State Rep. Lynn Herman, R-Centre, will introduce legislation next week to amend the state's Safe Drinking Water Act that some experts say could eliminate giardiasis cases.

Herman will recommend two amendments to the drinking water act after he solicits for co-sponsors this week.

The first amendment would direct the Department of Environmental Resources to require all public water suppliers to test for giardiasis -- a disease caused by the intestinal wastes of warm-blooded animals, including humans -- not less than once a month from each source that supplies drinking water, he said.

The second amendment would require testing laboratories to notify the public water suppliers within an hour after completion and verification of the test results, he said.

A state DER spokesman and State College Water Authority chairman say the legislation will help eliminate giardiasis cases.

Susan Woods, DER spokeswoman, said Herman's proposals are similar to Gov. Robert P. Casey's Pennvest proposal.

"Pennvest will establish a revolving loan program to finance $2 billion for the improvement of sewer and drinking water systems for the next 15 years," she said.

Woods said Pennvest will also provide funding for water companies to install filtration for reservoirs to remove giardia lamblia cysts - - the inactive form of the organisms which cause the disease.

Woods said in Pennsylvania, 167 out of 250 municipal water systems -- including State College -- have unfiltered water. Those systems without filtration have been the ones plagued with giardia cysts, she added.

Between 1979 and 1985, Pennsylvania had more than 6,000 giardiasis cases, she said.

Woods attributed the increasing incidents of giardiasis to the huge number of unfiltered drinking water systems. Pennsylvania has the highest number of unfiltered water systems in the nation, she said.

Many of the municipal water systems with unfiltered water are in economically depressed regions, she said. Pennvest would provide money for water filtration installation to those regions.

Woods mentioned the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act's requirement for all unfiltered water systems to be filtered by December of 1991.

The lack of water testing labs is another reason why Pennsylvania has so many giardiasis cases, she said. All of the area labs that do conduct water testing are private businesses that aren't adequately equipped to test on a regular basis.

Therefore, many areas must send out their water specimens for analysis to other labs. For example, Woods said, the State College Water Authority had sent its specimens to Colorado.

The DER is conducting giardiasis surveillance testing, she said. All municipal water systems are being monitored as part of the test's second phase.

She said Pennvest has passed unanimously in the state House of Representative s last year, but it must meet in a conference committee to iron out some differences with the state Senate's version of the bill.

Herman said his proposals "will go hand-in-hand with the PENNVEST program."

"Pennvest provides state government assistance to municipal water systems to upgrade and rehabilitate them, but there is still a need for testing to maintain public health," he said.

David Long, University professor of chemical engineering and chairman of the State College Water Authority, said he believes Herman's proposals are a step in the right direction.

He said Herman's proposal to increase the frequency of giardia testing will better inform the public on the condition of the drinking water.

Herman sees no obstacles to his proposals at the moment, but he said that may change.

Long predicts the only obstacle to the proposals will be obtaining adequate funding for water testing.

"It will not be a cheap test of the water," he said.