The Public Water System Delivery of Potable Water

The public water system is required to deliver water that meets the standards established by the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. However, these regulations do not require the public water system to control cross-connections to the last free flow tap, that means that the water consumed within the building may not be safe to drink because of the existence of unprotected cross-connections. As the poster states the Safe Drinking Water Act is “Protecting Americas’ Public Health.” In order to protect the public health, the public water system cross-connection control program should include a plan of action for controlling cross-connections within the premises of a building after the meter. A cross-connection control survey should be conducted of every industrial, commercial and educational facility. The residential customer should be made aware of the danger of cross-connections within the residential plumbing system.  Consideration should be given to require the owner of a building to provide adequate proof that the internal domestic water system complies with the local or state plumbing codes.