Temporal and Spatial Patterns in Drinking Water Quality Across the United States

Dear Colleagues,

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for drinking water quality to protect human health and safety. The chemical contaminants that are regulated include nitrate/nitrite, disinfection byproducts (e.g., trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids), heavy metals (e.g., arsenic, lead, copper), organic chemicals (e.g., benzene and other volatile organic compounds), and pathogens (e.g., fecal coliform). The contaminants that most often exceed their maximum contaminant level (MCL) are nitrate, arsenic, and disinfection byproducts. There are often distinct spatial patterns in drinking water quality across the United States, with, for example, nitrate violations occurring often in areas with high agricultural lands and arsenic contaminant occurring in the southwest due to parent geology and other factors. Drinking water quality also varies regionally by public water system size, type, and population density. Temporally, drinking water contamination has seen declines in many of the prominent contaminants, likely due to regulations, enforcement, and improved treatment of public water supplies.  

This Special Issue of Water aims to compile the latest knowledge on how drinking water quality various over space and time. We foresee that the papers in this Special Issue will significantly contribute to the knowledge of how to continue to improve drinking water quality for all populations across the United States.  

Dr. Michael J. Pennino
Guest Editor

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• drinking water quality
• nitrate
• watershed management
• stream restoration
• stormwater best management practices
• disinfection biproducts
• land use
• climate
• treatment