United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-06-12 monographic deposited born digital 51 p. GA 1.13:RCED-97-123 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123 P0b002ee18039e920 f:rc97123 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123 RCED-97-123 Water quality Water pollution control Safety standards Water supply management Safety regulation Potable water Infectious diseases Hazardous substances California Illinois Nebraska New Hampshire North Carolina Wisconsin Chapter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the quality of drinking water found at community water systems and private wells, focusing on: (1) what is known about the quality of drinking water from community water systems and private wells; and (2) what factors influence the quality of drinking water from these sources.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) much more is known about the quality of drinking water form community water systems than from private wells; (2) to meet the Safe Drinking Water Act's requirements, community water systems must periodically monitor their water for contaminants, such as total coliform bacteria, pesticides, naturally occurring elements, and industrial solvents; (3) in the six states that GAO reviewed, compliance data for fiscal years 1993 through 1996 show that violations of the standard for total coliform bacteria were the most common, being reported by 3 to 6 percent of the more than 17,000 community water systems; (4) a sizable number of systems, although a small percentage of the total, violated standards for radiological contaminants, nitrate, and the herbicide atrazine; (5) violations of other standards were few; (6) for private wells, the available data on water quality are, for the most part, limited to data on total coliform bacteria and nitrate; (7) these data have been collected for special studies, in response to state and local testing requirements for new wells, and through voluntary testing requested by well owners; (8) while these data are not always representative or unbiased, those that are have shown rates of bacterial contamination as high as 42 percent and rates of excessive nitrate as high as 18 percent; (9) less extensive data on two commonly used herbicides show much lower levels of contamination in private wells; (10) several factors influence the quality of drinking water obtained from community water systems and private wells; and (11) these factors include the condition of the source from which the drinking water is extracted, the use of construction standards and other controls designed to ensure that new water systems and private wells are properly constructed and protected from potential sources of contamination, and ongoing oversight and maintenance activities, such as periodic testing and inspections, that help determine whether the water will continue to be safe. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123.pdf GAO/RCED-97-123 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-123 Chapter Report GAO/RCED-97-123; Drinking Water: Information on the Quality of Water Found at Community Water Systems and Private Wells; Water quality Water pollution control Safety standards Water supply management Safety regulation Potable water Infectious diseases Hazardous substances California Illinois Nebraska New Hampshire North Carolina Wisconsin