Capacity Development Strategy for Existing Public Water Supplies: July 2000, Revised August 11, 2005

              CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR EXISTING PUBLIC
WATER SUPPLIES
July 2000
Revised August 11, 2005
COMMUNITY PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
DEMONSTRATION
INTRODUCTION
The provision of a safe, adequate supply of drinking water to all Illinois public water supply
consumers is and has been a top priority for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency since its
inception in 1970. Prior to that time, laws and regulations regarding drinking water were in effect in
Illinois as early as 1881, under the supervision of various agencies such as the Illinois Bureau of
Health or local health departments. Many states operated in a similar manner, providing education
and enforcing water supply requirements in order to protect public health.
Before the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed by Congress in 1974, the regulatory agency approach
to ensuring safe drinking water in Illinois took a proactive partnership approach. A considerable
amount of field staff time was spent in providing technical assistance by evaluating the adequacy and
operation of the public water supply, providing assistance during emergencies, and reviewing
operational and management problems with the owners and operators of public water supplies. This
allocation of resources was believed to be an investment in safe drinking water compliance.
The emerging federal regulations which followed the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act resulted
in an increasingly diminished amount of time spent providing assistance to public water supplies, as
personnel spent time reviewing federal regulations; promulgating those regulations at the state level;
ensuring that all new requirements were disseminated to the water supply community; evaluating
water supply compliance based upon the increasing number of complex regulations generated; and
completing a vast array of federal reports. Time frames for compliance, progression of compliance,
and formal enforcement assumed a much larger role in public water supply regulation. Funding for
federal initiatives supported approximately 20% of the overall drinking water program cost, for many
years. Priority state programs began to diminish, as federal requirements were met. For a time, the
proportion of federal support increased to approximately 50% of program costs. The phase in of new
regulatory requirements and the dollars required to support professional assessment resources,
recordkeeping, reporting, and data submission demands needed to implement and maintain those new
requirements are not adequately funded by timely federal grant increases.
Illinois initially viewed the Capacity Development program as an opportunity to again place a higher
priority upon the provision of assistance to public water supplies. This program ensures that water
supplies will have a firm foundation to base operations upon, supported by adequate finances, a
defined management structure, and clear communication channels to facilitate the many
responsibilities of operating in compliance. After five years of experience with implementation,
Illinois remains convinced that, in order to be a permanent part of the base drinking water program,
new or enhanced program elements highlighted in the capacity program must be incorporated as an
integral part of the engineering evaluation. Illinois has found the use of a “pre-screening” survey to be
a useful tool in identifying and collecting data for these program elements. This process is especially
important in ensuring that both new and existing water supplies are held to the same standards of
operation across the State.