water sources; and (7) the acute funding shortage in the drinking water program is a major contributor to the problems affecting state sanitary survey programs.

Nov 5, 2018

Sep 26, 2018

Sep 21, 2018

Sep 14, 2018

Sep 5, 2018

Aug 24, 2018

Aug 16, 2018

Jul 19, 2018

Jul 17, 2018

Jul 12, 2018

Looking for more? Browse all our products here