Oregon Operations Office
United States 522 S.W. Fifth Avenue
Environmental Protection Yeon Building, Second Floor
Agency Portland OR 97204
Oregon Operations Office October 1984
Your Drinking Water
A Guide to Safe
Drinking Water
Regulations in Oregon
Re
vised
-------
Intent This booklet has been prepared by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oregon State Health Division
{OSHD) to help water suppliers understand State and EPA
drinking water requirements in Oregon. We hope the booklet
will answer your everyday questions about monitoring and
reporting under the Federal and State laws.
Background In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act which
established a national program for protecting drinking water for
all Americans. The 7981 Oregon State Legislature, recognizing
a need in Oregon to supplement and enhance the national law,
passed the Oregon Drinking Water Quality Act. The
fundamental purpose of both laws is the same ". . . to ensure
safe drinking water at all water systems. . ."
In implementing these two parallel laws, the EPA and the
Oregon State Health Division are firmly committed to avoiding
burdensome and inefficient program duplication.
Who are we? EPA
At the present time in Oregon, EPA takes the lead role in
determining whether water suppliers comply with the basic
water quality requirements called maximum contaminant levels
(MCL's). Therefore, water quality sample results should
continue to be sent to EPA.
For the water quality sampling required by the State only; such as for the
secondary contaminants, results may be sent directly to the Health Division, The
table entitled Oregon Sampling Requirements shows which sampling is
required by the State only.
OSHD
The State drinking water program, operated by the Oregon
State Health Division (OSHD), also includes water quality
requirements. These are generally quite similar to EPA's, with a
few noted exceptions (see Oregon Sampling Requirements
table). In addition, the OSHD program addresses several topics
not covered by the EPA program. Most noteable among these
are water system construction standards, plan review and
approval requirements, and operation and maintenance rules.
The primary goals for the OSHD program include providing
prompt and accurate technical assistance to water suppliers
and improving and enhancing training opportunities for
operators and others in the water supply field.
Joint Agreement
We believe that the OSHD and EPA programs comjSfiement
each other. To facilitate this complementary relationship and to
prevent duplication, EPA and OSHD have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding which defines the roles of
each agency in implementing the drinking water requirements
in Oregon.
-------
The pin-up Located in the center of this booklet is an Oregon Sampling
Requirements table showing the monitoring requirements for
various drinking water contaminants and categories of public
water systems. By working your way through the next section.
Who Are You?, you should be able to determine which
category (community or non-community) you fall into. Then, if
you also know the type of source you have (surface, ground or
purchased), you should be able to find the monitoring
requirements which apply to you (both State and EPA) by
looking through the Oregon Sampling Requirements table.
Who Are You? Since the monitoring requirements depend on water system
characteristics, your water system must first be identified
according to the following categories (based on State
definitions which are more inclusive):
Category or Classification
Public Water Systerrt'—a system for provision of piped water to
the public for human consumption, and which a. serves more
than three service connections used by year-round residents, or
b. regularly serves 10 or more year-round residents, or c. supplies
water to a public or commercial establishment which operates at
least 60 days per year and is patronized by 10 or more customers
or visitors per day, or is licensed by the OSHD.
Community Water System—a public water system which has
15 or more service connections used by year-round residents or
regularly serves 25 or more year-round residents.
Non-Community Water System*—a public water system that
is not a Community Water System.
*The federal definition of non-community is different from the State's and
includes fewer systems. By the federal definition, a non-community public
water system is one that serves a transient population of 25 or more
persons, or has 15 or more service connections and operates at least 60
days per year. This includes such facilities as campgrounds, schools,
factories, motels, etc. where people are there only temporarily or only part
of each day.
Size of Water Systems—minimum microbiological sampling
requirements (coliform bacteria) are based upon population size. The
tables on page 5 indicate the sampling requirements for EPA and for
OSHD.
2
-------
Oregon Samplir*
Based on Oregon and EP£
Community
Surface Water
Stream or Lake
Ground Water
Well
Purchased
Water
Bought
From
Another
System
1
Bacteria cofiform: Monthly —number of samples depends ,
upon population (see EPA Table).
Turbidity: Daily
Inorganic arsenic, mercury, etc.: Annually
Organic pesticides, herbicides: Every three years
Radionuclides: One per quarter for the first year; repeat at 4
year intervals
Trihalomethanes: 4 per quarter for the first year, then 1 per
quarter*
Secondary Contaminants pH, TDS, etc. : One time only—by
12/31/83t
Bacteria co/iform: Monthly —number of samples depends
upon population (see EPA Table).
Inorganic arsenic, mercury, etc.: Every three years
Radionuclides: One per quarter for the first year; repeat at 4
year intervals
Trihalomethanes: 4 per quarter for the first year, then
annually*
Organic pesticides, herbicides: Only for EPA or State specified
systems
Secondary Contaminants pH, TDS, etc.: One time only —by
12/31/83t
Bacteria co/iform: Monthly —number of samples depends
upon population (see EPA Table).
All data should be sent to EPA i
*EPA requirement only. Send data to EPA, Seattle, WA.
tState requirement only. Send data to OSHD, P.O.Box 231, Portland,
OR 97207
-------
g Requirements
' drinking water regulations
Non-Community
during operating season only
Bacteria co/iform: One sample in each calendar quarter in
which system operates Quarters: Oct.-Dec.; Jan.-Mar.,
I Apr.-Jun.; and Jul.-Sept.
