By Susan Boser and Diane Oleson , Pennsylvania State University

Americas drinking water infrastructure is aging and in serious need of modernization . Pipes are overdue for replacement, and water and wastewater treatment systems need upgrades to deal with new classes of pollutants. Changing a drinking water standard or adding a new substance to the list of contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency is time-consuming. Some water systems are having problems meeting current standards, much less upgrading to meet new requirements.

A 2017 Gallup poll found that 63 percent of Americans worry a great deal about drinking water pollution . And a recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Threats on Tap , suggests that they have good reason. According to the report, community water systems public systems that serve cities and towns year-round registered more than 80,000 reported violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2015.

As water resource educators with Penn State Universitys Extension service, our role is to educate the public using research-based information. Most of our work is focused on private water systems mainly wells and springs, which are used by over 15 million U.S. households . These private systems share many of the critical concerns about public systems addressed in NRDCs national report.