40th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Celebrating 40 Years of Safe Drinking Water!

December 16, 2014 will commemorate the 40 year anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act. All of the state drinking water programs across the nation, and everyone in the drinking water sector have good reasons to celebrate this momentous occasion! Since the SDWA was passed in 1974, we have come a long way in our efforts aimed at ensuring that Americans receive water that is safe to drink from approximately 152,000 public water systems. The work we have done together over the last 40 years to address a wide array of drinking water contaminants and prevent waterborne disease has helped protect the health of our citizens and families; as well as the sustainability of our economy, communities, and businesses that all rely on safe and adequate supplies of drinking water. However, our efforts are not finished. Much work still remains to be done to protect drinking water sources; address aging infrastructure; manage shrinking budgets; deal with new and emerging contaminants; and prepare for extreme weather and other unexpected events. Let’s keep striving forward and make sure that the next 40 years are as great as the last!

Learn more about the 40th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act at www.asdwa.org/40thanniversary. Please use the hashtag #SDWA40 in your social media communications.