The State of Safe Water: The Future of SDWA Implementation for Primacy Agencies

Abstract How will the role of state agencies evolve in ensuring safe drinking water in the future? The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) puts most of the implementation responsibilities for safe drinking water with state, territorial, and tribal agencies, starting with regulatory oversight and primary enforcement authority (primacy) over 150,000 public water systems. State agencies face a perfect storm of declining funding, increasing complexity of the regulations, the ongoing challenges in helping the many struggling small, rural water systems with infrastructure and aging workforce, and two complex regulations finalized in 2024: the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) rule and the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRIs). This chapter examines trends in funding, violations, and enforcement actions over the past decade and how those trends will change in the future. A series of policy and funding solutions for state agencies is outlined to become more efficient and optimize implementation of current and future regulations.