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New rules for currently unregulated contaminants will take time. PFAS, for instance, have been a known hazard for years, but it required large amounts of evidence and research before a rule could be proposed.
就目前还没有规范的污染物来说，新规范会需要花一点时间。例如，PFAS是已知的危害物质已经有许多年了，但在能提出规范之前，会需要大量的证据和研究。
"There is a significant challenge," Eric Burneson, a director at the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, says of proposing new regulations.
“提出新规范是重大的挑战，”美国环保局的地下水与饮用水办公室主任艾瑞克·伯尼森表示。
"We need robust scientific information, and we need peer review of that information. We need to know about our ability to manage it. Can we measure it? Can we treat it?"
“我们需要坚实的科学信息，也需要同侪审阅这些信息。我们需要知道我们是否能处理这些物质。我们能测量吗？我们能处理吗？”
Answers to these questions help the EPA defend the potential cost of regulating a new chemical.
若能回答这些问题，将有助美国环保局辩护规范新化学物质所需要的潜在成本。
In addition to the 90 contaminants the EPA already regulates, there are dozens more the agency has identified as a threat to health and in tap water.
除了美国环保局已经规范的90种污染物以外，还有数十种环保局已经辨识出来对健康有威胁、且存在于自来水中的物质。
They include 66 chemicals, 12 microbes, and all PFAS -- instead of the six they recently proposed to limit.
包括有66种化学物质、12种微生物和所有的PFAS--而不仅仅是他们最近提出要限制的那六种。
"We need further information to move forward," says Burneson of regulating potentially harmful chemicals, but he adds, "They may be in drinking water, and they pose risks."
“我们需要更多资料才能有所进展，”伯尼森在谈到规范潜在有害化学物质时表示，但他也补充说：“这些东西可能会存在饮用水中，也会造成风险。”
Rural, low-income communities face the most trouble accessing clean tap water; water treatment facilities there are most likely to violate EPA standards.
农村地区和低收入社区在取得干净的自来水方面碰到的困难最大；那些地方的水处理设施最可能违反环保局的标准。
Proximity to agricultural pollution, contaminated groundwater, and underfunded or understaffed treatment facilities put these communities at risk.
接近农业污染、受污染的地下水以及资金不足或人手短缺的处理设备，让这些社区处于风险之中。
An analysis of three decades of drinking water violations in the U.S. found some states were more likely to have poorer quality drinking water than others. States with agricultural hubs were particularly at risk.
对美国30年来饮用水违规情况的分析发现，某些州的饮用水品质比较差。有农业重镇的州风险也特别高。
Certain racial groups are also more likely to be exposed to poor drinking water.
某些族裔群体也比较容易接触到劣质饮用水。
One study looking at California and Texas found Latino and Black communities faced a persistently higher cancer risk from their drinking water.
有一项研究检视了加州和德州，研究结果显示，拉丁裔和黑人社区在饮用水方面的癌症风险一直都比较高。
The EPA requires water utilities to publish annual reports identifying any potential health hazards in the community about their water supply.
美国环保局要求水公司每年都要公布报告，找出他们供水中任何可能危害到社区健康的潜在危害。
When hazards emerge, securing clean drinking water can cost individuals.
当水质出问题时，要确保有干净的饮用水可能会需要个人付出额外成本。
For short-term emergencies like a boil water notice, bottled water can be a useful resource.
如果是短期的危机，像是煮沸自来水通知，瓶装水就会是很好用的资源。
Bottled water bought and sold in the U.S. is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates water based on the same standards the EPA has in place for tap water.
在美国销售的瓶装水受到美国食品和药物管理局的监管，该单位监管瓶装水的标准，跟环保局对自来水要求的标准是一样的。
Studies done on bottled water have found it's no cleaner or safer than well-regulated tap water, but it is sold at several times the price of tap water and promotes plastic waste, an emerging drinking water threat.
研究发现，瓶装水并没有比受到良好规范的自来水更干净或更安全，但瓶装水的价格却是自来水的数倍，还助长了塑胶废弃物的制造，而塑胶废弃物也已经是饮用水的新兴威胁。
Filters are another option for addressing tap water concerns.
滤水器是解决自来水问题的另一种选择。
They can be as simple as the relatively inexpensive filters that fit in your fridge or as complex as a thousand-dollar filtration system hooked up to home plumbing.
有价格相对低廉、还放得进冰箱里的简单滤芯，也有能连接家庭管道、价值数千美元的复杂滤水系统。
There are about 3,000 electric utilities in the U.S. but over 50,000 water utilities.
美国约有3000家电力公司，但有超过5万家自来水公司。
While some serve as many as eight million people, about half of those facilities serve fewer than 500.
有些公司服务的用户高达800万人，但有约一半的自来水公司服务的对象还不到500人。
Those smaller utilities are less likely to have full time operators or enough customers to pay for maintenance.
这些小型自来水公司不太可能拥有全职的运营人员或足够的用户，以支付维护费用。
With the right policies and enough funding, experts say clean tap water can be guaranteed for everyone.
专家表示，只要有适当的政策和足够的资金，就能保证每个人都能取得干净的自来水。
"We have the technical know-how to provide safe drinking water," says Allaire. "It's a policy question of how do we make this a reality?"
阿莱尔说：“我们具备可以提供安全饮用水的技术知识。要如何将之化为现实？那就是政策问题了。”
Combining those smaller utilities, creating water contracts where one community purchases water from a larger utility, and paying for well-trained facility managers could all create more water for more communities.
合并这些小型自来水公司、打造水资源合约，让社区可以向较大的自来水公司买水，还有聘请专业的自来水设施经理，都能为更多社区提供更多水资源。
