Drinking Water Standards

“The Federal Safe Drinking Water Act's (SDWA) primary purpose was, and remains today, to stop contaminants from entering our water systems through the following:

1. Establishment of quality standards for drinking water.
2. Monitoring of public water systems.
3. Implementation of safeguards against drinking water contamination.”

Info from Safe Drinking Water Trust eBulletin, Sept. 1,
2004http://www.crg.org/bulletin/articles.asp?name=FeatureArticle&ID=695

As a primacy state, Michigan must enact state rules deemed as stringent as the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (Public Act 93-523) in order to maintain state authority in the public water supply program. The 1986, amendments to the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act placed significant new monitoring requirements on facilities using their own wells and serving the same 25 or more persons a day.

These nontransient noncommunity public water supplies, typically, schools, businesses and industrial facilities, are facing complex and relatively expensive mandates for testing of drinking water. The Department of Environmental Quality, the primacy agency in Michigan, has enacted state rules that lessen the impact of the federal regulations yet maintain Michigan’s traditional high standards for the protection of drinking water and public health resourses.

The Safe Drinking Water Act places the responsibility for proper operation, maintenance, and monitoring on owners of public water systems. Each “supplier of water to the public” has an obligation to insure the drinking water they provide meets applicable standards.
 

Fact Sheets
Sampling Grid
Brochures
    Nitrate in Drinking Water
    Understanding Bacti sampling requirements
    Sanitary Survey and Source Water Assessments
    Coliform Contamination Response and Prevention
    Understanding Lead and Copper Sampling Requirements
    Monitoring Requirements & Max Contaminant Levels
    Arsenic in Well Water