Tag Archives: EPA

Rainwater Catchment

Safe Drinking Water Act Hits 40th Anniversary Milestone

Glass Of Water With Ice CubesIn December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency marked the 40th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

According to the EPA, “SDWA is the main federal law that ensures the quality of Americans’ drinking water. Under SDWA, EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.”

The act originally was passed by Congress in 1974 to guard public health by regulating the country’s public drinking water supply, including water sources like rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells. It sets national standards for drinking water to protect the public against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may occur. US EPA, states, and water systems then work together to make sure that these standards are met.

The EPA held event at the San Jose Community and Bea Main Learning Center in Coachella Valley, CA to commemorate the SDWA’s 40th anniversary. “Every day more than 38 million Californians rely on clean water for cooking, washing, and bathing,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “We have made incredible progress in improving water quality and are tackling the remaining challenges so that every American will have access to clean drinking water.”

Since close to 300 million people depend on 50,000 community water systems across the country for safe, reliable water every day, it’s important that we acknowledge the importance of this Act, which protects a most vital resource to our citizens.

Click here to read more about SDWA’s 40th anniversary.

“Glass Of Water With Ice Cubes” courtesy of taesmileland / www.freedigitalphotos.net

Commercial Rainwater Harvesting, Rainwater Catchment, Rainwater Harvesting Education

Protecting Clean Water – Ditch the Myth

Protecting Clean Water - Ditch the Myth

Through education and research, RainBank is committed to sharing information of value to readers that can help them learn more about why it’s important to have clean water and how to design, build and maintain rainwater harvesting and collection systems for home and business.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seek to protect clean water and have proposed a rule to clarify protection for streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.

Here is a link to facts that were published in order to dispel apprehensions and misunderstandings about the proposed rule.  The site also points out that the proposed rule will help cut through red tape to make normal farming practices easier, while also ensuring that waters are clean for human health, communities, and the economy.