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<br />Stratus Consulting <br /> <br />Study Purpose and Introduction <br /> <br />Development Authority (CWRPDA), many of the county planning departments in the state, and <br />several of the division engineers from the State Engineer's Office. We examined CDPHE's <br />database of water systems to develop a count of the number of PNPWSs in the state, and mapped <br />water systems to understand where future marketing efforts might be concentrated if an <br />additional funding source was created. We surveyed as many of the county planning departments <br />as was practical in the time available to gain a perspective on the growth ofPNPWSs in <br />Colorado and to understand the influence of county policies and planning on PNPWS growth. <br />We interviewed existing funding sources to understand the role of current funding programs in <br />meeting funding needs for the state's water systems, and to better understand what funding needs <br />are not being met. <br /> <br />1.2 What is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drinking <br />Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment? <br /> <br /> <br />A study with a similar purpose to the current study is the Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs <br />Survey and Assessment (Needs Survey). In 1995, as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act <br />(SDW A), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EP A) conducted the first national survey <br />to determine the drinking water infrastructure needs of all public systems in the United States. <br />The Needs Survey documents the 20-year capital investment needs of the nation's nearly <br />55,000 community systems eligible to receive funding from the State Drinking Water Revolving <br />Fund (SDWRF) programs (U.S. EPA, 2005). The survey covers all projects related to <br />compliance with SDW A, including storage equipment, pipe repairs, and raw water treatment. <br />EP A is required to conduct the survey and assessment every four years. To date, EP A has <br />completed three reports, which were published in 1997 (reflecting the 1995 survey), 2001 <br />(reflecting the 1999 survey), and, most recently, 2005 (reflecting the 2003 survey). <br /> <br />1.2.1 How was the EPA Needs Survey designed? <br /> <br />Each survey report divides capital investment needs into five categories: distribution and <br />transmission, treatment, storage, source, and other. It reports need by system size and type: large <br />community water systems (serving more than 50,000 people), medium community water <br />systems, small community water systems (serving fewer than 3,300 people), not-for-profit <br />noncommunity water systems 1 (e.g., schools), and American Indian and Alaska native village <br />water systems (U.S. EPA, 2005). This study used the official EPA definition ofa community <br />water system - those serving at least 25 persons or 15 connections for at least 60 days out of the <br />year. <br /> <br />1. Not-for-profit nonconununi~ systems were included in the 1999 and 2003 surveys only. <br /> <br />Page 1-2 <br />SCl1l99 <br />