The Environmental Protection Agency has released the proposed Groundwater Rule (GWR) which establishes multiple barriers to protect against bacteria and viruses in drinking water systems that use ground water. The rule also will establish a strategy to identify ground water systems at high risk for fecal contamination. The GWR is scheduled to be issued as a final regulation in November 2000.
The proposed rule -- the first to extend such protections to underground sources of drinking water -- is expected to prevent over 115,000 illnesses a year.
"This is another significant step by our Administration to ensure that Americans enjoy the safest drinking water possible," said Vice President Al Gore. "More than 90 percent of Americans receive tap water that meets all federal health standards -- nearly 22.5 million more than in 1993. This new proposal will bring us even closer to the day when every community in America has clean, safe drinking water."
Currently only surface water systems and systems using ground water under the direct influence of surface water are required to disinfect their water supplies. The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act directed EPA to develop regulations that require disinfection of ground water systems "as necessary" to protect the public health.
The proposed rule will apply to all 157,000 U.S. public water systems that use ground water as a source. That figure includes systems that have at least 15 service connections, or regularly serve at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year. Most of the systems are small. While municipalities of all sizes are covered by the rule, many of the systems serve housing complexes, apartment buildings, schools or campgrounds.
The rule also applies to any system that mixes surface and ground water if the ground water is added directly to the distribution system and provided to consumers without treatment. The GWR does not apply to privately owned wells. However, EPA recommends private well owners test for coliform bacteria.
The average cost for 90 percent of U.S. households served by public ground water systems is expected to be less than $5 per year, EPA estimated.
The proposed strategy addresses risks through a multiple-barrier approach that relies on five major components:
- System sanitary surveys conducted by the states to identify significant deficiencies.
- Hydrogeologic sensitivity assessments for undisinfected systems.
- Source water microbial monitoring by systems that do not disinfect and draw from hydrogeologically sensitive aquifers or have detected fecal indicators within the system's distribution system.
- Corrective action by any system with significant deficiencies or positive microbial samples indicating fecal contamination.
- Compliance monitoring for systems which disinfect to ensure that they reliably achieve 4-log (99.99 percent) inactivation or removal of viruses.
The Sanitary Surveys apply to all ground water systems. States would be required to survey community water systems every three years and non-community water systems every five years. After conducting the surveys, the state must within 30 days provide a list of any significant deficiencies found. States will have to develop rules to enforce corrective actions.
The Hydrogeologic Sensitivity Assessment requirement applies to all ground water systems which do not provide 4-log virus inactivation/removal. states must conduct the one-time assessment of sensitivity within six years of the final rule's date of publication for community water systems and eight years for non-community water systems.
EPA considers karst, gravel, or fractured bedrock aquifers to be "sensitive" to microbial contamination. States may waive source water monitoring for sensitive systems if there is a hydrogeologic barrier to fecal contamination.
The Source Water Monitoring requirement applies to ground water systems that are sensitive or have contamination in their distribution system and do not treat to 4-log removal or inactivation of viruses. For systems determined by the state to be hydrogeologically sensitive, the system must conduct monthly source water monitoring for fecal indicators. Sampling frequency may be reduced after 12 negative samples.
A "triggered monitoring" requirement goes into effect if a total coliform-positive sample is found in the distribution system. At that point the system must collect one source water sample and monitor for a fecal indicator.
The Corrective Actions requirement applies to ground water systems that have a significant deficiency or have detected a fecal indicator in their source water.
If a ground water system is notified of significant deficiencies by the state, or notified of a positive source water sample, it must correct the contamination problem within 90 days by eliminating the contamination source, correct the significant deficiencies, provide an alternative source water or install a treatment process which reliably achieves 4-log removal or inactivation of viruses. A system may take longer than 90 days for corrective action with a state-approved plan.
Systems providing treatment must monitor treatment to ensure at least 4-log virus inactivation and/or removal.
The Compliance Monitoring requirement applies to all ground water systems that notify states they disinfect in order to avoid source water monitoring, and to systems which disinfect as a corrective action. Systems serving less than 3,300 must monitor disinfection treatment once daily, while systems serving 3,300 or more people must monitor their disinfection treatment continuously.
If monitoring shows the disinfection concentration to be below the required level, the system must restore the disinfection concentration within 4 hours or notify the state.
Ground water safety issues
Although ground water has historically been thought to be free of microbial contamination, recent research indicates that some ground waters are a source of waterborne disease. Most cases of waterborne disease are characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting, etc.) that are frequently self limiting in healthy individuals and rarely require medical treatment. However, these same symptoms are much more serious and can be fatal for people in sensitive subpopulations (such as young children, elderly and people with compromised immune systems).
