EPA building

Who creates water policies and rules?

Within the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for setting national health-based standards to ensure our drinking water supplies are safe and protected from contaminants. In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to protect public health by regulating public water systems.1 Since then, the EPA has set legal limits and regulations for over 90 contaminants that are found in drinking water.2 The EPA then works with each state and their public water systems to ensure its water quality standards are being met.

The EPA also monitors and collects data about unregulated contaminants that may be present in our water, or contaminants of emerging concern (CECs).3 Every five years, the EPA publishes a new contaminant candidate list with contaminants that have been identified in public water systems but aren’t regulated yet.4 After determining the adverse health effects, the prevalence of the contaminant and if it warrants a national regulation, the EPA may create new regulations to better protect the public’s health.5

Before creating a new regulation, the EPA will take all of the data collected on a contaminant’s health effects and determine two different factors: the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) and the maximum contaminant level (MCL). The MCLG is a non-enforceable public health goal that considers public health but doesn’t account for a city water system’s ability to detect or effectively treat for the contaminant.6 Once the MCLG is set, the EPA determines the MCL, which is the maximum level of a contaminant that’s allowed in public water systems and an enforceable standard.7

What are Water Violations?

As part of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA requires each state to report drinking water information periodically for their public water systems. It’s then published in the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), a database that includes any health-based, monitoring or reporting violations reported. Drinking water violations include when a system has:

  • failed to follow established monitoring and reporting schedules
  • failed to comply with mandated treatment techniques
  • violated any maximum contaminant levels (MCLs)
  • failed to communicate required information to their customers

To check your city water system’s violations, search for your state on the Safe Drinking Water Information System.

Effects of Water Quality on Your Plumbing and Appliances

Corrosive Copper Pipe

The Langelier Saturation Index and PH Levels

Water that’s high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, bicarbonate and other minerals can cause scaling and mineral build-up on your pipes and fixtures. You may also notice build-up on your everyday appliances, like your water heater or coffee maker. This scaling can be unsightly and can also cause your water heater to be less energy efficient and lose capacity over time.8

On the other hand, factors such as a low pH or low levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) can make water more corrosive. TDS refers to any minerals, salts, metals, cations, or anions dissolved in water. When water is corrosive, it starts to dissolve metals in internal plumbing systems, which can result in high levels of lead or copper in your household water. If your copper pipes are corroding, you may notice bluish-green stains around your sinks and bathroom fixtures and metallic tasting water.9 Excess copper in the human body can cause intestinal distress, and corrosion of lead is a major health hazard, which unfortunately can’t be detected by changes in the look or taste of your drinking water.10

Ideally, your water should be balanced between these two extremes. The Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) is a measure often used to determine the scaling potential of water by indicating the degree of calcium carbonate saturation in the water. An acceptable range is an LSI between -0.3 and +0.3. Water that’s lower than -0.3 is considered corrosive and water greater than +0.3 is scale-forming.11

Hard Water on bathroom sink

Hard Water

Hardness is a measure of the dissolved calcium and magnesium in your water, and hard water is high in dissolved minerals, mainly calcium and magnesium.12 It’s estimated that 85% of U.S. households have hard water, yet only 30% use water softeners to improve the quality.13 Hard water can reduce the effectiveness of soap and shampoo, leaving a soapy layer on your skin and hair.14 It can also make your laundry and dishes harder to clean and leave a layer of scum on your bathroom surfaces, water fixtures and drinking glasses. When hard water is heated, solid deposits of calcium carbonate can form, which can raise the costs of heating your water, lower the efficiency of your water heater and clog your pipes. Mineral build-up can also occur in household appliances, like coffee makers and tea kettles.

Hardness in water isn’t a health concern, but it can cause your hair to break more easily, leaving it brittle and frizzy, and even break down your nail beds and nails over time.15 To determine how hard your home’s water is, you need to evaluate the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) levels:

  • Soft water is between 0–60 mg/l hardness (as CaCO3)
  • Moderately hard water is between 61–120 mg/l (as CaCO3)
  • Very hard water is between 121–180 mg/l (as CaCO316

If the impact of hard water on your skin, hair or household plumbing and appliances is of concern, water softening solutions are available.

Water Filtration

When is the Right Time to Explore Water Filtration?

Whether you're undergoing a home renovation or just want better tasting water, there are lots or reasons to explore your water filtration options. Be sure to test your water and explore water filtration solutions if:

  1. You notice a change in the taste or smell of your water
  2. You’re renovating or building a new home
  3. You’re planning to replace your kitchen faucet soon
  4. You’ve received your Annual Water Quality report
  5. You receive a boil alert from your municipal or city water system, or if there are water quality concerns in your community