Program Manager message: Looking ahead after the 50th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act

In 2024 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act signed by President Ford in 1974. This landmark legislation set unified standards for water systems across the United States to protect public health. The Act set up a now time-tested framework in which EPA largely sets the rules and requirements via a defined process and with stakeholder input, and then states implement via primacy. As our work to improve public health continues, what factors and principles do we need to consider on our path through the next 25 to 50 years?

In December 2024, I had the opportunity to participate in and speak at a symposium at the University of Wisconsin on just this topic. The symposium was sponsored by the Water and Health Advisory Council, a multidisciplinary group of water professionals involved in drinking water and public health protection. The title of the symposium was: The Next 50 Years of Drinking Water in America. I participated in the “Prioritizing Risk” panel. 

Two of the risk reduction opportunities were identified as legionella and manganese. The upcoming federal revisions to the microbial and disinfection byproducts (M/DBP) rules should help us to start addressing legionella. Legionella is now a major cause of waterborne disease outbreaks, and the illness is sometimes fatal. At this point in time, it does not appear that a rule to address manganese is in the pipeline. Manganese has a health advisory, and some nervous system health risks similar to lead. However, another big risk was identified as losing the progress we have made due to aging infrastructure. Attendees were particularly concerned about distribution systems. Again, the M/DBP rules may help with some operational aspects of those, but the overall drinking water infrastructure situation is a serious concern. 

Are we approaching a time when affordability, especially for small systems, will jeopardize the ability to comply with rules for new contaminants and keep up with the fundamental infrastructure that a safe water supply relies on? Many people believe that we have already passed a tipping point in that regard and that small systems face truly daunting challenges over the next few decades.

So the question arises, how do we (as individuals, communities, states and a nation) pay for safe drinking water? It appears that all options need to be on the table. Currently, the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds that involve large infusions of federal dollars combined with the state programs that operate them and keep the money “revolving” through more and more loans is a great help, especially for small, rural communities. But this funding source is not enough. How much more funding can be gained from state and federal sources? Should we be exploring more public/private partnerships? Should drinking water be treated like education where small, rural systems are supported from the broader state population? What about individual assistance programs, like those that occur for power utility bills?

The answers to these questions are not known at present, but it’s important to ask them and work on solutions for the next decade and beyond. Look for more information about the next 50 years in drinking water in this space throughout 2025. Thank you in advance for your efforts to keep drinking water safe for the next half a century!

➽ Ron Falco, P.E. Safe Drinking Water Program Manager

Inspection Year 25 and Free TUs to Help Prepare are Here!

The Field Services Section (FSS) started the new Inspection Year 2025 (IY25) inspection year in October 2024 and the inspection year will end on September 30, 2025. A total of 506 sanitary surveys are planned for IY25. The list of suppliers included in the IY25 sanitary survey plan takes into consideration a number of factors including:

• Last sanitary survey date and EPA required frequency for sanitary surveys - community water systems are required to have a sanitary survey every 3 years, non-community systems are required to have a sanitary survey every 5 years.
• Recently activated public water systems are prioritized for sanitary survey.
• Other conditions or concerns may also lead to a prioritized sanitary survey.

Please note that if your system is due for a sanitary survey, your inspector may reach out to schedule the survey with you anytime during the IY25 inspection year (October - September) and that the scheduling is not based on the date of the previous inspection (i.e., will not be in March or after March every 3 years).

The Field Services Section also performs Level 2 assessments or Level 2 sanitary surveys as they are triggered under the Total Coliform Rule. Level 2 assessments are triggered by either an E. coli MCL violation or two Level 1 assessment situations occurring within 12 consecutive months. Level 2 assessments are site visits that include review and identification of atypical events that could affect distributed water quality or indicate that distributed water quality was impaired. Items also evaluated include changes in distribution system maintenance and operation, including water storage, that could affect distributed water quality, source and treatment considerations that affect distributed water quality, existing water quality monitoring data, and inadequacies in sample sites, sampling protocol, and sample processing. Level 2 sanitary surveys are a combination of the Level 2 assessment and a sanitary survey. Level 2 assessments/sanitary surveys must be performed within 30 days of the date of issuance of the violation that triggered the Level 2 assessment. More information on Level 2 assessments can be found in Regulation 11.16 - the Total Coliform Rule. Thankfully due to Colorado’s disinfection requirements, there are typically under five (5) of these events a year. 

Field Services recommends that suppliers take advantage of the free sanitary survey preparation course from the Local Assistance Unit on the third Wednesday of every month. Operators who participate will receive 0.3 training units. The training provides concrete steps for your system to prepare for your next sanitary survey including:

• The ability to recognize, address, and eliminate potential violations and system deficiencies
• Actions to take to address potential violations and system deficiencies before your survey

If you are interested in this FREE training, please visit this document and click on the date that you would like to attend and fill out the associated registration form. Please reach out to cdphe.wqdwtraining@state.co.us with any questions or feedback or if you do not receive an invitation email.

For any questions or concerns about sanitary surveys please email our Field Services team at cdphe_wqcd_fss_questions@state.co.us. We look forward to working with you on your next sanitary survey and thank you for all your efforts to protect public health!

➽ Heather Young, PE, CWP, Field Services Section Manager