Safe Drinking Water Act

Safe Drinking Water Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to amend the Public Health Service Act to assure that the public is provided with safe drinking water, and for other purposes
NicknamesSDWA
Enacted bythe 93rd United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 16, 1974
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 93-523
Statutes at Large88 Stat. 1660 (1974)
Codification
Titles amended42
U.S.C. sections created42 U.S.C. § 300f
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the Senate as S. 433 by Warren Magnuson (D–WA) on January 18, 1973
  • Committee consideration by Senate Commerce, House Commerce
  • Passed the Senate on June 22, 1973 
  • Passed the House on November 19, 1974 (296-84 as H.R. 13002) with amendment
  • Senate agreed to House amendment on November 26, 1974 () with further amendment
  • House agreed to Senate amendment on December 3, 1974 ()
  • Signed into law by President Gerald Ford on December 16, 1974
Major amendments
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986,[1]

Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996[2]

America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the primary federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public.[3] Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards.

The SDWA applies to every public water system (PWS) in the United States.[4] There are currently over 148,000 public water systems providing water to almost all Americans at some time in their lives.[5] The Act does not cover private wells (in 2020, 13% of US households were served by private wells).[6]

The SDWA does not apply to bottled water. Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.[7]

  1. ^ United States. Pub. L. 99–359; 100 Stat. 642. "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986." 1986-06-19.
  2. ^ United States. Pub. L. 104–182 (text) (PDF), 110 Stat. 1613. "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996." 1996-08-06.
  3. ^ United States. Safe Drinking Water Act. Pub. L. 93–523; 88 Stat. 1660; 42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq. 1974-12-16.
  4. ^ A public water system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 individuals, at least 60 days per year. 42 U.S.C. § 300f(4)(A)
  5. ^ "Information about Public Water Systems". Drinking Water Requirements for States and Public Water Systems. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2021-11-10.
  6. ^ "Private Drinking Water Wells". EPA. 2021-10-12.
  7. ^ United States. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.