AWWA ACE54504

The topic of a mandate regarding cross connections is being discussed nationwide, from the water user to the water supplier. The supplier turns to the state officials who in turn approach the US Environmental Protection Agency. The Safe Drinking Water Act stipulates that purveyors will provide clean, safe, drinking water. Without an on-going cross connection control program, water in the distribution system cannot be assured to be safe or the quality maintained. In some states where programs are being implemented, turf wars are being waged between plumbing inspectors and water district personnel. Who has jurisdiction to the last free-flowing tap? Is a water purveyor free of liability, if there is a strong meter protection program, but no point-of-use program? A contributing factor to this issue is the fact that there is not a mandate which clearly states responsibility. This is an issue which becomes more important each day as new chemicals, which are used in conjunction with drinking water, are put on the market and new waterborne diseases are discovered. This paper addresses the question of whether there should be a federal mandate which specifically addresses cross connections and what that mandate should include.