America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007
Drinking Water Quality
Contaminants in surface and ground waters that serve as sources of drinking water may be quite varied and may cause a range of diseases in children, including acute diseases such as gastrointestinal illness, developmental effects such as learning disorders, and cancer.68 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets drinking water standards designed to protect people against adverse health effects. These standards currently include Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and treatment technique requirements for over 90 chemical, radiological, and microbiological contaminants.69 One way to gain insight into children's potential exposure to drinking water contaminants is to look at community water system compliance with these standards. EPA's drinking water regulations require public water systems, including community water systems, to monitor for compliance with federal health-based standards and treat their water if needed to meet standards. About 15 percent of the population receives drinking water from private water systems that are not required to monitor and report the quality of drinking water.70
Indicator PHY2: Percentage of children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards, 1993–2005
SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Safe Drinking Water Information System.
- The percentage of children served by community drinking water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based standards declined from 20 percent in 1993 to about 8 percent in 1998. Since 1998, this percentage has fluctuated between 5 and 10 percent.
- Coliforms indicate the potential presence of harmful bacteria associated with infectious illnesses. The percentage of children served by community drinking water systems that did not meet the health-based standard for coliforms was about 9 percent in 1993 and about 3 percent in 2005.
- A new standard for disinfection byproducts was adopted in 2001. In 2005, 2 percent of all children served by community water systems were served by systems that had violations of the disinfection byproducts standard. Exposure to disinfection byproducts may lead to cancer and have developmental effects.71
68 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2006). Drinking Water Contaminants. EPA Office of Water. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/safewater/hfacts.html.
69 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2006). Current Drinking Water Standards. EPA Office of Water. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html.
70 Hutson, S.S., Barber, N.L., Kenny, J.F., Linsey, K.S., Lumia, D.S., and Maupin, M.A. (2004). Estimated use of water in the United States in 2000. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1268. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2004/circ1268/pdf/circular1268.pdf.
71 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2005). Economic analysis for the final stage 2 disinfectants and disinfection byproducts rule (EPA/815/R-05/010). Washington, DC: Office of Water.