90% of Americans get there tap water from public water ways.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established safety protocols regarding our drinking water.
The Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974 was implemented to set standard safety measures for our drinking water.
The National Primary Drinking Water Regulations are the water quality standards set by the EPA
The National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations are the guidelines set by the EPA that help utilities manage issues unrelated to health
However, there are 15 contamination that utilities do not have to follow these rules because the contaminants do not make people sick.
Every 5 years the EPA publishes contaminants that are not regulated. This list is called the Contaminant Candidate List. At this time, a review is done and the EPA then decides if regulation needs to be implemented for these new contaminants.
Every utility must tell you if the water does not meet the standard set by their EPA. A water quality report is provided once a year by the utility for their customers.
https://www.cdc.gov/drinking-water/about/drinking-water-standards-and-regulations-an-overview.html
Writing About the Environment 
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