United States Environmental Protection Agency &EPA FACT SHEET Region 5 Office of Public Affairs 230 South Dearborn Street Chicago. Illinois 60604 905N89001 Michigan Minnesota Ohio. Wisconsin Safe Drinking Water Program Update AUGUST, 1989 The 1986 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act directed EPA to increase the pace of regulating drinking water contaminants. This Fact Sheet provides an abbreviated status of the regulations that have recently been promulgated. PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS Systems are now divided into three classifications according to the type of population served: Community Water Systems serve a residential population, such as municipal water utilities, mobile home parks, and apartment buildings having their own water supply system. Noncommunity water systems generally serve a transient population. Examples are restaurants, motels, parks and churches having their own individual water supply system. Nontransient-noncommunity systems are a special type of noncom- munity system in that they generally serve the same persons over an extended period of time. The principal types are schools, factories, and office buildings PRIMARY STANDARDS The Primary Standards set limits on contaminants that might be harmful to human health at levels that are considered achievable by water systems. They also specify the frequency at which systems of various types and sizes must test their water to ensure that it conforms with the standards. The Primary Standards apply to all community public water systems. Eventually, within the next few years, they win all also apply to nontransient-noncommunity systems. Only the microbiological and nitrate standards apply to noncommunity systems at this time. Within the next few years, there will be at least 83 Primary Standards. SECONDARY STANDARDS The Secondary Standards represent reasonable goals for drinking water aesthetic quality, but are not Federally enforceable. The only recent change is the establishment of a Fluoride secondary standard. MCLGs AND MCLS Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) are non-enforceable health goals. They are the numerical limits set for each contaminant at the level at which no adverse health effects on humans can be expected, with an adequate margin of safety. Maximum Confcgpijnant Levels (MCLs) are the enforceable standards for each contaminant, which is set as close to the MCLGs as economically and technically feasible. SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1986 On June 19, 1986, the President signed the 1986 Amendments, which greatly increased EPA's respon- sibility for protecting the nation's drinking water. Some of the major new requirements are: - EPA must regulate 9 contaminants within one year of enactment, another 40 within 2 years, and a total of 83 within 3 years, - In addition to the above, at least 25 more regulated con- taminants are required by 1991, and 25 more every 3 years thereafter, - EPA must establish new regula- tions for surface water systems requiring them to provide filtration, or meet specific criteria to avoid filtration, ------- EPA must require public water systems to provide disinfection, and provide criteria for systems to obtain a variance from the requirement, EPA is required to issue regula- tions requiring public water systems to test for unregulated drinking water contaminants, with the list to be re-issued at least every 5 years, EPA is provided with new enforce- ment authority, and directed to issue administrative orders or begin court action against public water systems in violation when States do not take appropriate action. Maximum civil penalty limits are increased to $25,000 per day, The "lead ban" requirements of the Amendments ban further use of lead in the installation and repair of potable water systems, The Amendments also provided for penalties of up to 5 years and $50,000 fine for tampering with a public water system, and 3 years and $20,000 for threatening to tamper, The "Wellhead Protection Program" included in the Act, requires States to develop programs for protecting areas around public water supply wells to prevent future contamination from land uses practices in the vicinity. July 8f 1987 - New MCLS for 8 VQCs - MCLs, MCLGs and monitoring requirements are established for 8 volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), - The regulation establishes the first requirements applicable to the newly-created class of "nontransient-noncommunity" water systems, - All community and nontransient systems are also required to analyze on a one-time basis, for 34 to 51 unregulated organic chemicals, - The sampling point for VOCs and unregulated organic chemicals is to be the entry point to the system of each water source, or blended water sources, - The basic sampling frequency for the VOCs is quarterly, but it can be extended to as long as every 5 years, depending on system size, water source, and determination by the State of the "vulnerabil- ity of" the water source. - Phase-in of the required monitor- ing is: - Over 10,000 population systems - begin by January, 198'8 - 3,300 to 10,000 population - begin by January, 1989 - Under 3,300 population systems - begin by January, 1991 RECENT SIGNIFICANT DRINKING WATER REGULATION CHANGES April 2. 