Naturally occurring water can contain a variety of inorganic chemicals and microorganisms. In addition, human activities from farming, manufacturing, and even residential living produces chemical and biological waste products that may contaminate drinking water sources.

In general, the greater the concentration of human activity, the greater the risk to drinking water.

US Environmental Protection Agency regulations and Florida Statutes are written to help reduce the risk from encountering contaminated drinking water. The tighter statutes and rules are made, the more risk potential is reduced, but at the cost of added financial and administrative burdens to Florida citizens.

Current Florida rules on drinking water strive to achieve a balance between proliferating requirements and allowing opportunities for undue and dangerous health risks.

The Florida Safe Drinking Water Act, as administered by the Department of Environmental Protection and 11 delegated counties, helps to safeguard municipal water supplies serving municipalities and large public water system communities from a wide range of more than 100 chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants.

Chapter 64E-8, F.A.C.,as administered by the Department of Health, helps to safeguard private and limited use public water systems in mostly rural Florida. Chapter 64E-8,F.A.C., rules have been written to protect our most vulnerable citizens -- the very young, the very old, persons with immune deficiencies, and also tenants, visitors, customers, and workers who have no control of the quality of the water they drink in an establishment.