Cheers to the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act | STAGE | Opinion

As we head into October, we’re celebrating a changing of the leaves and a host of festivities across the state with one of Colorado’s proudest offerings: great beer! Whether you’re pulling out all the stops to cheer on your favorite team, don lederhosen for Oktoberfest or head to one of Colorado’s famous beer festivals this weekend, these gatherings mean fall has arrived – and offer enthusiasts of malt and barley the opportunity to sample the very best brews from our state and across the country. This time of year also highlights something our brewers know well: world-class water is the secret to world-class beer.

Here in Colorado, our water is a big reason why our ales, lagers, pilsners, porters and stouts do so well in winning festival medals. Our most valuable resource begins as melting snow that filters through headwater forests, fills our reservoirs, lakes and rivers, and ultimately flows into the drinking water systems that deliver it safely to our taps. The latter process, the treatment and delivery of drinking water to homes and businesses, has been at the core of the Environmental Protection Agency’s mission since 1974.

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We’ve come a long way since Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act fifty years ago, a monumental effort to safeguard the nation’s drinking water supply in now more than 150,000 public water systems. The law creates a consistent framework for the treatment, monitoring and distribution of water while protecting critical drinking water sources such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs and aquifers. It also authorizes the EPA to set national health standards for naturally occurring and human-made contaminants and provides financing and a low-interest loan program for local governments to tap for necessary water infrastructure upgrades.

Today we often take this system and its benefits for granted. After all, it is largely invisible until it reaches our faucet. But it’s worth recognizing how much the quiet efforts of the water utilities, engineers, chemists, managers and regulators involved in this massive undertaking support our communities, families and businesses. Few businesses in Colorado are more dependent on water than the $3.2 billion brewing industry. Beer is 90% water, and the soft, mineral-poor water that flows from the Rockies is particularly suitable for a variety of beers, which explains why more than 400 breweries call our state their home.

It is difficult to overestimate how much water quality significantly affects the taste, nose and general characteristics of beer. Brewers spend a lot of time and energy balancing water chemistry, ensuring each beer has a complementary mineral content and pH to enhance its flavors. It turns out that all that chemistry comes together perfectly here in Colorado. The drinking water systems that serve our breweries provide an ideal, neutral palette for a variety of exceptional beer styles.

Colorado’s brewers are not only leaders in quality products, they have also become leaders in sustainability. Conservation and reuse have become an important part of business operations, reflecting the fact that water is often scarce in the arid western United States. Brewers typically recover and reuse water from the cooling steps in the brewing process, and there are many other areas where water is optimized, including cleaning, sanitizing and packaging. Some brewers are investing in practical initiatives that preserve headwater forests and reduce organic waste by optimizing the use of raw materials, including malt.

Colorado’s brewing industry depends on high-quality water and gives back to the environment through leadership in water conservation and pollution prevention. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act and its contributions to our businesses and residents than by raising a glass in honor of all those who work hard to provide clean, safe drinking water. Please drink responsibly – and with special appreciation for our most precious natural resource!

KC Becker is a regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency