EPA Releases a Checklist to Help States Identify and Address Drinking Water System Risks

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a guidance document designed to help state drinking water programs proactively identify and address challenges that could threaten the reliability and safety of public water systems. The checklist, announced on August 13, 2026, is intended to strengthen collaboration between EPA and state primacy agencies while supporting ongoing compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The checklist provides a practical framework for identifying systemic issues and underlying conditions that may not pose an immediate threat but could eventually disrupt service or compromise water quality if left unresolved. Examples include source water demands approaching system capacity, malfunctioning treatment equipment, recurring water main breaks, and other operational vulnerabilities. According to EPA, many of these concerns can be identified and addressed during sanitary surveys before they develop into larger public health or reliability risks.

EPA developed this resource to complement existing sanitary survey programs and emphasizes that the checklist is designed to fit within current survey processes rather than to create new regulatory requirements or administrative burdens. The guidance includes tools for documenting systemic concerns and recommendations for tracking issues through long-term resolution.

The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), which partnered with EPA in developing the guidance, welcomed the new resource. ASDWA's Executive Director, Anthony DeRosa, noted that proactive system management is a key component of utility resilience and that the checklist offers state agencies and utilities a structured approach for identifying emerging risks, strengthening sanitary survey programs, and supporting continuous improvement across water systems of all sizes.

For water utilities, this new checklist reinforces the growing emphasis on preventative asset management, resilience planning, and early risk identification. By helping states and utilities systematically track operational concerns before they escalate, the guidance aims to support reliable service delivery, protect public health, and strengthen the long-term sustainability of drinking water systems.

The Checklist for Identifying Systemic Issues at Public Water Systems and Reporting to EPA document is highlighted on the EPA’s sanitary survey page as well as on the EPA’s SDWA capacity development state resources webpage.