United States Office of Water EPA 815-F-00-002
Environmental Protection (4607) March 1999
Agency
Fact Sheet: Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface
Water Treatment and Filter Backwash
Proposed Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface
Water Treatment Rule and Filter Backwash Rule (LT1FBR) to increase protection of finished drinking
water supplies from contamination by Cryptosporidium and other microbial pathogens. The proposed
rule will apply to public water systems using surface water or ground water under the direct influence of
surface water. This rule proposes to extend protections against Cryptosporidium and other disease-
causing microbes to the 11,500 small water systems which serve fewer than 10,000 people annually. The
proposed rule also establishes filter backwash requirements for certain public water systems of all sizes.
The filter backwash requirements will reduce the potential risks associated with recycling contaminants
removed during the filtration process. This rule is scheduled to be final by November 2000.
Background
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires EPA to set enforceable standards to protect public health
from contaminants which may occur in dnnking water. EPA has determined that the presence of
microbiological contaminants are a health concern. If finished water supplies contain microbiological
contaminants, disease outbreaks may result. Disease symptoms may include diarrhea, cramps, nausea,
possibly jaundice, and headaches and fatigue. EPA has set enforceable drinking water treatment
requirements to reduce the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks. Treatment technologies such as
filtration and disinfection can remove or inactivate microbiological contaminants.
Physical removal is critical to the control of Cryptosporidium because it is highly resistant to standard
disinfection practice. Cryptosporidiosis may manifest itself as a severe infection that can last several
weeks and may cause the death of individuals with compromised immune systems. In 1993,
Cryptosporidium caused over 400,000 people in Milwaukee to experience intestinal illness. More than
4,000 were hospitalized, and at least 50 deaths were attributed to the cryptospondiosis outbreak. There
have also been cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in Nevada, Oregon, and Georgia over the past several years.
The 1996 Amendments to SDWA require EPA to promulgate an Interim Enhanced Surface Water
Treatment Rule (IESWTR) and a Stage 1 Disinfection Byproducts Rule (announced in December 1998).
The IESWTR set the first drinking water standards to control Cryptosporidium in large water systems, by
establishing filtration and monitoring requirements for systems serving more than 10,000 people each.
The LT1FBR proposal builds on those standards by extending the requirements to small systems.
The 1996 Amendments also require EPA to promulgate a Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water
Treatment Rule (for systems serving less than 10,000 people) by November, 2000 ((1412(b)(2)(C)) and
also require EPA to "promulgate a regulation to govern the recycling of filter backwash water within the
treatment process of a public water system" by August, 2000 ((1412(b)(14)). The current proposed rule
includes provisions addressing both of these requirements.
EPA began outreach efforts to develop the LT1FBR in the summer of 1998. In addition to two public
meetings, EPA has held several formal and informal meetings with stakeholders, trade associations, and
environmental groups. EPA also received valuable input from small entity representatives as part of the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel. The LT1FBR panel was
initiated in April of 1998 and officially convened in August of 1998. Many of the panel's
recommendations will be incorporated into the proposed rule.
-------
In early June, 1999, EPA mailed an informal draft of the LT1FBR preamble to the approximately 100
stakeholders who attended either of the public stakeholder meetings. Members of trade associations and
the SBREFA panel also received the draft preamble. EPA received valuable comments and stakeholder
Input from 15 state representatives, trade associations, environmental interest groups, and individual
stakeholders.
What will the LT1FBR require?
The LT1FBR provisions will apply to public water systems using surface water or ground water under
the direct influence of surface water systems.
LT1 Provisions - Apply to systems serving fewer than 10,000 people, and fall into the three following
categories:
Turbidity
• Conventional and direct filtration systems must comply with specific combined filter
effluent turbidity requirements;
• Conventional and direct filtration systems must comply with individual filter turbidity
requirements;
Disinfection Benchmarking
• Public water systems will be required to develop a disinfection profile unless they
perform applicability monitoring which demonstrates their disinfection byproduct levels
are less than 80% of the maximum contaminant levels;
• If a system considers making a significant change to their disinfection practice they must
develop a disinfection benchmark and receive State approval for implementing the
change;
Other Requirements
• Finished water reservoirs for which construction begins after the effective date of the
rule must be covered; and
• Unfiltered systems must comply with updated watershed control requirements that add
Cryptosporidium as a pathogen of concern.
FBR Provisions - Apply to all systems which recycle regardless of population served:
• Recycle systems will be required to return spent filter backwash water, thickener
supernatant, and liquids from dewatering process prior to the point of primary coagulant
addition unless the State specifies an alternative location;
• Direct filtration systems recycling to the treatment process must provide detailed recycle
treatment information to the State, which may require that modifications to recycle practice
be made, and;
• Conventional systems that practice direct recycle, employ 20 or fewer filters to meet
production requirements during a selected month, and recycle spent filter backwash water,
thickener supematant, and/or liquids from dewatenng process within the treatment process
must perform a one month, one-time recycle self assessment. The self assessment requires
hydraulic flow monitoring and that certain data be reported to the State, which may require
modifications to recycle practice be made to protect public health.
For general information, please contact the Safe Drinlung Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. The Safe
Drinking Water Hotline is open Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays, from 9:00 am to
5:30 pm Eastern Time. For specific information on LT1FBR proposed rule, contact Jeffery Robichaud,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (MC 4607), 401 M
Street SW, Washington, DC 20460. Telephone (202) 260-2568.
------- |