EPA is directed by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to annually report on public water system performance in the United States. This National Public Water System Compliance Report (Report) for 2007-2008 documents that, while the majority of the U.S. population has access to safe drinking water, many systems are in violation of drinking water standards. The lack of data completeness results in the possible underestimation of noncompliance; EPA and states need to work together to address this problem. EPAs new system-wide policy for targeting and addressing public water systems with widespread violations and/or violations of health-based drinking water standards issued on December 8, 2009, is expected to be instrumental in improving compliance trends. In 2007 and 2008, there were approximately 155,000 public water systems in the U.S., serving over 300 million users. Small systems comprise the vast majority of all systems. Noncompliance occurs more frequently at smaller systems, and is often the result of fewer resources to operate and maintain compliance with complex regulations. For this reason, EPA and other organizations provide significant resources to small water systems to build their capacity to properly finance, operate, and maintain their drinking water systems. EPA funds eight technology assistance centers, conducts on-site visits and maintains multiple, free online financial and technical websites.