SDWA Wall Chart, 17th Edition Sources
Sources Guide Wall Chart's Infographic Facts
If you’ve seen the back side of our 17th edition SDWA Wall Chart, then you’ve seen our depiction of five critical drinking water challenges. To illustrate their complexity and magnitude, we quantified these challenges through infographic facts. We’d like to give credit to our sources. Each fact was informed by research teams, organizations or authors whose investigations help us better our industry. Thank you!
Blue-Green Algal Blooms
Fact: 50+ countries, including 35 U.S. states, suspect cyanobacterial toxins have caused human and animal illness, even death.
Fact: Cyanobacteria can produce compounds with taste and odor thresholds below 10 ppt, or <1 drop in an Olympic-sized pool.
Fact: 41% of U.S. rivers rated “poor” quality due to phosphorous and nitrogen contamination.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
Fact: Between 2013 and 2015, 5.5.M people drank water with PFAS levels over the health advisory limit of 70 ppt.
Fact: 95% of U.S. residents have PFAS in their blood.
Drinking Water Lead Exposure
Fact: >$200M spent annually on phosphate-based corrosion control, contributing to wastewater phosphorus loads.
- National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, EPA, 2019
- The Use of Phosphates in Water Treatment for Corrosion Control & Sequestration, MWUA, 2017
Fact: Removing all U.S. lead service lines will cost $43B+ and affect 1/3 of all water systems and 50,000 miles of pipe.
- Lead Service Line Replacement Program, City of Newark, 2020
- National Survey of Lead Service Line Occurrence, Journal AWWA, 2016
Fact: 37% of public school districts report elevated lead in drinking water — mostly attributable to brass fixtures.
Beneficial Reuse
Fact: Over 850,000 taps supplied daily via indirect potable reuse in Orange County, California.
Fact: Over 70% of global internet traffic flows through Loudoun County, Virginia, where recycled water is used for cooling processes in data centers.
Fact: Reuse can play a major role in the $500B investment gap for drinking water/wastewater infrastructure.
Fact: 158B gallons of potable water are saved by reclaiming 67% of Florida’s wastewater.
Fact: Over 1B gallons of water are recycled as non-potable in the U.S.
Public Works and Community Resilience
Fact: 6B gallons of treated water is wasted daily from water main breaks.
Fact: Over $400B is needed to address sea level rise and climate change vulnerabilities over the next 20 years.
Fact: Utilities experience 1 cyberattack per year, bypassing security guards, gates, and cameras.
Fact: 30% of all U.S. water operators are age 55+.
You will receive two printed copies of the wall chart so both sides can be viewed when hung on a wall.