Turbidity: Daily*
Inorganic arsenic, mercury, etc.'. One time only-by
12/31 /83t Nitrate only-annually thereafter! EPA requires
Nitrate only —one time only*
Organic pesticides, herbicides'. Only for EPA or State specified
systems
Secondary Contaminants pH, TDS, etc.'. One time only by
12/31/83t
Bacteria co/iform: One sample in each calendar quarter in
which system operates Quarters: Oct.-Dec.; Jan.-Mar.;
Apr.-Jun.; and Jul.-Sept.
Inorganic arsenic, mercury, etc.: One time only —by
12/31 /83t Nitrate only-annually thereaftert EPA requires
Nitrate only —one time only*
Organic pesticides, herbicides: Only for EPA or State specified
systems
Secondary Contaminants pH, TDS, etc.: One time only—by
12/31/83t
No Sampling Requirements
unless marked by the symbol t
Surface Water
Stream or Lake
Ground Water
Well
Purchased
Water
Bought
From
Another
System
tState rules allow sampling frequency to be reduced at Health
Division's discretion.
-------
We hope this booklet helps you better understand Oregon's
safe drinking water programs. If you have questions or
concerns, please feel free to contact us. Our phone numbers
and addresses are listed in the section entitled Organizations.
Tables EPA Table
Population
Samples
Population
Samples
Served
Per Month
Served
Per Month
up to 1,000
1
24,001 to 24,900
28
1,001 to 2,500
2
24,901 to 25,000
29
2,501 to 3,300
3
25,001 to 28,000
30
3,301 to 4,100
4
28,001 to 33,000
35
4,101 to 4,900
5
33,001 to 37,000
40
4,901 to 5,800
6
37,001 to 41,000
45
5,801 to 6,700
7
41,001 to 46,000
50
6,701 to 7,600
8
46,001 to 50,000
55
7,601 to 8,500
9
50,001 to 54,000
60
8,501 to 9,400
10
54,001 to 59,000
65
9,401 to 10,300
11
59,001 to 64,000
70
10,301 to 11,100
12
64,001 to 70,000
75
11,101 to 12,000
13
70,001 to 76,000
80
12,001 to 12,900
14
76,001 to 83,000
85
12,901 to 13,700
15
83,001 to 90,000
90
13,701 to 14,600
16
90,001 to 96,000
95
14,601 to 15,500
17
96,001 to 111,000
100
15,501 to 16,300
18
111,001 to 130,000
110
16,301 to 17,200
19
130,001 to 160,000
120
17,201 to 18,100
20
160,001 to 190,000
130
18,101 to 18,900
21
190,001 to 220,000
140
18,901 to 19,800
22
220,001 to 250,000
150
19,801 to 20,700
23
250,001 to 290,000
160
20,701 to 21,500
24
290,001 to 320,000
170
21,501 to 22,300
25
320,001 to 360,000
180
22,301 to 23,200
26
360,001 to 410,000
190
23,201 to 24,000
27
410,001 to 450,000
200
OSHD*
Population Served Samples Per Month
up to 100,000 1 per 1,000 population
100,000 to 360,000 1 per 1,500 population
over 360,000 1 per 2,000 population
"This table will not become effective while EPA retains primary enforcement
responsibility in Oregon.
5
-------
Organizations Organizations
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Drinking Water Programs Branch
M/S 412
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101
Oregon Operations Office
522 S.W. Fifth Avenue
Yeon Building, Second Floor
Portland, Oregon 97204
(503) 221-3250
Office Director, Michael Gearheard; Drinking Water Program
Coordinator, Vacant; Project Officers, Harold Rogers, Kevin
Dyer, Ron Culver, and Larry Payette.
Oregon State Health Division
Drinking Water Section
1400 S.W. Fifth Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97201
Mailing Address:
P.O.Box 231
Portland, Oregon 97207
(503) 229-5954
Section Manager, James Boydston; Non-Community
Administrative Assistant, Dolores Melone; Community
Resource Specialist, Dave Phelps; Plan Review Program
Manager, Al Smythe; Plan Review Engineer, Joe Jenson;
Health Hazard Studies Program Manager, Ron Hall; Education
& Training, Environmental Specialist, John Huffman;
Regional Field Engineer, Portland, Dave Leland; Regional Field
Engineer, Portland, Paul Berg; Regional Sanitarian, Portland,
Guy Beachler; Regional Field Engineer, Eugene, Mel
Damewood, (503) 686-7686; Regional Field Engineer,
Roseburg, Tom Charbonneau, (503) 440-3508; and Regional
Field Engineer, Pendleton, Gary Burnett, (503) 276-8006
6
-------
>mc
CO 3 3
2 —¦ s1
3 2 CD
OOQ.
i-
fBf
-5«S
3 ® < =
S = - o
g|-5|
(0CQ 3 3
5'
MS
Q.® 3
-_ o
!3 CD
O
O
-p O
3 3
m o
^ s;
-* a>
9 c
^ Cfl
7 5'
n
i-t
(T>
® H
C 3"
n
d>
m > t? m "n -q
>*8 3 3 8 8
h*»3H
s|°-3
s 11
¦£
------- |