The primacy question involves two fundamental issues: money and control. This paper analyzes the major concerns of state primacy and seeks to answer the question if maintaining primacy is a good idea. It begins with a background discussion of public water systems and the federal role in regulating them. It goes on to discuss the 1989 state primacy rules and the burdens and benefits of primacy. The burdens include: costs, lack of funding, EPA's misdirected focus on enforcement and monitoring, and measuring risks from contamination. The benefit is local control. The author concludes that the benefits outweigh the burdens.