Drinking Water: Information on the Quality of Water Found at Community Water Systems and Private Wells
RCED-97-123
Published: Jun 12, 1997. Publicly Released: Jul 18, 1997.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the quality of drinking water found at community water systems and private wells, focusing on: (1) what is known about the quality of drinking water from community water systems and private wells; and (2) what factors influence the quality of drinking water from these sources.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | To help ensure that private well users are better informed of potential contamination problems and associated health risks, the Administrator, EPA, should explore options that would provide such well users with information on how to learn more about the quality of their drinking water and the steps they can take to protect the source of their drinking water from contamination. For example, state or local health agencies could use the local media to alert private well users to consider testing their water whenever the testing of a groundwater-supplied community water system detects contamination that could potentially be present in the same geologic formation supplying nearby private wells. |
EPA is implementing a number of initiatives that should help educate private well owners to issues about the quality of their drinking water. For example, large public water systems will be required to put information about their drinking water sources and quality on the Internet, and EPA is encouraging smaller systems to do so as well. In addition, EPA believes that modifications to its public notification regulations will heighten public awareness of the potential health risks associated with drinking water contamination and motivate private well owners to check the safety of their supply.
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ContaminantsHazardous substancesInfectious diseasesNitratesPotable waterSafety regulationSafety standardsWater pollution controlWater qualityWater supply managementE. coli