EPA Announces Proposal to Improve Public Awareness of Drinking Water Quality

EPA announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would strengthen the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) Rule making annual drinking water quality reports with important public health information more accessible to residents and businesses across the country. A Consumer Confidence Report, sometimes called an “Annual Drinking Water Quality Report,” summarizes information about the local drinking water for the previous year. EPA’s proposal would support public education by more clearly communicating important information in water quality reports and improving access to the reports.

As part of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA), Congress instructed EPA to revise the CCR Rule. The proposed revisions support the goal of the SDWA “right-to-know” provisions by improving the CCRs so that people can make better decisions about their drinking water. EPA’s proposed CCR rule will work to further that goal by making sure important information in annual reports are accurate and accessible.

EPA is seeking comment on this proposal for 45 days after publication in the Federal Register.  A pre-publication version and fact sheets are available now at https://www.epa.gov/ccr/consumer-confidence-report-rule-revisions