Introduction to Drinking Water

ViolationsCindy Christian

Compliance & Monitoring ManagerDEC Drinking Water Program

Sustained Compliance WorkshopSeptember 23-24, 2010

Presentation OutlineWhat is a Public Water System

CWS and NCWSRegulated ContaminantsHealth EffectsSafe Drinking Water Act & RulesState Primacy RequirementsImplementation and Enforcement of RulesViolation TypesViolation Distribution

What is a Public Water SystemA public water system is defined in the Safe

Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as“a system for the provision to the public of

water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if such system has at least fifteen service connections, or regularly serves at least twenty-five individuals.”

Regulatory Distinctions Among Water Systems

Public Water System

Non-Community Water System

Non-Transient Non-Community Water System

Transient Non-Community

Water System

Community Water System

5

Water System Distribution in Alaska

CWS28%

NTNCWS15%

TNCWS57%

PWS

Regulated ContaminantsA water contaminant

is any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or matter in water

There are legal limits on the levels of certain contaminants in drinking water

Types of ContaminantsAcute Contaminants

Cause adverse health effects within a matter of days or hours

Microbiological Bacteria Viruses Protozoa

Nitrate is only chemical with acute health effects

Chronic Contaminants A long term effect that is

possible due to exposure over many years

Chemical Inorganics Organics Radionuclides Disinfection By-Products Lead and Copper Arsenic

Secondary ContaminantsNot associated with

health effectsAffect the taste, odor,

color and hardness Examples are iron,

manganese, sodium and TDS

Affect the treatment processes

Secondary MCL’s

How Do We Get Our Regulations?

SDWA

•Requires Primary Drinking Water Standards

•Gave authority to EPA to set national drinking water regulations

EPA

•Set drinking water regulations, conduct studies and research

•Oversee State implementation of the SDWA

DEC

•Primary enforcement responsibility (primacy)

•DWP is the primacy program responsible for administration and enforcement

How Does EPA Decide Which Contaminants to Regulate?

EPA periodically publishes the Candidate Contaminant List (CCL)

The CCL is used to prioritize research and data collection to determine if the contaminant should be regulated

Unregulated Contaminant MonitoringRegulatory DeterminationRulemaking process to develop a national

primary drinking water regulation

Regulatory DeterminationWhen making a

determination to regulate, the SDWA requires consideration of three criteria: the potential adverse effects of

the contaminant on human health

the frequency and level of contaminant occurrence in public drinking water systems

whether regulation of the contaminant presents a meaningful opportunity for reducing public health risks

Developing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

Health Risks

Human Exposure

ContaminantSelected

MCL or Treatment Technique

MCLG

PrimacySection 1413 of SDWA allows EPA to award

primary enforcement responsibility or “primacy” to states

Most states seek primacy because it gives them flexibility to address State-specific needs and problems

All states currently have primacy, except Wyoming and District of Columbia

Primacy must be maintained – it is not permanent

Primacy RequirementsStates must promulgate regulations at least as

stringent as EPAStates have up to 4 years to develop

regulations and apply for primacyStates must have procedures in place for

implementing and enforcing regulations:InventorySanitary SurveysState Certified LaboratoryPlan ReviewEnforcement Authority

Additional Primacy RequirementsRecordkeeping and

ReportingVariances and

ExemptionsEmergency PlanConsistent Definition

of Public Water System

Alaska PrimacyChemical Rules (Phase I, II, IIb, and V)Total Coliform RuleTotal Trihalomethanes (TTHM’s)Surface Water Treatment Rules (SWTR, IESWTR, LT1)Lead and Copper Rule and Minor RevisionsStage 1 Disinfection/Disinfectant By-Products (D/DBP’s)RadionuclidesConsumer Confidence Report Rule (CCR) Arsenic RuleFilter Backwash Recycling Rule In process of obtaining primacy for LT2, Stage 2 and Ground

Water Rule (GWR)

Implement StandardsAdopt New

RegulationsApply to Maintain

Primacy Implement and

Enforce under Interim Primacy

Receive Primacy for New Regulations

MonitoringEnsure that systems

are meeting drinking water standards

Monitoring is based on:Contaminant TypeSystem Size Previous detections

or exceedances

Reporting Requirements

EPA SDWIS/FED

SNC List EnviroFacts

Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)

Validate Violations Reject ViolationsElectronic Data Reporting System (EDRS)

Accepted Rejected

SDWIS Data publically available through DEC and EPA Websites

DEC Drinking Water Watch http://map.dec.state.ak.us:8080/dww/

EPA Annual Public Water System Statistics http://water.epa.gov/scitech/datait/databases/drink/sdwisfed/howtoaccessdata.cfm

Envirofacts - Access data for Individual water systems online http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/sdwis/sdwis_ov.html

Download Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables of SDWIS/Fed data http://water.epa.gov/scitech/datait/databases/drink/pivottables.cfm

Online Consumer Confidence Report http://safewater.tetratech-ffx.com/ccr/index.cfm

Enforce StandardsStates have discretion in enforcementPreventive Actions

Sanitary SurveysCPE’s and CTA’sReminder LettersTechnical Assistance and On-site MeetingsOperator Certification and TrainingRemote Maintenance WorkersOutreach and Education Activities

Informal Enforcement ActionsPhone CallsWarning Letters

Bilateral Compliance Agreement (BCA)

Formal Enforcement ActionsNotice of Violation

(NOV) Compliance Order By

Consent (COBC)Administrative

PenaltyCivil ActionsReferral to EPA

We made

8,245 phone

calls since

2006!!

Types of ViolationsMonitoring and Reporting

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)

Treatment Technique (TT)

26

Total Violations Issued to Currently Active Public Water Systems

Year Validated Rejected Grand Total

2006 5,161 2,573 7,734

2007 4,295 4,261 8,556

2008 3,686 2,664 6,350

2009 2,412 1,999 4,411

2010 565 401 966

Grand Total 16,119 11,898 28,017

1,329

1,121

1,566

Number of currently active PWS with rejected/valid vios issued at least once since

2006

Number of currently active PWS with at least one validated violation since 2006 (only valid vios no rejected)

Total number of active PWS as of July 1, 2010

C68%

NC24%

NTNC8%

Violation by System Type

C

NC

NTNC

MON89%

MCL4%

PN0%

RPT2%

SS1%

TT4%

Total Number of Validated Violations by Violation Category January 2006- May 2010

MONMCLPNRPTSSTT

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

MCL STAGE 1

MCL TCR

MCL ARSENIC

MCL NITRATE

MCL VOC

MCL IOC

TT SWTR

TT STAGE 1

TT and MCL Violations by Rule

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

IOC SOC PN RADS ARSENIC VOC PB/CU CCR NITRATE STAGE 1 TCR SWTR

Violations by Rule

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

STAGE 1 MON STAGE 1 MCL STAGE 1 TT SWTR MON SWTR TT TCR MON TCR MCL TCR PN TCR SS

Violations by Type for Stage 1, SWTR, and TCR

Questions?