There are different agencies that regulate drinking water for public consumption. In America there is US EPA and also many states have their own water standards. In Europe, the new European Water Standards are guideline for local regulating bodies to implement drinking water industry.

There are water standards in most countries that are regulated by Government Organization.In America, POU and POE home systems are not regulated by federal, state or local laws (in some states like, California and Wisconsin, new standards do regulate home use systems).

The one exception, is that US EPA does require Activated Carbon filters with silver or other chemicals that claim to kill bacterial to be registered.

NSF certification programs are accredited to the international standards for third-party product certifiers through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standard Council of Canada, assuring the highest level of integrity, quality and acceptance.

There are six NSF/ANSI standards related to drinking water. NSF 42 and NSF 53 cover carbon and mechanical filtration type system. of using GAC are the potential growth of bacteria in the chamber.