1986 - Fluoride MCL Changes - The primary MCL for fluoride is changed to 4.0 mg/1 for all water systems. - The secondary MCL for fluoride is set at 2.0 mg/1, with a require- ment for systems over that level to provide annual notice to their October 28. 1987 - Revised Public Notification (PN) Requirements The revised regulations divide violations into two classes: - Tier 1 violations are for failure to comply with an MCL or treatment technique, or to comply with a variance or exemption schedule. The system owner/operator must: - Provide one-time PN in a daily or weekly newspaper within 14 days of the violation, AND, ------- - Provide direct mail PN with a water bill or by hand delivery, to all customers within 45 days of the violation, to be repeated quarterly as long as the violation exists, AND, - If the violation is for the nitrate MCL, or the State determines an acute health risk may result, notice must be furnished within 72 hours to local radio and TV stations. Tier 2 violations are for failure to perform required monitoring, failure to comply with testing procedures, or if the system becomes subject to a variance or exemption. The system owner/ operator must: - Provide PN in a newspaper serving the area within 3 months of the violation or of being granted a variance or exemption, AND, - Provide direct mail PN, with a water bill or hand delivery, to all customers quarterly, as long as the violation exists, - The State may allow less frequent notice for small systems or for minor monitoring violations. - Each PN must contain specific information on the violation, mandatory health effects informa- tion and suggested consumer action. - The most recent copy of any outstanding PN must be furnished to all new customers. June 29. 19B9 - Surface Water Treatment Requirements The new requirements apply only to public water systems using surface water as a source. The regulation changes are in response to the 1986 SDWA Amendment requirement that EPA require all surface water systems to provide filtration, except under very special conditions. Major new requirements are: All wells that are determined by the State to be "under the direct influence of surface water" must meet treatment requirements the same as surface water systems, All surface water systems must provide disinfection, and must maintain a residual concentration of at least 0.2 mg/1 in the water entering the distribution system, Disinfectant residuals must be measured in the distribution system, at the same points and same time as coliforms are sampled. Residuals cannot be undetectable in more than ^% of the samples each month, for any two consecutive months that the system serves water to the public. All surface water treatment plants must be designed to achieve: - At least 99.9% (3-log) removal and /or inactivation of Giardia lamblia cysts, and - At least 99.99% (4-log) removal and/or inactivation of viruses. The major requirements for a surface water system to avoid filtration are: - Disinfection must at all times meet specified "CT" values (the disinfectant concentration, multiplied by the time of disinfectant contact), so as to ensure adequate inactivation of Giardia cysts and viruses, - Systems must maintain a watershed control program, and - The system must not have had any waterborne disease out- breaks , and must not exceed the monthly MCL for total coliforms for any two months in any consecutive 12 month period. ------- - New requirements for systems using filtration include: - States will be required to make a determination for all filtering systems as to whether the total treatment (filtration plus disinfection) acheives the required removal and/or inactivation of Giardia and viruses. - Effluent turbidity must be measured by continuous monitor- ing, or by grab samples every four hours, - Conventional or direct filtra- tion systems must achieve a filtered water turbidity of not more than 0.5 NTU in morey than 5% of the measurements taken each month, and at all times less than 5 NTU, (the State may increase the limit up to less than 1 NTU upon special determination), - The new requirements are effective 18 months after promulgation. except that some additional time may be allowed to systems that must install filtration. June 29. 