How will a revised MCL impact homeowners and industry?
The EPA estimates that approximately 13 million people in the United States routinely drink water with more than 10 parts per billion of arsenic.The proposed MCL would require that all drinking water and industry wastewater be treated to this limit by the year 2006, which has been estimated to cost consumers somewhere between $5-20/month in areas affected.Small water systems — those serving less than 1,000 people — will feel a greater financial impact from the new arsenic rule. The EPA estimates approximately 2,526 of 2,912 or 86 percent of small community water (groundwater) systems serving less than 3,300 people will be impacted at a 10 ppb MCL. Recent studies indicate that treatment costs can be minimized for the small communities by implementing a point-of-use (POU) approach rather than through a centralized treatment system.A POU system is a filtration device that is attached under a household’s sink to treat the water that comes from that particular faucet. The short turn-aroun
