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As demand for good quality water increases, some areas in the United States find that traditional finite sources cannot meet all needs. Although many utilities draw potable supplies from water that has previously been used upstream, the direct reuse of treated water for potable supplies is limited by unknowns concerning health effects and by costs. Planned reuse options, however, are feasible water conservation techniques, especially for industrial and agricultural uses. Reclaimed wastewater can also be used to recharge groundwater, thereby augmenting potable supplies.

This article discusses the Year 2000 Readiness and Responsibility Act of 1999, known as the Y2K Act. The primary purpose of this act was to establish special rules for commercial litigation related to Y2K computer failures. Noncompliance resulting from a Y2K incident may last only 15 days unless an extension is granted. To meet the government's need for information on the Y2K date rollover, an information coordination center will serve as the federal government's central point for coordinating a wide range of information on system operations and events related to the Y2K transition.

The distinction is made between point‐of‐use and point‐of‐entry water treatment devices. Because many small water systems will have difficulty meeting the new Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements, home water treatment units have emerged as an alternative means of treatment for small systems. Currently the USEPA does not accept pointof‐use devices as an available technology for complying with drinking water regulations, although it does accept point‐of‐entry devices. However, a recent provision by the USEPA gives states the authority to require point‐of‐use treatment and bottled water as interim measures if exemptions to meeting regulations are given, provided that is the most inexpensive possibility for coping with an unreasonable health risk. To judge whether the public is being protected by one means of control or another the specific contaminant must be considered. The article also discusses liability, financing of equipment purchases for small systems, disinfection, monitoring of units, public control and licensing of units and personnel, and standards. AWWA does not have a standard for point‐of‐use and point‐of‐entry devices because such a standard would go beyond the current definition of what AWWA standards address. Specifically, AWWA standards address performance and function, not installation and application.

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