Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund - Needs Survey
The purpose of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment is to evaluate capital improvement needs for public water systems as required by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. It occurs every four years and is used to compile data for planned capital improvement needs over a projected 20-year period.
Using forms that are generated and distributed by US EPA, public water systems record data that describe their basic information such as population served, and total design capacity. The systems also list the name, scope, and cost of future infrastructure improvement projects that are required in order to protect public health. There are guidelines that projects must meet in order to be deemed eligible for evaluation. US EPA acquires the forms, evaluates the data, and uses that information to compile a report it submits to Congress.
US EPA uses the data generated by the Needs Survey to determine the allocation of annual SDWSRF money to the States. This allocation constitutes the source of the funding for the SDWSRF for California. The water systems in California draw money from this fund to finance future infrastructure improvements through low-interest loans, no-interest loans, and grants. With the 2003 national Needs Survey US EPA found that 53,000 community water systems and 21,400 not-for-profit noncommunity water systems would need to invest an estimated $276.8 billion between 2003 and 2023.
The 2007 Survey
CDPH assists the US EPA in the Needs Survey. For the 2007 Needs Survey, CDPH has elected to hire a contractor through the competitive bidding process to work with the various systems in California so that the Needs Survey forms can be properly filled out in a thorough and timely manner. This effort is important because it will help California ensure that funding will be available to allow water systems to supply clean, wholesome drinking water for our citizens well into the future.