This year marks the 39th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act that forms the core of our national efforts to provide quality drinking water and protect the health of our citizens.  During the month of May 2013, we celebrate National Drinking Water Month – a national observance that highlights the value of water to each of us in our everyday lives.

In American Samoa people are served daily by more than 120 public drinking water systems, ranging in size from a drinking water vending machine to a large public water system. Each Samoan relies on their water system (whether large or small) to provide a safe and dependable supply of water, both now and in the future.

National Drinking Water Month recognizes the importance of water source protection and conservation, as well as the value, importance, and fragility of our state’s water resources.  The American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency works with drinking water utilities to make sure that the water delivered to consumers meets all federal and state standards and is clean and abundant.  These efforts are vital to American Samoa’s economy and to the public health of our citizens.

The tasks facing state drinking water programs and public water systems continue to be extremely challenging – especially in an era of scarce resources. The drinking water infrastructure is aging and presents daunting resource demands. As an island, we continue to be challenged by new and emerging drinking water contaminants associated with our industrial needs of our society.

Today, American Samoa begins its commitment to build on the successes of the past 38 years and to continue to work with all of our partners in the water community to fully realize the public health goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act through celebrating National Drinking Water Month.

Our drinking water is our responsibility. It is a communal effort to safeguard our drinking water and sustain such resource for our future generations. Let’s work together to conserve and preserve our drinking water for a better tomorrow.

Source: AS-EPA media release