Approved by the Energy, Environment, and Water Policy Committee on March 18, 2024 
Approved by the Public Policy Committee on May 1, 2024
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 18, 2024

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), recognizing the critical importance of safe drinking water to the public's safety, health, and welfare recommends:

  • Full appropriation of state and federal authorized funding for safe drinking water programs.
  • Evaluating, improving, and streamlining the process for adding or removing regulated contaminants under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
  • Amending the SDWA to require states to review and update their contaminant-monitoring programs at least once every three years to ensure that all known potential contaminants are periodically evaluated commensurate with their risk to human health.
  • Promulgating regulations under the 1996 SDWA amendments to balance drinking water quality standards with risk-based criteria, including adverse health effects, frequency of occurrence, and treatment process performance to mitigate excessive financial impacts on water utilities and their customers.
  • Developing revenue models and rate structures that more accurately reflect the actual cost of producing and delivering water while simultaneously incorporating affordability programs for low income and disadvantaged communities.
  • Providing federal funding, program planning assistance, and technical guidance with sufficient flexibility to accommodate state and local issues.
  • Continued research on emerging contaminants and into improving the disinfection of drinking water to better protect public health from harmful byproducts.
  • Incorporate regulations for source control or constituents of concerns to reduce burden to utilities and ratepayers.
  • The professional education, research, and development necessary to formulate new methods of water quality analysis, water treatment, water system security, and the related technologies be applied. 
  • Specific programs and funding for known contaminants in water systems by prioritizing lead service line replacement, and removal of other regulated constituents.

Issue

Treatment of drinking water for contaminants is complex and the issues are interrelated. With thousands of chemicals in use, only a fraction are currently regulated by the SDWA, and the process for adding or removing regulated chemicals is burdensome, slow, and not as protective of the public as it could be. As a positive sign, EPA set enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) under the SDWA for Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), to reduce exposure from these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in our drinking water to the lowest levels that are feasible for effective implementation. In addition, EPA also set MCL Goals (MCLGs) for several other PFAS compounds.

The presence of emerging contaminants like PFAS and pharmaceuticals in water raises concerns about potential health risks and exemplifies the need for new regulations to be developed in a more timely and responsive manner. Additionally, knowledge about contaminant health effects and safe levels is constantly evolving. The SDWA needs to be flexible enough to keep pace with new scientific discoveries and adjust regulations accordingly, and in a more practical manner. 

These regulations are less effective when they are not coordinated in content and timing, and when water providers are not given clear guidance. The development and implementation of these regulations with appropriate flexibility to accommodate regional specific factors and risk variations will promote new developments in water quality analysis, water treatment, and related technologies.

A major challenge for water suppliers is how to control and limit the risks from pathogens and disinfection byproducts. It is important to provide protection from pathogens while also minimizing health risks to the population from disinfection byproducts. 

In some cities, water supply infrastructure remains in use that was installed more than 100 years ago. Lead was common in pipes and fixtures through the mid-20th century, and lead contamination remains a serious problem, particularly for older homes and vulnerable populations. Where lead service lines between the public water mains and end users remain in service, some owners do not have the resources to address these pipes. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 went a long way to help fund replacement programs, which are underway in some cities. However, the lead service line (LSL) funding competes with other utility needs and not all needs are met. Accelerating the replacement of these lead-pipes puts an additional burden on the utilities and homeowners. 

Rationale

The quality of our nation's water supply is one the most important achievements of the Civil Engineering profession in the 20th century. In the United States, most of our public water systems routinely meet or exceed federal standards for drinking water; however, water infrastructure is rapidly aging. Legacy issues such as lead pipes and fixtures and disinfection byproducts remain to be addressed. New challenges such as emerging contaminants and water security, including cybersecurity are also arising. 

EPA water quality regulations (Clean Water Act) that protect source water must conform to certain basic principles to be effective but recognize that characteristics and quality of drinking water sources vary greatly by region. If interrelated regulations are not coordinated through objective analysis considering tradeoffs and new developments, the most timely and cost-effective solutions will not be applied. Adequately funded state programs are needed because the states are in the best position to develop and enforce the detailed regulations under the SDWA and to make specific on site decisions, as necessary. The states are also in the best position to provide necessary technical assistance to smaller water systems and to take any appropriate enforcement actions. Congress, through the EPA, needs to provide federal funding to ensure effective implementation of the SDWA Act by the states.

ASCE considers EPA is in the best position to evaluate the addition or removal of regulated contaminants under the SDWA, but the current process for this evaluation is burdensome and slow. Some chemicals have been in the evaluation process for well over a decade, and this pace must be accelerated.

Disinfection of drinking water is vital to the protection of public health. Selection of the appropriate method of disinfection for a particular system should be based on site specific considerations, such as quality of the source water and economics of the project. Continued research into all viable disinfection technologies is needed to improve disinfection performance, minimize creation of harmful disinfection byproducts, and more completely understand the impacts of each method of disinfection.

The cost of producing and delivering drinking water is predominately paid for by user-fees. Utilities do not have the resources for the cost of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements without raising the rates which can lead to affordability concerns for disadvantaged customers. Utilities are encouraged to evaluate and creatively apply rate models that can more fully support their programs while remaining in balance with ratepayers’ capacity to pay. However, many of the constituents of concern are costly to treat and cannot be treated without drastically increasing rates. More emphasis should be placed on eliminating these constituents at the source and providing external funding to reduce the burden on utilities and ratepayers.

ASCE Policy Statement 361
First Approved in 1990