Drinking Water

One key way of ensuring drinking water quality is the periodic inspection, or sanitary survey, of public water systems. Yet GAO discovered that sanitary surveys across the country often fall short. Specifically, 45 states omit one or more key survey elements, such as inspection of the water distribution system or review of water system operators' qualifications. In addition, some states do not require documentation to back up inspections and survey results, and surveyors sometimes interpret results inconsistently. GAO reviewed 200 sanitary surveys in four states--Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire, and Tennessee--and found recurring problems with water systems' equipment and management, particularly among small systems. The gap between the needs and available resources of state drinking water programs--estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually--has severely handicapped states' efforts to conduct sanitary surveys. The problem is compounded by the lack of minimum requirements for performing and documenting surveys. The upshot is that a key survey benefit--spotting and correcting problems before they seriously affect water quality--has often not been realized. GAO concludes that effective corrective measures will depend on resolving the acute funding shortage affecting the Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water program. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Drinking Water: Key Quality Assurance Program Is Flawed and Underfunded, by Peter F. Guerrero, Associate Director for Environmental Protection Issues, before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, House Committee on Energy and Commerce. GAO/T-RCED-93-31, Apr. 19, 1993 (12 pages).

GAO found that: (1) many states did not adequately conduct, document, or interpret sanitary survey results; (2) 45 states reported that they do not evaluate one or more of the 14 major components that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends for evaluation; (3) some states do not require documentation of inspection items or survey results; (4) the most frequent deficiency cited in state surveys was inadequate cross-connection programs to ensure that portable water is not mixed with contaminated water; (5) many surveys revealed recurring problems with equipment maintenance and records, deficiencies in water systems' general management and operations, and inadequate protection of water sources; and (6) effective action on recurring problems depends on resolution of the drinking water program's funding shortage.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone: