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<br />noncompliance due to excessive nitrates or both. Compliance <br />with the EPA Interim Primary Standards is mandatory and many <br />of the water systems will encounter financial difficulties in <br />providing and operating the necessary treatment facilities or <br />alternative snrces of supply to meet the proposed standards. <br /> <br />A significant portion of the population of Texas (an <br />estimated 6 percenc or 734,000 persons) resides in areas where <br />the current water supply system eannot meet the EPA Primary <br />Standards of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act. These areas <br />vary in density from a few people per residence to somewhat <br />higher concentrations. <br /> <br />The relatively small size of these systems and the low <br />density of customers create financial problems of recapturing fixed <br />costs of investments in facilities required to meet the new <br />standards. In addition rising costs of electricity, labor and <br />other impacts have significantly increased overall plant operat- <br />ing costs and will continue to impose sometimes insurmountable <br />obstacles in meeting the new federal standards. <br /> <br />The Safe Drinking Water Act requires continuous monitoring <br />through tests performed by the Texas Department of Health Re- <br />SO:Irces. Water quality must satisfy the tolerances established <br />by the Act and reflected in the tests. Increases in fixed costs <br />for the mandatory facilities are anticipated along with increases <br />in variable operating costs. These increased costs will result <br />in increased per-connection costs to users which are in many in- <br />stances below che poverty level income. <br /> <br />An estimated 504 Texas systems (serving populations below <br />2,500) are deemed economically infeasible for improvement under <br />requirements of the Interim Primary Standards. Almosc all of the <br />systems in need of improvement do not comply with che fluoride <br />requirements. A large number of systems suffer from nitrate con- <br />tamination. The population served by the above systems was esti- <br />mated to be 500,000 persons. <br /> <br />If the contaminants cannot be removed through the installa- <br />tion of equipment financed through local taxes or revenue, some <br />form of public assistance will be required. Many of the systems <br />in need of treatment facilities are currently ineligible for loans <br />and grants from the Federal government. At present, the State <br /> <br />63 <br /> <br />003111 <br />