Although ground water has historically been considered free of contamination, Center for Disease Control data shows that 318 waterborne disease outbreaks associated with ground water systems occurred between 1971 and 1996. Eighty-six percent of these outbreaks were associated with contaminated source waters, and half of those outbreaks occurred in systems that were already using some kind of disinfection. This data indicated a need to strengthen monitoring, prevention, inactivation and removal of contaminants from ground water systems.
Research also indicates that some viral pathogens found in ground water are linked to long term health effects (for example, adult onset diabetes, myocarditis). EPA data indicates that only a small percentage of ground water systems are contaminated. However, the severity of health impacts and the number of people potentially exposed to microbial pathogens in ground water indicate that a regulatory response is warranted.
"This Administration has made delivering safe, healthy drinking water to communities throughout the country a major priority," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner. "Today's announcement further builds on our commitment to making our communities healthier."
EPA will take public comment on the proposed Ground Water Rule until early July. For more information, the general public can call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. A fact sheet, the proposal, and additional information are also available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/gwr.html.
EPA Publishes Public Notification Rules
EPA has published final rules that water systems must follow when notifying the public about violations of water regulations or public health risks.
Public notification of violations is an integral part of the public health protection and consumer right-to-know provisions of the 1996 SDWA amendments. Owners and operators of public water systems are required to notify customers when they fail to comply with the requirements of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR); have a variance or exemption from the drinking water regulations; or are facing other situations posing a risk to public health.
The rule revises the minimum requirements that public water systems must meet regarding the form, manner, frequency, and content of the public notification. NPDWR violations include violations of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL), treatment technique (TT), monitoring, and testing procedure requirements.
There are NPDWRs in effect covering 80 separate contaminants. EPA has also published final regulations for the Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR) and the Stage 1 Disinfection/Disinfectant Byproducts Rule (D/DBP) which will increase the number of regulated contaminants to 88 once they go into effect. There are also other regulations in progress that will increase the number of regulated contaminants to over 90 by 2002.
According to EPA, 36,467 public water systems had one or more violations in FY 1998. Over 86 percent of the violations were for failure to monitor according to the regulations.
The rule is effective June 5, 2000. However, the new regulations do not apply to public water systems in states with primacy for the public water system supervision program until May 6, 2002 or until the state-adopted rule becomes effective, whichever comes first. The new regulations also do not apply to public water systems in jurisdictions where EPA directly implements the program until October 31, 2000.
Agencies Release Update On Clean Water Action Plan
EPA and eight other federal agencies have released a report outlining accomplishments to date in implementing the Clean Water Action Plan. The report also outlines the agenda for the coming year.
The Clean Water Action Plan, announced by the President and Vice President in February 1998, seeks to protect public health and restore waterways by setting goals and providing states, tribes, communities, farmers, and landowners with the tools and resources to meet them.
Accomplishments include the establishment of more than 720,000 miles of conservation buffers, a unified policy for watershed management on federal lands, new curbs on stormwater runoff and a beach action plan. To date, all 56 states and territories and more than 80 tribes have completed comprehensive unified watershed assessments, identifying more than 800 watersheds from the nation's 2,149 watersheds as priorities for action.
By December 2000, a Watershed Restoration Progress Report will highlight restoration efforts across the nation. The report will provide descriptions of interagency coordination, tips for building and sustaining partnerships at the local level, and feedback from roundtable meetings that have focused on watershed restoration efforts.
The President's FY 2001 budget request includes almost $2.8 billion, an increase of $584 million, to support key actions in the plan. Highlights include:
- $794 million to help improve water quality on Federal lands;
- $411 million in grants to States and Tribes for water programs;
- $334 million for Florida Everglades restoration;
- $325 million to help farmers address polluted runoff;
- $73 million for technical assistance to animal feeding operations owners and operators;
- $58 million to improve water quality and wetland habitats for migratory birds and other wildlife;
- $50 million in new grants to help restore polluted Great Lakes "areas of concern";
- $20 million to implement a newly authorized floodplain restoration initiative;
- $32 million to help address water quality problems from abandoned mines;
- $22 million to expand research, monitoring and rapid response to harmful algal bloom outbreaks, and implement coastal polluted runoff programs
To view the report, visit: http://cleanwater.gov on the Internet or contact EPA's Office of Water at 202-260-5700 for a copy.
