What Is the Safe Drinking Water Act?

Drinking water rules start with a federal law, the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA writes national rules under it. In most places a state, territory, or tribe runs the program day to day. That agency is called the primacy agency. It enforces the rules and can add its own.

You will hear about two kinds of monitoring in this course. Operational monitoring is what you test to run the plant. Compliance monitoring is what the rules require, at an approved point, by an approved method, often at a certified lab. Both matter, but only a compliance sample counts toward the rules.

Your system's monitoring schedule, permits, and agency letters tell you exactly what applies to you. When you are not sure, protect the deadline and ask your compliance lead or the primacy agency.

Key point: Federal rules set the floor, the primacy agency and your schedule set your exact duties, and only compliance samples count toward the rules.