Since 1976 EPA has annually received a Congressional appropriation under section 1443(a) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to assist states, territories, and tribes in carrying out their Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) programs.
Grants help eligible states, territories, and tribes develop and implement a PWSS program adequate to enforce the requirements of the SDWA and ensure that water systems comply with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
Key activities carried out under a PWSS program include
- developing and maintaining state drinking water regulations;
- developing and maintaining an inventory of public water systems throughout the state;
- developing and maintaining a database to hold compliance information on public water systems;
- conducting sanitary surveys of public water systems;
- reviewing public water system plans and specifications;
- providing technical assistance to managers and operators of public water systems;
- carrying out a program to ensure that the public water systems regularly inform their consumers about the quality of the water that they are providing;
- certifying laboratories that can perform the analysis of drinking water that will be used to determine compliance with the regulations; and
- carrying out an enforcement program to ensure that the public water systems comply with all of the state’s requirements.
Links
- Territories and ODW Point of Contact
- Compliance Reports
- Consecutive Public Water System Self-assessment Tool
- Cross-Connection Control regulations guidance summary
- Interpreting Your Drinking Water Results for alkalinity, chloride, fluoride, hardness, iron, nitrate, nitrite, pH, sodium, sulfate
- Level 1 Assessment form
- Public Notices – Drinking Water
- Public Water System Change form
- Public Water System – Sampling Plan Change form
- Public Water System Unusual Events Reporting form
- Revised Total Coliform Rule Assessments and Corrective Actions Guidance Manual, an EPA publication
- Total Coliform Rule: A Handbook for Small Water Systems, an EPA publication
- Water Works Report form (a fillable PDF form)
- Water Works Report spreadsheet (a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that contains 12 monthly sheets with instructions)
- Boil Water Notice – Template
- Boil Water Notice – Template (Spanish)
- Boil Water Notice – Certificate of Delivery Template
