Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, 1984, and 1996 The SDWA was originally drafted in 1974 and has since been amended twice to expand protection of public water supplies and regulation. The purpose of the SDWA is to assure high quality drinking water free of contaminants such as fecal matter and viral diseases. The other purpose of the SDWA is to regulate the use of various public lakes, rivers, and desalinization plants to assure sustainability of water supplies. Regulation of the SDWA falls under the control of the EPA on public lands, but on Indian reservations regulation falls to individuals with EPA approved operator certification. This law is a solely a national law and does not apply internationally. This law also does not apply to bottled water.

The Law and the 1996 Amendment The SDWA, including the 1984 amendment, was originally designed to only set standards for water quality, until the 1996 amendment. The 1996 amendment includes components of cost-benefit analysis as well as source water protection, operator certification, and increased public notification of water reports. The SDWA even dedicates a multimillion dollar fund to each state for safe up keeping of filtration systems. Alex Tyner Period 1 4/22/11