Key Takeaways:
- SPL’s Environmental Division provides NELAP/TNI-accredited drinking water testing for public water systems serving more than 30,063,833 Americans, more than the entire population of Australia.
- National Water Quality Month (established by the EPA in 2005) and World Water Week (August 23–27, 2026, Stockholm) overlap this year, both focused on water protection and access.
- SPL’s lab locations sit near major drinking water sources including the South Platte River (Colorado), the San Jacinto and Sabine Rivers (Texas), and the Schuylkill River (Pennsylvania).
Protecting Public Health and The Environment
August is National Water Quality month, a time to reflect on how clean water is vital to our communities. This year, National Water Quality Month overlaps with the United Nations’ World Water Week, the global gathering of water professionals meeting in Stockholm and online this week, which makes it a reasonable time to look at what’s behind that data.
National Water Quality Month tends to get framed as a public awareness moment: appreciate the tap, reminders to test a well, think about where water comes from.Â
For the operators and engineers who keep public water systems in compliance, the more useful version of that question is narrower. For public water suppliers, it’s not only about whether water is safe in the abstract. It’s about whether the data proving it’s safe is complete, timely, and reliable.Â
SPL’s Environmental Division provides NELAP/TNI-accredited drinking water testing for public water systems serving more than 30,063,833 Americans, more people than live in the entire country of Australia. That number represents SPL’s public water system clients specifically, the utilities and municipalities whose compliance programs depend on lab results holding up to regulatory review. It’s a scale that only holds together if every one of those results meets the same standard.
What defensible data means, and why it extends beyond drinking water.
The standard behind a public water system compliance result is the same standard behind any environmental sample that has to hold up under review, whether that’s an NPDES discharge sample, a permit submission, or a court proceeding. NELAP/TNI accreditation is what makes that possible. It means a laboratory’s methods, quality control procedures, and documentation meet a recognized national standard, not just for drinking water, but across the full range of environmental testing a lab performs.
That consistency matters differently depending on who’s relying on it. For a drinking water operator, it means a result that survives a DEP inspection without having to reconstruct documentation under time pressure. For a wastewater treatment plant operator managing a separate NPDES permit, it means the same lab infrastructure, including automated LIMS-to-DEP data upload, that removes the manual transcription step where errors most often creep in. For a consulting engineer specifying a lab across a multi-state project, it means Electronic Data Deliverables that can be matched to a firm’s existing data management system, and one accreditation standard that doesn’t have to be re-verified state by state.
Regional grounding: the watersheds behind the compliance numbers.
SPL’s lab locations sit close to some of the actual source water these compliance programs are protecting. The South Platte River supplies roughly three-quarters of Colorado’s Front Range population and runs past SPL’s Commerce City lab.Â
The San Jacinto River feeds the reservoirs supplying greater Houston, and the Sabine River supplies communities near SPL’s Kilgore lab in East Texas.Â
The Schuylkill River, the largest tributary of the Delaware River, supplies drinking water to nearly 2 million people in southeastern Pennsylvania and runs through Reading, home to SPL’s Reading lab.Â
Testing programs and source water protection are connected work, and proximity to the watershed matters when a sampling event needs a fast turnaround or a site-specific answer.
At SPL, our employees work to support this Purpose of delivering environmental testing solutions for a safe, clean, and efficient world. Â
Thank You to Our Valued Public Water Supplier Clients and Partners
For the public, National Water Quality Month is a prompt to think about water at all. For the operators and engineers behind the 30 million people SPL’s drinking water testing supports, thank you for your continued dedication to protecting public health, and our environment.Â
Know the Standard Behind Your Data
Whether you manage a public water system, a wastewater treatment plant, or a multi-state environmental project, SPL’s NELAP/TNI-accredited testing is built for data that holds up.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people rely on drinking water tested by SPL?
SPL provides drinking water testing for public water systems serving more than 30 million Americans, more than the entire population of Australia.
What is NELAP/TNI accreditation and why does it matter?
NELAP/TNI accreditation means a laboratory’s methods, quality controls, and documentation meet a recognized national standard, which is what allows environmental data, drinking water or otherwise, to hold up under regulatory or legal scrutiny.
Does SPL support compliance testing beyond drinking water, like NPDES or wastewater programs?
Yes. SPL’s Environmental Division applies the same NELAP/TNI accreditation standard across its full environmental testing portfolio, including wastewater and NPDES compliance work, alongside its public water system drinking water testing program.
Why is August designated National Water Quality Month?
The EPA established National Water Quality Month in 2005 to raise awareness of water protection, building on the Clean Water Act (1972) and Safe Drinking Water Act (1974).
Let's connect!
We understand that every project is unique, and we are committed to providing tailored solutions that meet your specific needs. We look forward to chatting with you soon. You may also email us directly at info@spllabs.com.