The News & Observer's investigation into the state's regulation of drinking water reveals disregard for safety of private wells, weak regulation of public water systems and widespread problems with lead testing.

Highlights of today's report:

* North Carolina has an unusually high number of public water systems -- nearly 7,000 -- and not nearly enough regulators to watch over them. Many of the systems are not being inspected by the state, and thousands don't test properly.

* The Public Water Supply Section says it doesn't have enough people to investigate hundreds of cases of bacterial contamination reported each year by small water systems.

* Hundreds of public water systems that are supposed to have a licensed operator don't, and state regulators have done little to enforce the requirement.

* The state sends lots of letters threatening fines but rarely follows through. Two-thirds of the fines go uncollected.