A water tower in Sacaton, the central town of the Gila River Indian Community. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue

Safe Drinking Water Act Turns 50

In 1974, amidst growing concerns about pollution and its impact on public health, the U.S. passed the Safe Drinking Water Act, marking a major step toward ensuring clean and safe water for all Americans. The Safe Drinking Water Act aimed to protect public health by setting standards for drinking water quality, benefiting millions of Americans who now have access to clean tap water.

Despite the progress, challenges remain. Two million Americans still lack access to running water, and minority communities, particularly Black and Hispanic populations, often face worse water quality. Aging infrastructure, underfunded repairs, and unregulated private well water further exacerbate these problems. In recent years, there have been calls to regulate emerging contaminants like PFAS, which pose serious health risks, though critics argue that addressing issues like aging pipes should be prioritized.

Today, small water systems are particularly vulnerable, struggling with limited resources and poor infrastructure, and are more likely to violate health standards. Public mistrust in tap water has led to increased bottled water consumption. Ensuring clean, safe water for all Americans requires both adequate funding and restoring public confidence in water systems.

Yakima Valley dairies are some of the largest in the U.S. © Keith Schneider / Circle of Blue

Regulators Battle Oregon and Washington Farmers Over Limits to Farm Contamination

SUNNYSIDE, Washington – Waters from the snowpack of the Cascade Mountains support orchards, vineyards and dairies here in the Yakima Valley of eastern Washington State, boosting a flourishing farm economy and helping to stock store grocery shelves nationwide.

But as the waters flow, so do a host of dangerous farm pollutants, contaminating drinking water wells in the valley and through the adjacent Lower Umatilla Basin across the state line in Oregon.

Regulators and citizen groups have been pressing crop and livestock producers for years to document and rein in the pollution, tightening restrictions on some of the nation’s largest dairies, and bringing litigation against several seen out of compliance.

The actions put both Washington and Oregon among a growing number of US states leading a controversial national campaign to make agriculture more accountable for its mammoth wastes.

Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline was constructed in 1953. It runs under the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Photo © J.Carl Ganter/ Circle of Blue

Opinion: Halt the Oil Flow Across Straits of Mackinac

From the perspective of Americans who live in Michigan and Wisconsin, the Line 5 oil pipeline across the Straits of Mackinac makes no sense. 

It’s old, 72 years old. Line 5 is older than the U.S. interstate highway system, and that’s been in major repair for a quarter century. 

It’s in the wrong place. The pipeline’s 645 mile-long corridor from Superior, Wisconsin, to a refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, includes 4.5 miles of bottomlands submerged 130 feet below the surface of the Straits of Mackinac. Dividing Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas the Straits are an irreplaceable expanse of clean water that connects two of the planet’s largest bodies of fresh water — Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. If Line 5 ruptures, according to a study 11 years ago by the University of Michigan, oil would contaminate the waters and shoreline of both lakes for 50 miles. 

And it’s owned by a Canada-based company, Enbridge Inc., that has amassed a truly worrisome record of unsafe operations.

The Rundown

• EPA releases draft health risk assessment for two PFAS in biosolids.
• EPA publishes final toxicity review for inorganic arsenic, a naturally occurring drinking water contaminant.
• USGS releases study on water supply and demand in the Lower 48 states.
• EPA evaluates environmental impact of federal biofuels mandate.
• New study assesses potential for floating solar panels on federal reservoirs.
• EPA appeals a court ruling that it must strengthen fluoride regulation.
• President Biden issues an executive order to facilitate next-generation AI data centers using federal lands.
• Reclamation distributes ecosystem restoration funds for the upper Colorado River basin.

And lastly, President Biden designates two new national monuments in California.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.