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EPA Invests $8 M to Secure S.F. Water Supply

May 21, 2008

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded an $8 million grant to San Francisco to help the city develop and evaluate a drinking water contamination warning system for its drinking water supply.

The pilot project, called the Water Security Initiative, is expected to serve as a model for the nation's drinking water utilities. The grant funds will allow the San Francisco Public Utility Commission to pilot monitoring, sampling, detection, and early warning systems. The $8 million EPA grant will be matched by a $3 million investment by the commission. New York City also recently received a similar grant, announced last month.

The commission currently tests drinking water more than 90,000 times per year throughout the regional water system using state-of-the-art sampling, detection, and analysis tools. EPA's grant will allow the commission to deploy and pilot new high-technology equipment that monitors and detects for new potential contaminants at key locations in the water system. While specific details about the system cannot be divulged for security reasons, the contamination warning system to be installed and evaluated by San Francisco involves online water quality monitoring, public health surveillance, sampling and analysis, enhanced security monitoring, and consumer complaint surveillance.

The warning system is designed to be sustainable for long-term operation and to improve water quality management.

For more information, visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/index.cfm.