On Oct. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public meeting on a new proposal that would allow water systems to electronically deliver drinking water quality reports to the public. Currently, these reports, required under the Safe Drinking Water Act, are mailed to customers, often with their water bills.

This week, Regulations.gov released new enhancements to the site as part of a continuing redesign and improvement effort. There are more changes to come, but the latest features make rulemaking dockets easier to navigate and understand.

While the vast majority of public servants are competent and well-intentioned, problems can crop up in government (as in any large organization). To address those problems, we need strong transparency and oversight, including the courage of public servants themselves to step forward and blow the whistle. But currently, federal employees with knowledge of misconduct are discouraged from reporting it due to a lack of protections and fear of retaliation, including being fired. A whistleblower protection bill that would change this could be up for a vote in the House and Senate later today or tomorrow: the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act‎ (WPEA, S. 743).

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, water utilities are required to provide annual reports on the quality of the drinking water they provide to consumers. These reports, attached to a customer’s water bill, are called Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs); they contain information on potential contaminants in the water, any violations of water quality standards, and the sources of the water supply. Unfortunately, the reports are overly technical and most people have a hard time understanding if the cleanliness of their water is improving or declining.