More than 4,000 US water utilities serving 13 million people don't meet the new federal standard for arsenic, and must bring their systems into compliance by Jan. 23, 2006. Some have begun to do so, but many are struggling, and a few are paying no attention to the deadline. (read more)
The US areas most likely to have arsenic-contaminated groundwater are in the West, Midwest, and Northeast, but "hot spots" can occur elsewhere. To reduce problems, community water providers must meet the new standard, and millions of people who get their water from unregulated wells may want to investigate the local potential for risk.
About 97% of the utilities that don't meet the new standard are small, serving fewer than 10,000 people. Their small size makes the necessary improvements potentially much more costly per customer than for larger systems. EPA estimates annual costs per household will run about $32 for systems serving more than 10,000 people, but will jump to $38-327 for utilities serving fewer than 10,000 people.
The Rural Community Assistance Partnership says many of the small communities it's working with are having a difficult time, given the expense and limited funding and remediation options. RCAP would prefer to see the deadline pushed back, and to have a more aggressive national effort to find technology alternatives and funding sources. On the other hand, RCAP doesn't want to see its constituents drinking unsafe water.
RCAP says some communities remain unaware of the new standard and deadline, and that others are already beginning the process of requesting an exemption or extension from their state water department. Some states are just beginning to figure out how the exemption process, permitted in the EPA regulation, will work.
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