遵守1986年《安全饮用水法》修正案的要求所带来的资金需求和经济负担，对于服务于1万人以下人口的供水系统来说，将是最大的，也是最难克服的。小型系统的合规单位成本将显著高于大型系统，小型系统将不得不应对“利率冲击”、可行性有限的融资计划和有限的资本市场准入。必须制定创新性的新措施，为小型水利设施提供所需的资金。这些努力的模式包括以合并和联合行动为形式的地方倡议，以及包括债务融资、信贷支持和直接补贴的国家倡议。包括桌子。

The financing demands and economic burdens of complying with the requirements of the 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act will be the greatest and most difficult to overcome for water systems serving populations of fewer than 10,000 people. The unit cost of compliance will be dramatically higher for small systems than that for larger systems, and small systems will have to deal with "rate shock," financing plans of marginal feasibility, and limited access to capital markets. Creative new measures must be developed to furnish the needed capital to small water utilities. Models for these efforts include local initiatives in the form of mergers and joint action and state initiatives that include pooling of debt financing, credit support, and outright subsidies. Includes tables.