Bill would help towns pay for drinking water

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

A bill that would provide $750 million to help small communities improve water quality and protect public health was introduced in the Senate today.

The Small Community Safe Drinking Water Act would provide almost $750 million annually to states and American Indian tribes to improve public water systems in small communities.

Small communities in Nevada and across the nation are struggling to meet the cost of providing safe, clean drinking water for their residents, said Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev.

The legislation would help towns with fewer than 10,000 residents by offering funds to improve treatment and delivery systems, reduce levels of arsenic and other dangerous contaminants, Reid said.

Nevada's rural communities illustrate the need to increase federal assistance, Reid said.

New drinking water limits for arsenic, a naturally-occurring element, have hit the town of Fallon particularly hard. Fallon's drinking water is five times higher in arsenic -- 50 parts per billion -- than federal rules allow.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency, which set the arsenic standard, estimates that meeting the tougher limit would increase water costs roughly 10-fold more in communities with fewer than 10,000 residents.