1989 - Coliform Regulation Chances" All public water systems must meet the revised final coliform MCL and monitoring requirements 18 months after promulgation (December 29, 1990). The current rule remains in force until that date. Principal changes in the rule are: - Compliance will be based or? presence/absence of total coliforms in the sample, rather than the current estimate of coliform density, - New MCL for systems analyzing at least 40 samples/month: no more than 5% of the monthly samples may be total coliform-positive. New MCL for systems analyzing less than 40 samples/month: no more than 1 sample/month may be total coliform-positive. Systems must sample according to a written sample siting plan that has been approved by the state, Monthly monitoring requirements are slightly changed (see new table in the regulations), A set of repeat samples must be collected for each total coliform- positive routine sample. And, in addition, smaller systems will have to collect additional routine samples during the next month, according to the following schedule: Routine Samples per Month 1/mo. or fewer 2 to 4/mo. 5/mo, or greater Number of Routine Samples Repeat Samples Next Month 5/mo. 5/mo. Standard Sched. At least one repeat sample must be from the same tap as the original sample. Other samples must be from within 5 service connections upstream or down- stream of the original sample. All repeat samples mnqt be within 24 hours of notice, unless the State waives this requirement on an individual case basis. If coliforms are detected in any repeat sample, another set of repeat samples must be collected, unless the MCL has been violated, and the system has notified the State. The requirement for small systems to collect additional samples the next month may be waived by the State under special protocol. Rev. 10/17/89 ------- Primary Drinking Water Standards • < CONTAMINANTS MICROBIOLOGICAL Total ColifQrms (coliform bacteria, focal conforms, streptococcal and other bacteria) Turbidity INORGANIC CHEMICALS Arsenic Barium Cadmium Chromium lead Mercury Nitrate Selenium Silver Fluoride ORGANIC CHEMICALS Endrin Lindane Methoxychlor HEALTH EFFECTS Not necessarily disease producing themselves, but indicators of organ- isms that cause assorted gastro- enteric infections. dysentery, hepatitis. typnoid fever, cholera, and others; interferes with disinfection Interferes with disinfection Dermal and nervous system toxicity effects Circulatory system effects Kidney effects Liver/kidney effect* Central t peripheral nervous system damage; kidney affects; highly toxic to infants and pregnant women Central nervous system disorders; kidney effects Methemoglobinemia (Blue baby syndrome) Gastrointestinal effects Skin discoloration (Argyria) Skeletal damage Nervous system/ kidney effects Nervous system/ kidney effects Nervous system/ kidney effects MCL * 1 per 100 ml 1-5 tu .OS 1 .01 .OS .05 « .002 10 .01 .OS 4 .0002 .004 .1 SOURCES human It animal fecal matter; some free living in nature erosion; runoff and discharges geological; pesticide residues; industrial and smelter opera- tions geological; industrial processes ; mining t mfgr. of barium chemicals geological; •ining and smelting geological, indust. wastes from metal products 4- finishing industries; corrosion control dissolves from pipes and lead based solder plpo joints used in manufacture of paint, paper, vinyl chloride; used in fungicides; geological fertilizer; sewage; feed lots; geological geological ; mining geological; mining geological; additive to drinking water; insecticide used on cotton, small grains. orchards (cancelled) insecticide used on seed and soil treat- ments; foli- age applica- tion; wood protection Insecticide used on fruit trees and vegetables CONTAMINANTS 2,4-0 2,4,S-TP Silvex Toxaphene Benzene Carbon tetrachloride p-Dichloro- benzene 1,2-Dlchloro- e thane 1,1-Dichioro- ethylene 1,1,1-Tri- chloroethane Trlchloro- ethylene (TCE) Vinyl chloride Total trihalo- methanes RADIONU GLIDES Gross alpha particle activity Gross beta particle activity Radium 226 and 22* (total). HEALTH EFFECTS Liver/kidney effects Liver/kidney effects Cancer risk Cancer risk Possible cancer Possible cancer Possible cancer Liver/kidney effects Nervous system problems Possible cancer Cancer risk Cancer risk Cancer Cancer Bone cancer MCL * .1 .01 .005 .005 .005 , .075 .005 .007 .2 .005 .002 .1 IS PC/1 4 mrem/ year 5 PC/1 SOURCES herbicide used to control broad- leal weeds in agriculture; used on forests, range pastures and for aquatic herbicide (cancelled in 1984) insecticide used on cotton, corn, grain fuel (leaking tanks) ; solvent commonly used in manufacture of industrial chemicals. Pharmaceuti- cals, paints. pesticides, t