The USEPA and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): Protecting America’s drinking water is a top priority for EPA. EPA has established protective drinking water standards for more than 90 contaminants, including drinking water regulations issued since the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that strengthen public health protection. EPA is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards. Over 92 percent of the population supplied by community water systems receives drinking water that meets all health-based standards all of the time.
SDWA is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. This Act applies to all of the >148K public water systems (PWS) in the United States. SDWA does not cover private wells (in 2020, 13% of US households were served by private wells, and this number continues to grow). SDWA does not apply to bottled/packaged water which is regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Additional rules that protect against exposure to waterborne pathogens include the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) and its amendments, and the 2013 Revised Total Coliform Rule.
Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) – June 1989:
The purpose of the Surface Water Treatment Rules (SWTRs) is to reduce illnesses caused by pathogens in drinking water. The disease-causing pathogens include Legionella, Giardia lamblia, and Cryptosporidium.The surface water treatment rule and amendments specify water-treatment techniques (for example, filtration and disinfection), monitoring, and performance criteria for systems that use surface water sources to protect against Giardia and Cryptosporidium contamination. EPA has granted waivers from the filtration requirement to some water systems. EPA has established criteria to assess whether ground water sources are under the direct influence of surface water. If so, these systems must meet provisions of the treatment rule and amendments.
The SWTRs requires water systems to filter and disinfect surface water sources. Some water systems are allowed to use disinfection only for surface water sources that meet criteria for water quality and watershed protection.
The following is a brief overview of the major components of each rule. This combination of rules is designed to provide protection from microbial pathogens. Simultaneously, the rules minimize health risks to the population from disinfection byproducts. The SWTR:
- Applies to all public water systems (PWSs) using surface water sources or ground water sources under the direct influence of surface water (GWUDI)
- Requires most water systems to filter and disinfect water from surface water sources or GWUDI
- Establishes maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) for viruses, bacteria and Giardia lamblia
- Includes treatment technique (TT) requirements for filtered and unfiltered systems to protect against adverse health effects of exposure to pathogens
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR) – December 1998:
- Applies to all public water systems using surface water, or GWUDI, that serve 10,000 or more persons
- Sets a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of zero for Cryptosporidium
- Sets a 2-log Cryptosporidium removal requirements for systems that provide filtration
- Requires that watershed protection programs address Cryptosporidium for system that are not required to provide filtration
- Requires certain public water systems to meet strengthened filtration requirements
- Establishes requirements for covers on new finished water reservoirs
- Requires sanitary surveys, conducted by states, for all surface water systems regardless of size
- Requires systems to calculate levels of microbial inactivation to address risk trade-offs with disinfection byproducts
Filter Backwash Recycling Rule (FBRR) – June 2001:
- Applies to all public water systems using conventional or direct filtration to treat surface water, or GWUDI, regardless of size
- Requires public water systems (PWSs) to review their backwash water recycling practices to ensure that they do not compromise microbial control
- Requires recycled filter backwash water to go through all processes of a system’s conventional or direct filtration treatment.
Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT1ESWTR) – January 2002:
- Applies to all public water systems using surface water, or GWUDI, serving fewer than 10,000 persons
- Sets a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of zero for Cryptosporidium
- Sets a 2-log Cryptosporidium removal requirements for systems that filter
- Requires that watershed protection programs address Cryptosporidium for system that are not required to provide filtration
- Requires certain public water systems to meet strengthened filtration requirements
- Requires systems to calculate levels of microbial inactivation to address risk trade-offs with disinfection byproducts
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) – January 2006:
- Applies to all PWSs that use surface water or GWUDI
- Targets additional Cryptosporidium treatment requirements to higher risk systems
- Requires provisions to reduce risks from uncovered finished water storage facilities
- Provides provisions to ensure that systems maintain microbial protection as they take steps to reduce the formation of disinfection byproducts
SWTRs Quick Reference Guides
- Comprehensive Surface Water Treatment Rules Quick Reference Guide: Systems Using Conventional or Direct Filtration (PDF)(4 pp, 254 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-04-003)
- Comprehensive Surface Water Treatment Rules Quick Reference Guide: Systems Using Slow Sand, Diatomaceous Earth, or Alternative Filtration (PDF)(4 pp, 130 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-04-002
- Comprehensive Surface Water Treatment Rules Quick Reference Guide: Unfiltered Systems (PDF)(4 pp, 248 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-04-001
- Interim Enhanced Surface Water Rule: A Quick Reference Guide (PDF)(2 pp, 65 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-01-001
- Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: A Quick Reference Guide (PDF)(2 pp, 298 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-02-001
- Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: A Quick Reference Guide For Schedule 1 Systems (PDF)(2 pp, 173 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-06-005
- Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: A Quick Reference Guide For Schedule 2 Systems (PDF)(2 pp, 173 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-06-006
- Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: A Quick Reference Guide For Schedule 3 Systems (PDF)(2 pp, 173 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-06-007
- Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: A Quick Reference Guide For Schedule 4 Systems (PDF)(2 pp, 173 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-06-008
Interesting EPA listings and regulations regarding drinking water:
| Regulation | Year |
|---|---|
| Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) | 1974 |
| Interim Primary Drinking Water Standards | 1975 |
| National Primary Drinking Water Standards | 1985 |
| SDWA Amendments | 1986 |
| Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) | 1989 |
| Total Coliform Rule (TCR) | 1989 |
| Chemical Contaminant Rules Phase I | 1989 |
| Lead and Copper Regulations | 1990 |
| Chemical Contaminant Rules Phase II | 1992 |
| Chemical Contaminant Rules Phase IIB | 1993 |
| Chemical Contaminant Rules Phase V | 1994 |
| SDWA Amendments | 1996 |
| Information Collection Rule | 1996 |
| Interim Enhanced SWTR | 1998 |
| Stage 1 – Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products (D-DBP) Regulation | 1998 |
| Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List | 1998 |
| Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulations | 1999 |
| Radionuclides Rule | 2000 |
| Lead and Copper Rule — action levels | 2000 |
| Filter Backwash Recycling Rule | 2001 |
| Long Term 1 Enhanced SWTR | 2002 |
| Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulations | 2002 |
| Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 2 | 2005 |
| Long Term 2 Enhanced SWTR | 2006 |
| Stage 2 D-DBP Rule | 2006 |
| Ground Water Rule | 2006 |
| Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) | 2009 |
| Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 3 | 2009 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) | 2013 |
The Lead and Copper Rule (LCR)
In 1991, EPA published a regulation to control lead and copper in drinking water. This regulation is known as the Lead and Copper Rule (also referred to as the LCR). Since 1991 the LCR has undergone various revisions, see the Rule History section below.
The treatment technique for the rule requires systems to monitor drinking water at customer taps. If lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppb or copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, the system must undertake a number of additional actions to control corrosion.
If the action level for lead is exceeded, the system must also inform the public about steps they should take to protect their health and may have to replace lead service lines under their control.
The Lead and Copper Rule can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations.
Long Term Revisions
EPA’s 2021 Revised Lead and Copper Rule better protects children and communities from the risks of lead exposure by better protecting children at schools and child care facilities, getting the lead out of our nation’s drinking water, and empowering communities through information.
Short Term Revisions
In 2007, EPA revised the Lead and Copper Rule to enhance implementation in the areas of monitoring, treatment, customer awareness, and lead service line replacement. The update also enhanced public education requirements and ensured drinking water consumers receive is: meaningful, timely and useful information. These changes are also known as the “Short-Term Revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule.”
- Federal Register Notice – Final Rule, October 10, 2007 (PDF)(39 pp, 340 K, About PDF)
- 2007 Fact Sheet: Revisions to Regulations Controlling Lead in Drinking Water (PDF)(4 pp, 175 K, About PDF) EPA 815-F-07-003
- Economic and Supporting Analyses: Short-Term Regulatory Changes to the Lead and Copper Rule (PDF)(191 pp, 556 K, About PDF) EPA 815-R-07-022, September 2007
Minor Revisions
In 2004, EPA published minor corrections to the LCR to reinstate text that was inadvertently dropped from the rule during previous revisions.
In 2000, EPA published revisions to the LCR to address implementation issues arising from legal challenges to the 1991 rule. The revisions also streamlined and reduced monitoring and reporting burden.
- Federal Register Notice of Final Rule, January 12, 2000(PDF)(66 pp, 497 K, About PDF)
- Lead and Copper Rule Minor Revisions: Fact Sheet (PDF)(3 pp, 31 K, About PDF) EPA 815-F-99-010, December 1999
- 1998 Notice of Data Availability on the minor revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule
- Fact Sheets supporting the 2000 revisions
- LCR Minor Revisions Fact Sheet for Public Water Systems that Serve more than 50,000 Persons (PDF)(10 pp, 450 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-00-009, February 2001
- LCR Minor Revisions Fact Sheet for Public Water Systems that serve 3301-50000 Persons (PDF)(9 pp, 528 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-00-008, February 2001
- LCR Minor Revisions Fact Sheet for Public Water Systems that serve 3300 or fewer Persons (PDF)(10 pp, 839 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-00-007, March 2000
- LCR Minor Revisions Fact Sheet for Tribal Water System Owners and Operators (PDF)(9 pp, 355 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-00-010, February 2001
- Using DWSRF Set-Aside Funds for Capacity Development (PDF)(2 pp, 27 K, About PDF) EPA 816-F-00-11, March 2000
The 1991 Rule
In 1991, EPA published the LCR to minimize lead and copper in drinking water. The rule replaced the previous standard of 50 ppb, measured at the entry point to the distribution system.
The rule established a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of zero for lead in drinking water and a treatment technique to reduce corrosion of lead and copper within the distribution system.
Lead and Copper Rule Historical Documents
2016 Revisions: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions White Paper