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1 1 (March 26, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcszr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Researh Sevice COVID-19 and Regulation of Public Drinking Water March 26, 2020 During infectious disease outbreaks, questions regarding public water supplies may emerge, as a safe and adequate water supply is a key component to protecting public health. As the United States and other countries respond to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), questions may arise regarding the potential for the COVID-19 virus to be present in public water supplies. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that Americans can continue to use and drink water from their tap as usual. To support water providers and others in addressing COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 19, 2020, issued interin guidance on water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-1 9 virus. The guidance states that the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in water supplies and that the risk to water supplies is low based on current evidence. In its guidance, WHO characterizes the COVID-19 virus as an enveloped virus, with a fragile outer membrane and states that the COVID-19 virus is likely to be more sensitive to chlorine and other oxidant disinfection processes than other types of viruses. Given the virus's fragile outer membrane, WHO reports that conventional centralized water treatment methods that use filtration or disinfection methods should inactivate the COVID- 19 virus. Similarly, the CDC states that conventional drinking water treatments, such as those in most municipal drinking water systems, should remove or inactivate the COVID-19 virus. In the United States, privately and publicly owned water systems are required to comply with federal drinking water regulations, which include requirements for such conventional drinking water treatments. National Drinking Water Regulations The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA; 42 U.S.C. §§300f-300j-27) authorizes EPA to regulate contaminants that may occur in water provided by public water systems. In addition to the act's broad rulemaking provisions, Congress amended SDWA in 1986 and 1996 to specifically direct EPA to promulgate regulations to increase protections against microbial contaminants (42 U.S.C. §300g-1(b)(7)- (8)). Using SDWA authorities, EPA has issued national primary drinking water regulations for more than 90 contaminants, including microbial contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11283 CRS NStGHT Prepaimed for Mernbei-s and Committees 4 o. C- --q .. . . . . . . . ...----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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