v>EPA
Environmental Technology Verification
Drinking Water Systems Center
May 2003
Introduction and Goals
The Drinking Water Systems (DWS) Center is one of several US EPA Environmental Technology Verification
(ETV) centers dedicated to producing credible environmental performance data. The EPA Office of Research and
Development (ORD) leads the ETV Program.
On October 1, 2000, NSF International (NSF) entered into an agreement with the EPA to form an ETV center
dedicated to providing independent performance evaluations of drinking water technologies for small systems with
the goal of raising awareness for new treatment technologies. The DWS Center represents the next phase of the ETV
Program's Drinking Water Treatment Systems Pilot, which began in 1995 as a partnership between NSF and the
EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) and laid the groundwork for the new Center. In
2002, NSF received funds for water security efforts. This water security effort will consist of testing home water
treatment system capabilities for providing a protective barrier to possible water agents.
Concern about drinking water safety has accelerated in recent years due to highly publicized outbreaks of waterborne
diseases, information linking ingestion of high levels of contaminants to cancer incidence, and water security issues.
The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act requires the US EPA to set numerical contaminant standards and treatment and
monitoring requirements to ensure the safety of public water supplies. Since many small communities lack updated
equipment to comply with new stricter regulations, emerging treatment technologies may offer a solution. Recent
focus and concern to provide an additional level of water security protection on individual homes has also lead the
DWS Center to prioritize the testing of residential point-of-use (POU) water treatments systems.
DWS Center Key Features
• ETV DWS Center testing verifies performance of commercially ready drinking water treatment technologies
for use in small communities and residential treatment units.
• A steering committee (SC) and technical panels advise NSF and the EPA on the DWS Center's activities and
direction.
• Protocols and Technology-Specific Test Plans (TSTPs) assure uniform testing.
• DWS Center oversight assures that quality data is produced during verification.
Benefits to Stakeholders
Equipment Manufacturers and Vendors:
• Reduction in general pilot testing requirements for state acceptance of small systems
• Consistent and technically appropriate evaluation methods
• Reliable and independent test results
Small Communities/General Public:
• Improved drinking water quality
• Compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act for small systems
• Faster state approvals of technologies at less cost for small systems
• Additional level of water protection for individual residents by providing test data on home water treatment
systems
State Regulatory Agencies of Small Communities:
• Credible and independent test reports to help with approval considerations
• Reduced dependence on staff to develop and implement testing protocols by reducing the amount of pilot testing
for state acceptance of small systems
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Results and Current Activities
The Center's activities include development of verification protocols and test plans, independent testing and
validation of equipment, conveying and supporting government/industry partnerships to obtain credible cost and
performance data, and preparation of product-specific verification reports for broad dissemination. Emphasis is on
the performance and cost factors of specific vendor systems that address the treatment of common small community
problems, i.e., arsenic, microbiological contaminants, particulates, and disinfection by-products. In the case of water
security, emphasis is on performance of specific residential treatment systems making homeland security claims.
The Center currently has nine contaminant-specific verification protocols and 24 TSTPs that outline testing
procedures for small system technologies. The contaminant-specific protocols include testing procedures for
technologies that inactivate or remove microbiological contaminants, arsenic, nitrate, precursors to disinfection by-
products, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radionuclides. As of April 2003, 27 verification tests and reports have
been completed, evaluating drinking water treatment technologies for small systems. The following technology types
have been evaluated: ultraviolet (UV) radiation systems, microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane systems, a
nanofiltration system, on-site sodium hypochlorite generation systems, bag and cartridge filters, precoat
(diatomaceous earth) filters, backwashable depth filtration with and without coagulation, reverse osmosis membranes,
and ozone disinfection. Updated lists of protocols/test plans and verification reports can be found on the EPA and
NSF Web sites http://www.epa.gov/etv and http://www.nsf.org/etv/dws.
Current and Future Activities
The DWS Center's priorities for future work, based on EPA and stakeholder input, are as follows:
• Highest priority will be a focus on small system arsenic reduction technologies (e.g. adsorptive media).
• Harmonization of the ETV UV and Filtration Protocols with the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water
Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR). Testing will focus on ultraviolet technologies as well as bag/cartridge and
membrane technologies.
• Focus towards on-site generation of disinfectants to reduce or eliminate stockpiles of chemicals at utility sites.
• More cost sharing with stakeholders.
• The completion of two additional TSTPs in 2003: Test Plan for Removal of Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOCs)
by Adsorptive Media and Test Plan for Removal of Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) by Adsorptive Media.
• Revision of the Center's Existing Data Policies to enable a vendor to include more data in an ETV report from
previous testing of the system.
• Identification of priority agents for treatment, selection of potential technologies, development of test protocols,
and evaluation of equipment for homeland security verifications. Protocol development plans include the
following:
- Reverse osmosis for the reduction of microbial and chemical agents,
- Mechanical filtration for the reduction of microbial agents,
- Carbon filtration for the reduction of chemical agents,
- UV light for the inactivation of microbial agents,
- Distillation for the inactivation of microbial and chemical agents, and
- Other technologies as funds allow.
Vendors will be solicited for product evaluation pending the completion of the above protocols. The first
verification reports are targeted for late 2003.
Contact the DWS Center
For more information about the ETV DWS Center, please contact:
Mr. Jeff Adams, US EPA Project Officer Mr. C. Bruce Bartley, NSF Project Manager
Phone:(513)569-7835 ' Phone: (800) NSF MARK
Fax: (513) 569-7185 Fax: (734) 769-5195
Email: adams.jeff@epamail.epa.gov Email: bartley@nsf.org
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