Locating U.S. national standards for drinking water

This article presents historical background on the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act, the regulatory development process for the drinking water standards in the United States, new initiatives currently being discussed in the U.S. Congress to rewrite the Safe Drinking Water Act, and a detailed list of the drinking water standards currently promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Major sources used to update the standards are also included so that future EPA standards can be researched easily. Although the article covers only issues dealing with EPA-promulgated drinking water standards in the United States, it will be of interest to the international community because many countries use U.S. EPA standards as general guidelines for drinking water systems.