Drinking Water Regulation and Health

FREDERICK W. PONTIUS is the President of Pontius Water Consultants, Inc., and provides drinking water—related professional engineering services to water utilities, consultants, industry, businesses, and regulatory agencies. He has over twenty years of experience in public water supply, has authored the Safe Drinking Water Act Advisor treatise on drinking water rules, and is a frequent speaker on drinking water regulation, compliance, and health.

Preface xix

Acknowledgments xxi

Contributors xxiii

Acronyms xxvii

PART I THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT AND PUBLIC HEALTH 1

1 Drinking Water and Public Health Protection 3 
Daniel A. Okun

1.1 Introduction, 3

1.2 Water Supply for the City of Rome, 4

1.3 The Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution, 5

1.4 The Great Sanitary Awakening, 6

1.5 The Emergence of Water as a Public Health Issue, 9

1.6 The Beginning of Water Treatment, 11

1.7 The Chemical Revolution, 13

1.8 The Introduction of Regulations, 14

1.9 Prelude to the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, 17

1.10 Drinking Water in Developing Countries, 19

1.11 The Future of Public Water Supply, 21

2 Improving Waterborne Disease Surveillance 25 
Floyd J. Frost, Rebecca L. Calderon and Gunther F. Craun

2.1 Introduction, 25

2.2 Background, 26

2.3 Limitations of the Current Disease Surveillance Systems, 28

2.4 Early Detection of Outbreaks, 31

2.5 Endemic Disease, 32

2.6 Applicability of Outbreak Investigations, 34

2.7 Monitoring Infection Versus Disease, 36

2.8 Improving Disease Surveillance, 38

3 Waterborne Outbreaks in the United States, 1971–2000 45 
Gunther F. Craun, Rebecca L. Calderon, and Michael F. Craun

3.1 Introduction, 45

3.2 Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, 46

3.3 Waterborne Outbreak Statistics, 48

3.4 Causes of Outbreaks in Drinking Water Systems, 55

3.5 Outbreaks Associated with Recreational Waters, 61

3.6 Outbreak Trends, 65

4 History of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) 71

Frederick W. Pontius

4.1 Introduction, 71

4.2 Early Development of Drinking Water Standards, 72

4.3 The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, 73

4.4 1986 SDWA Amendments, 79

4.5 1988 Lead Contamination Control Act, 80

4.6 1996 SDWA Amendments, 81

4.7 Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act, 91

4.8 Future Outlook, 95

5 SDWA: Looking to the Future 105 
Diane VanDe Hei and Thomas Schaeffer

5.1 Introduction, 105

5.2 U.S. Governmental Structure, 105

5.3 How Laws Are Made, 107

5.4 Forces Shaping the SDWA and Amendments, 111

5.5 Future Amendments to the SDWA, 121

5.6 Outlook for Major Change, 0127

PART II REGULATION DEVELOPMENT 131

6 Toxicological Basis for Drinking Water Risk Assessment 133 
Joyce Morrissey Donohue and Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta

6.1 Introduction, 133

6.2 Toxicological Evaluation of Drinking Water Contaminants, 133

6.3 Use of Toxicity Information in Risk Assessment, 137

6.4 Health Advisories, 143

6.5 Future Outlook, 145

7 Epidemiologic Concepts for Interpreting Findings in Studies of Drinking Water Exposures 147 
Gunther F. Craun, Rebecca L. Calderon and Floyd J. Frost

7.1 Introduction, 147

7.2 What Is Epidemiology?, 149

7.3 Historical Origins, 149

7.4 Disease Models, 150

7.5 Basic Measures of Disease Frequency, 152

7.6 Types of Epidemiologic Studies, 156

7.7 Examples: Experimental, Cohort, and Case–Control Studies, 170

7.8 Future Trends in Epidemiology and Drinking Water, 178

8 Application of Risk Assessments in Crafting Drinking Water Regulations 183 
Bruce A. Macler

8.1 Introduction, 183

8.2 Risk Assessment Approaches for Drinking Water Regulations, 184

8.3 Risk Mandates from the Safe Drinking Water Act, 188

8.4 Developing MCLs and Treatment Techniques, 189

8.5 Future Outlook, 195

9 ‘‘Sound’’ Science and Drinking Water Regulation 197 
Frederick W. Pontius

9.1 Introduction, 197

9.2 Elements of ‘‘Sound’’ Science, 198

9.3 Peer Involvement, 206

9.4 Scientific Disagreement, 209

9.5 ‘‘Junk’’ Science, 210

9.6 Causation and Causal Inference, 211

9.7 Science and SDWA Regulations, 214

9.8 Science and the Courts, 215

9.9 Future Developments and Trends, 221

10 Benefit–Cost Analysis and Drinking Water Regulation 225 
Robert S. Raucher

10.1 Introduction, 225

10.2 Benefit–Cost Analysis (BCA) Under the SDWA, 226

10.3 Historical Application of BCA, 227

10.4 USEPA Policies and Practices, 228

10.5 Comparing Benefits to Costs, 229

10.6 Measures of Risk Reduction Benefits, 233

10.7 Benefits Transfer to Drinking Water, 238 and Income Growth, 241

10.8 Uncertainty and Variability, 242

10.9 Precautionary Assumptions versus Central Tendencies, 244

10.10 Omitted or Unquantified Benefits and Costs, 246

10.11 Uncertain Costs, 247

10.12 Future Outlook, 247

11 Public Involvement in Regulation Development 251 
Frederick W. Pontius

11.1 Introduction, 251

11.2 Who is the Public?, 251

11.3 Objectives Determine Involvement Level, 252

11.4 Involvement during the Rulemaking Process, 253

11.5 Federal Agency Advisory Committees, 261

11.6 Regulatory Negotiation, 266

11.7 Judicial Review, 268

11.8 USEPA’s Public Involvement Policy, 269

11.9 The Future of Public Participation, 271

PART III CONTAMINANT REGULATION AND TREATMENT 275

12 Control of Drinking Water Pathogens and Disinfection Byproducts 277 
Stig E. Regli, Paul S. Berger and Thomas R. Grubbs

12.1 Introduction, 277

12.2 Control of Waterborne Pathogens Before the 1970s, 277

12.3 Control of Waterborne Pathogens and DBPs in the 1970s, 280

12.4 Control of Waterborne Pathogens and DBPs in the 1980s, 284

12.5 Control of Waterborne Pathogens and DBPs in the 1990s and Beyond, 289

12.6 A View Toward the Future, 301

13 Regulating Radionuclides in Drinking Water 307 
David R. Huber

13.1 Introduction, 307

13.2 Radiation Basics, 310

13.3 SDWA Requirements for Radionuclide Standards, 312

13.4 1976 Radionuclide Regulations, 314

13.5 1991 Proposed Radionuclides Rule, 317

13.6 1996 SDWA Amendments and Rule Revisions, 318

13.7 2000 Final Radionuclides Rule, 322

13.8 Future Outlook, 336

14 Risk-Based Framework for Future Regulatory Decision-Making 339 
Mark Gibson and Mike Osinsiki

14.1 Introduction, 339

14.2 SDWA Amendments of 1996, 340

14.3 Role of Third-Party Consultations in Regulatory Development, 342

14.4 Role of USEPA Programs, 344

14.5 Development of the First CCL, 347

14.6 Public Health Decisions from the 1998 CCL, 349

14.7 Development of Future CCLs, 356

14.8 Illustration of a Prototype Classification Scheme, 368

14.9 Virulence Factor–Activity Relationships (VFARs), 375

14.10 NRC Recommendations and Future Directions, 376

15 Selection of Treatment Technology for SDWA Compliance 381 
Frederick W. Pontius

15.1 Introduction, 381

15.2 SDWA Requirements Affecting Technology Selection, 381

15.3 Acceptance of New Technology, 385

15.4 Advanced Treatment Technology Overview, 386

15.5 Simultaneous Compliance, 395

15.6 Process Optimization, 396

15.7 Technology Selection, 396

16 SDWA Compliance Using Point-of-Use (POU) and Point-of-Entry (POE) Treatment 403 
Frederick W. Pontius, Regu P. Regunathan and Joseph F. Harrison

