EPA Lacks Data To Back Up $11 Billion In Drinking Water Outlays

The EPA does not collect enough data from states about its major drinking water funding program, according to a report by the agency's own watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General.

The program in question is the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), which accounts for about a tenth of the EPA budget. The fund provides low-interest loans to states for drinking water projects.

"The EPA needs to enforce grant requirements for collecting DWSRF project information to demonstrate the public health results of the $11.37 billion it has invested in drinking water infrastructure since 2009," the report said.

"The EPA does not obtain all required DWSRF project data from states, despite capitalization grants that require states to input key project information into EPA databases," the report said.

In addition, the EPA "does not always use annual reviews of state DWSRF programs to assess project outcomes," the report said.

The upshot is that there is no clear data on the efficacy of these funding programs.

"Without this information the EPA cannot determine whether completed DWSRF projects contributed to improved drinking water quality," the report said.

The public health benefits of the EPA's work cannot be proved without this data.

"The EPA is unable to demonstrate the public health results of its large DWSRF agency expenditure...Further, the EPA cannot demonstrate the overall success of DWSRF projects. The EPA is also missing an opportunity to capture potential best practices of state programs and projects," the report said.

The report said the agency agreed with its findings and is taking action to correct the problem. The report included various recommendations for the agency.

"We recommend that the Assistant Administrator for Water enforce grant requirements that states input all necessary data in the project-level tracking database and review data completeness as part of the EPA’s annual review of state performance. We also recommend that the EPA enhance coordination between DWSRF and Public Water System Supervision programs and periodically evaluate program results," the report said.

The DWSRF was created in 1996 by the Safe Drinking Water Act. It aims to "make funds available to drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. The program also emphasizes providing funds to small and disadvantaged communities and to programs that encourage pollution prevention as a tool for ensuring safe drinking water."

A recent example of DWSRF outlays came in November when the agency sent money to Oklahoma.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $14,226,000 to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to fund drinking water systems throughout the state," KGOU reported.

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