Consumer Confidence Reports

Consumer confidence reports are the centerpiece of the right-to-know provisions in the 1996 Amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The requirement for consumer confidence reports was developed by EPA in consultation with water suppliers, environmental groups, and the states to enable Americans to make educated decisions regarding any potential health effects pertaining to the quality, treatment, and management of their drinking water supply.

The Amendments contain several other provisions aimed at improving public information about drinking water, including the annual public water system compliance report and improved public notification in cases where a waterworks owner is not meeting a contaminant standard.

Every community waterworks owner must distribute a consumer confidence report annually that provides consumers with the following fundamental information about their drinking water:

• the lake, river, aquifer, or other source of the drinking water;
• a brief summary of the susceptibility to contamination of the local drinking water source, based on the source water assessments that states are completing over the next five years; how to get a copy of the water system's complete source water assessment;
• the level (or range of levels) of any contaminant found in local drinking water, as well as EPA's health- based standard (maximum contaminant level) for comparison;
• the likely source of that contaminant in the local drinking water supply;
• the potential health effects of any contaminant detected in violation of an EPA health standard, and an accounting of the system's actions to restore safe drinking water;
• the water system's compliance with other drinking water-related rules;
• an educational statement for vulnerable populations about avoiding Cryptosporidium;
• educational information on nitrate, arsenic, or lead in areas where these contaminants are detected above 50% of EPA's standard; and
• phone numbers of additional sources of information, including the water system and EPA 's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

This information will supplement public notification that waterworks owners must provide to their customers upon discovering any violation of a contaminant standard. The annual consumer confidence report should not be the primary notification of potential health risks posed by drinking water, but will provide customers with a snapshot of their drinking water supply.

Please contact your community waterworks owner to obtain a copy of the consumer confidence report or to learn more about your waterworks.

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