16.1 Introduction, 403

16.2 POU and POE Technology Benefits, 404

16.3 POU and POE Technology Limitations, 405

16.4 SDWA Requirements for POU and POE Technology, 407

16.5 Certification Programs, 408

16.6 POU and POE Technology Overview, 411

16.7 Selecting POU and POE Technologies, 417

16.8 Installation and Maintenance, 420

16.9 Monitoring, 422

16.10 Implementation Issues and Strategies, 422

16.11 Future Outlook and Trends, 427

PART IV COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES 431

17 Death of the Silent Service: Meeting Consumer Expectations 433 
Elisa M. Speranza

17.1 Introduction, 433

17.2 Who Are Water Utility Customers?, 433

17.3 Public Water Suppliers as a Monopoly, 436

17.4 Where Customers Obtain Information, 436

17.5 What Customers Think and Want, 437

17.6 Gaining Customer Support, 441

17.7 Communicating with Customers, 441

17.8 Benefits of Customer Communication, 446

18 Achieving the Capacity to Comply 449 
Peter E. Shanaghan and Jennifer Bielanski

18.1 Introduction, 449

18.2 Water System Capacity, 450

18.3 Assessing Water System Capacity, 452

18.4 Enhancing System Capacity, 455

18.5 Future Outlook, 461

19 Achieving Sustainable Water Systems 463 
Janice A. Beecher

19.1 Introduction, 463

19.2 Sustainable Systems, 464

19.3 Sustainability and the SDWA, 468

19.4 Affordability and Sustainability, 473

19.5 Pricing Theory, 477

19.6 Rate Design, 481

19.7 Future Trends in Achieving Sustainability, 487

20 Protecting Sensitive Subpopulations 491 
Jeffrey K. Griffiths

20.1 Introduction, 491

20.2 Defining Sensitive Subpopulations, 491

20.3 Sensitive Subpopulations and the SDWA, 492

20.4 Identifying Sensitive Subpopulations, 493

20.5 What Makes a Person or Population Sensitive?, 495

20.6 Which Sensitive Subpopulations Are of Concern to Water Providers?, 505

20.7 Can or Should a Water Supplier Identify Who Belongs to a Sensitive Subpopulation?, 506

20.8 Nontransient and Transient Noncommunity Systems, 506

20.9 Public Health Concepts Relevant to Sensitive Subpopulations, 507

20.10 Future Outlook, 509

21 Environmental Justice and Drinking Water Regulation 513 
Frederick W. Pontius

21.1 Introduction, 513

21.2 Environmental Justice as a Movement, 513

21.3 Identifying Environmental Justice Situations, 517

21.4 Environmental Justice and Contaminant Regulation, 526

21.5 Implications for Water Utilities, 528

21.6 Future Outlook, 529

22 What Water Suppliers Need to Know about Toxic Tort Litigation 533 
Kenneth A. Rubin

22.1 Introduction, 533

22.2 Basics of Toxic Torts, 534

22.3 What Plaintiffs Must Prove, 538

22.4 Key Steps in Litigation, 543

22.5 Case Histories Involving Water Suppliers, 549

22.6 Future Outlook for Tort Litigation, 552

23 Intellectual Property Laws and Water Technology 555 
Linda E. B. Hansen

23.1 Introduction, 555

23.2 Property, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents, 555

23.3 Patent Laws, 556

23.4 Obtaining a Patent, 563

23.5 Patent Infringement, 564

23.6 Future Outlook in Intellectual Property Law, 566

24 Water System Security 567 
Frederick W. Pontius

24.1 Introduction, 567

24.2 Threats to Public Water Systems, 568

24.3 SDWA Security Provisions, 570

24.4 Department of Homeland Security, 576

24.5 Future Outlook, 580

Appendixes

A Summary Tables of Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories 583

USEPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and

USEPA Office of Science and Technology

B 1962 U.S. Public Health Service Standards 621

C Section-by-Section Summary of the SDWA 635 
Frederick W. Pontius

D Text of the SDWA as Amended and Related Statutes 721 
Compiled by Frederick W. Pontius

E How Our Laws are Made 871 
Charles W. Johnson

F Enactment of a Law 923 
Robert B. Dove

G Listing of Drinking Water Federal Register Notices 953 
Compiled by Frederick W. Pontius, P.E.

H Outline of 40 CFR 141, 142, and 143 971 
Compiled by Frederick W. Pontius

I Example Capacity Development Tool 979 

South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources

J U.S. Water Industry Statistics 995 

USEPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

Index 1009