ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 7, 1996 TAG: 9611070007
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VERNON L. SNOEYINK
WHEN WE turn on a tap in this country, we expect to get clean water. But recent experiences are undermining that expectation.
A 1993 epidemic in Milwaukee spread by contaminated drinking water made nearly a half million people ill. Over the past two decades, tainted drinking water from public water systems has caused nearly 600 outbreaks of waterborne diseases, and many more episodes probably were undetected or unreported.
The problem is especially severe for small water systems - those serving fewer than 10,000 people. Many of these systems supply their customers with safe, wholesome water. But others, squeezed between limited numbers of customers and increasing numbers of regulations, do not have the resources or the personnel needed to meet drinking-water standards.
As a result, water quality in the United States remains surprisingly uneven. In a recent 26-month period, more than one-fifth of water systems of all sizes violated drinking-water standards for microbes associated with disease-causing organisms. And water systems serving fewer than 500 people violate these standards more than twice as often as those serving more than 10,000 people.
Furthermore, increasing numbers of people are getting their water from small systems. Over the last three decades, systems serving fewer than 500 people grew sevenfold in quantity, and the number serving 500 to 10,000 people increased by 60 percent. Today, a fifth of the U.S. population gets its water from small water systems.
One option for a small system having water-quality problems is to switch to better sources of water. For example, water-system administrators might be able to relocate a well to a cleaner aquifer or buy treated water from nearby utilities. Such steps often are more cost-effective than efforts to clean up poor-quality water.
But many systems do not have access to a cleaner source of water. Others cannot afford to maintain their water treatment and distribution systems or pay for qualified personnel. If these systems are to survive, they must take specific steps to ensure that they can meet the needs of their customers in the short- and long-term.
First, they must develop an institutional structure that is stable. That's not easy for many small water systems. Some serve areas where incomes are low. Many simply do not have enough customers to finance upgrades or effective maintenance.
State governments are key players in this area. They should require small systems to assess their short- and long-term ability to provide adequate and safe water. States then should provide operating permits only to those utilities that have completed such performance appraisals satisfactorily. If performance appraisals reveal problems, the states should help resolve them.
The federal government, in turn, should limit financial assistance for drinking water systems to those states with official performance appraisal programs. That way, federal funds will not be used to prop up unsustainable systems.
If a water system fails its performance appraisal, it needs to hand off some or all of its responsibilities to another entity. In some cases, the owners of a small system can contract with outside groups for specific services or support. For example, a single well-trained operator may be able to run several systems.
In other cases, small water systems will need to merge with larger organizations, like utilities or regional water authorities. Government often will need to provide incentives for organizations to take over unsustainable water systems.
Besides a sustainable institutional structure, small water systems need effective technologies. One possibility is pre-engineered "package plants" - off-the-shelf units that are pre-assembled in a factory and can be purchased without detailed and costly custom design. But even these systems can be expensive to install and test. The federal government needs to continue its efforts to lower the cost of standardized technologies so that small systems can take advantage of them.
Finally, small water systems need well-trained operators. The Environmental Protection Agency should work with the private sector and with the states to develop and deliver cost-effective training programs to system owners and operators.
Water quality is one area where the actions of government can make a big difference in our lives. With strong leadership at the state and federal levels, small water systems can make the changes needed to provide all of us with safe water.
Vernon L. Snoeyink, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, recently chaired the National Research Council's Committee on Small Water Supply Systems.
- National Academy of Science
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB