WHAT IS THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT (SDWA)?

In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to protect public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply. All public water systems must have at least 15 service connections or serve at least 25 people per day for 60 days of the year. Before 1974, each state ran its own drinking water program. The SDWA authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. The law amended in 1986, required states to perform a source water assessment for all of the public water system funded, in part, by the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF.) This Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) Plan described what actions each state would take to provide source water protection. The 1996 amendments greatly enhanced the existing law by recognizing source water protection, operator training, funding for water system improvements and public information as important components of safe drinking water.

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