What act sets standards for drinking water quality, including various characteristics?

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the legislation that specifically establishes federal standards for drinking water quality, addressing various characteristics such as contaminants, pollutants, and other drinking water safety metrics. The SDWA aims to protect public health by ensuring that water systems provide safe drinking water to the public.

Originally passed in 1974, the act has undergone several amendments that have enabled stronger protections and updated standards to reflect new research about health risks. The act empowers the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national health-based drinking water standards and to oversee states' implementation of these standards. This includes setting limits on specific contaminants and monitoring the quality of drinking water supplies.

Other acts mentioned, such as the Clean Water Act, primarily focus on the management of discharges into waterways and pollution control measures for surface water, rather than drinking water specifically. The Water Resources Development Act deals with water resource projects, while the National Environmental Policy Act focuses on environmental review processes for federal actions. Thus, the Safe Drinking Water Act is the correct act that specifically pertains to standards for drinking water quality.