Drinking Water—Safety on Tap - Future Drinking Water Challenges

Tremendous progress has been made in the years since the adoption of the SDWA in the treatment, protection, and provision of safe drinking water. This feat was accomplished primarily because of the efforts of professionals in the drinking water and health industries in the public and private sectors. Public health protection has been, and remains, the focus for providing safe drinking water. Nevertheless, as the American population has grown and its lifestyle has become more sophisticated, the problems of providing safe drinking water have become more technically complex.

An increasingly large elderly population, the increasing survival rate of cancer patients, and the growing number of HIV/AIDS patients will make it increasingly critical that health information about drinking water and its potential contaminants be provided in a direct and easily understandable way to immunocompromised populations. In addition, the private and public sectors will have to work together effectively to increase our knowledge about the health effects of known contaminants and newly discovered microbes and chemicals on both healthy and immunocompromised people. Efficient, sound scientific research will be needed to support this effort.

As population and development increase and urban and suburban areas expand, all communities, regardless of size, will have to embrace the practice of water conservation. Water source protection to reduce the negative effects that these trends can potentially have on the quality and availability of drinking water will require high priority and funding. Consumers will have to be educated to recognize that their actions affect the quality of drinking water sources, and the level of treatment that is required to provide safe drinking water. High-quality tap drinking water will cost more in the future, but it will still be significantly less costly than alternatives such as bottled water.