How will the revised standard impact American citizens?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in 20 water systems (about 4,100 nationwide), providing water to more than 12.7 million people, will have to treat their water to meet the new standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb). To help ease the financial burden, the EPA plans to provide $20 million for researching the most cost-effective technologies to meet the new standard. Since 1996, the EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) has made $3.6 billion available to assist water systems in financial need with projects to improve their infrastructure. The EPA has funded over 1,000 loans for water systems in the United States. There are also federal funds available through such groups as the Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2000, the DWSRF and Rural Utilities Service together provided $1.7 billion to states and public water systems for improvements and infrastructure needs. S