plastics cleaning agent; industrial wastes used in insec- ticides, moth balls, 4- sir deodorizers used in manufacture of insecticides; in gasoline used in manufacture of plastics, dyes, perfumes , paints t SOCs used in manufacture of food wrappings, synthetic fibers; solvent -degreaser Metal degreas- er waste dry cleaning materials; manufacture of pesticides. waxes, paints. i varnishes; paint stripper Breakdown of other VOCs; PVC pipe solvents; plastic t synth. rubber mfgr. wastes Primarily formed when water contain- ing organic matter is treated with chlorine Radium Z2t; radioactive waste; uranium deposits Radium 22*; radioactive waste; ura/ilua deposits Usually geological • In milligrams per liter, unless otherwise noted. •• Substantial lowerina Of tl\« miMhar unAmr fnnmtA»rmtit\n ------- Secondary Drinking Water Standards CONTAMINANTS pll Chloride Copper Foaming agents Sulfats Total dissolved solids (hardness) Zinc Fluoride Color corrosivity Iron Manganese Odor SUGGESTED LEVELS S.S to 8.5 250 ng/1 I mg/1 0.5 mg/1 250 mg/1 500 mg/1 5 mg/1 2.0 mg/1 15 color units non- corrosive 0.3 mg/1 0.05 mg/1 3 threshold odor number CONTAMINANT EFFECTS Water is too corrosive Taste l corrosion of pipes Tact a and staining of porcelain Aesthetic Taste and laxative effects Taste; possible relation between hardness and cardiovascular disease; indicator of corrosivity; damage to plusibir.g; limit effac- tiveness of detergents Taste Dental fluorosis (brown discoloration of teeth) Aesthetic Aesthetic; health (corrosive water can dissolve pipe materials such as lead) Taste; staining of fixtures and laundry Taste; staining of fixtures and laundry Aesthetic Monitoring Requirements for Noncommunity Supplies CONTAMINANT Coliform bacteria Nitrate level Turbidity eight VQCs Unregulated organics SYSTEM TYPE Ground t surface Ground f. surface Suface Nontransient- noncommunity , Nontrapsierit- noncoumunity TEST INTERVALS quarterly • State option daily *• quarterly •*• one-time • The state may modify the frequency based on a sanitary survey of tne system, and history of lab. analyses. •• The state may modify the frequency if an active disinf- tant residual is maintained in the system. ••* Repeat sampling nay be extended to up to 5 years, depending on system size, detection of VQCs, and determination by the State of 'vulnerability*. Monitoring Requirements for Community Supplies Monitoring Required for Unregulated Synthetic Organic Chemicals LIST 1 - Monitoring Required for all Systems Bromobenzene Bromodicnloromethane Bromoforn Bronomethane Chlorobenzene Chlorodibromomethane Chloroethane Chloroform Chloromethane o-Chlorotoluene p-Chlorotoluene Dibroaomethane m-Dichlorobenzene o-Dlchlorobenzene trans-1,2 Dichloroethylene cis-1,2 Dichloroethylene Dichlorosethane 1,1 Dichloroethane 1,1 Dichloropropene 1,3 Dichloropropeno 1,2 Dichloropropane 1,3 Dlchloropropane 2,2 Dichloropropana Ethylbenzene Styrene 1,1,2 TriChloroethane 1,1,1,2 Tetr»cnioroeth*no 1,1,2.2 Tatrachloroetnane TetraciUoroethyisne 1.J.3 Tricnloropropaiie Tolviene p-Xylene o-Xylena m-Xylene List 2 - Required (or "vulnerable" Systems Ethylene oibromide (EDO) 1,2 Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DUCP) List 3 - Monitoring Required at State Discretion Bronoch1o rone thane n-Butylbenzene DictUorodif luoromethane Fluorotrichloromethane Hexachlorobutadiene laopropylbenzene p-Isopropyltoluene Napthalene n-PropyIbenzene sec-Butylbenzene tert-ButyIbenzene 1,2,3 Trichlorobenzene 1,2,4 Trichlorobenzene 1,2,4 TrimethyIbenzene 1.3,5 Trimetnylbenzene CONTAMINANT CoJlfonn bacteria (Revised re H form req\« i foment* ) Inorganic chemicals * • Organic*- pec ticide* • • Eight new VOCfl 51 UAreyulatftd Alpha radiation flwta radiation Trihalomothanos • Turbidity (Revised turbidity requirement*) Sodium • Corrosivity Disinfectant residual - Entering dlst. syst. - In distribution syst. SYSTEM TYPE surface 4 ground all surface ground surface ground surface t ground ever 10,000 pop. 3.309-10,000 pop. under 5,300 pop. surface t ground surface t ground surface <10,000 over 75,000 pop. 10,000-75,000 pop. surface surface surface ground surface i ground surface INITIAL SAMPLING TO BE COMPLETED July, l«77 WFECTIVT DSC. mo June, 1971 June, 1979 June, 1978 St&te option Dec., 191* Dec., !9S9 Dec., 1991 sane cs vocs June, 1980 June, 1979 Jan. , 1981 Jan. , 1983 June, 1977 EFFECTIVE D«C. 1990 Feb. 19(3 PCS). 1913 Feb., lt«3 EFFECTIVE Dec. 1990 SliDSCQUENT TEST INTERVTU, »ont*uy ' — ysarly evary 3 yrs. •very 3 yrs. State option continued quarterly/up to s year* « one-tia« every 4 yrs. •very 4 yr». quarterly * qu^rtorly • daily Continuous or every 4 hour y«arly •very 3 yr«. one-time continuous Same as colif. See regulations for exception* and details. ------- |