Newsroom
All News Releases By Date
DRINKING WATER PUBLIC NOTIFICATION RULES IMPROVED
Release Date: 04/13/2000
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, ARPIL 13, 2000
DRINKING WATER PUBLIC NOTIFICATION RULES IMPROVED
EPA has revised its drinking water public notification requirements to ensure faster public notice in emergencies and better communication about potential health risks. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires public water systems to provide timely notice to their customers if there is any situation that may pose a public health risk. Required notices vary depending on the degree of risk, ranging from waterborne disease outbreaks to failure in properly testing drinking water. Depending on the severity of the situation, water suppliers have from 24 hours to one year to notify their customers. Public notification is provided in addition to the new annual Consumer Confidence Report, which gives customers a more complete picture of their drinking water quality. In fiscal year l998, there were more than 124,000 violations of drinking water regulations requiring a public notice, involving over 25 percent of the nation’s 170,000 public water systems. Fewer than 1.5 percent of the violations posed an immediate health risk. Over 90 percent of these violations were for failure to fully meet monitoring or testing procedures. Among other changes the new revisions reduce the time from 72 to 24 hours for notifying the public of immediate risks, and also ensure the use of simpler language. The rule was signed April 7 and will be published soon in the Federal Register. Copies of the rule and a fact sheet are available at: https://www.epa.gov/safewater, click on “What’s New.” The public can get additional information from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.
R-51 ###
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
