United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
(4606)
EPA 816-F-99-004
May 1999
&EPA Fact Sheet
The Drinking Water
Academy
DRAFT
DRINKING
WATER
ACADEMY
WHAT IS THE DRINKING WATER ACADEMY?
The Drinking Water Academy (DWA) is a long-term training initiative established
by the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) to expand EPA's
capability to support states and other organizations as they implement the Safe
Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996. The goal of the Drinking Water
Academy is to support implementation by assisting EPA, states and tribes to build
program capability to successfully carry out the SDWA requirements. This, in turn,
will promote increased program compliance and greater public health protection.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?
The DWA was created in response to the far reaching changes brought forth by the
1996 SDWA Amendments. The amendments created new responsibilities and new
funding opportunities for EPA and states. As a result, EPA has promulgated and will
continue to promulgate new regulations, and has hired new personnel to assist in the
implementation of these new requirements. States are required to adopt new
comprehensive and integrated authorities and new regulations, place greater
emphasis on protecting source waters from contamination, and encourage increased
public involvement in ensuring safe drinking water. Furthermore, in addition to
maintaining their existing drinking water programs, states have developed new
funding programs to provide low-cost loans for the construction of important
drinking water infrastructure needs.
NEED FOR TRAINING?
The new requirements and approaches to regulating drinking water systems have
increased the need for training of EPA, states, and tribes, particularly for personnel
new to SDWA programs. The Academy will help fulfill these needs and sustain a
high level of expertise in drinking water programs, which may otherwise be
diminished through personnel changes and lack of sustained training. The DWA will
help strengthen the knowledge of all staff about statutes, regulations, and program
activities which will, in turn, provide greater protection of public health through
greater protection of public water supplies. Initially, the Academy will primarily
serve EPA staff. Once the Academy has developed a more comprehensive program,
it will be expanded to serve states, tribes, and others

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WHAT TYPES OF TRAINING NEEDS WILL BE ADDRESSED?
The DWA curricula are being designed to meet the training needs of SDWA EPA
and state program staff responsible for Public Water System Supervision,
Underground Injection Control, Ground Water, and Source Water Protection
programs. Training will take place through a combination of lectures, workshops,
audio-visual techniques, and on-site inspections where appropriate. Field work,
where applicable, may include inspections of public water systems and UIC wells.
Trainers will have extensive experience with SDWA programs.
IS THERE STATE INVOLVEMENT IN THE DWA?
States are playing an active role in the DWA from the beginning, even though they
are not the primary audience initially. The Academy has set up a work group
composed of EPA Headquarters and regional staff, and state representatives The
primary mission of the work group is to assist the Academy in prioritizing the type
and development of training materials for the Academy and to provide guidance
during the drafting and implementation of Academy curricula and training sessions
HOW CAN I OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION?
For general information on the SDWA, call the Safe Drinking Water Act hotline at
1-800-426-4791 or (202) 260-7908. For information on the Drinking Water
Academy, please visit the DWA website at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa.html
or contact James Bourne at (202) 260-5557 or bourne.lames@epa.gov.

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oEPA
United States Office of Water EPA 816-F-98-002
Environmental Protection (4606) April 1998
Agency	
DEFINITION OF A
PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing, for public
comment, draft guidance to the primacy agencies and EPA's regional offices for
their implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act's (SDWA) 1996 Amendments
to the definition of a public water system (PWS) in Section 1401 (4). This guidance
was developed with information from States, water suppliers, and citizens groups.
CHANGES TO THE PWS DEFINITION BY THE 1996 AMENDMENTS
"Constructed
Conveyances"
Expands the means of delivering water to include not only
systems which provide water for human consumption through
pipes, but also systems which provide water for human
consumption through "other constructed conveyances."
Regulation
Date
"Constructed conveyance" suppliers newly subject to the PWS
definition will not be regulated until August 6, 1998.
Exclusions
Provides three means by which "constructed conveyance"
water systems may be excluded from this definition and two
means by which certain piped irrigation districts may be
excluded from this definition.
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE NEW PWS DEFINITION
Definitions
Human Consumption. Defined to include drinking, bathing,
showering, cooking, dishwashing, and maintaining oral hygiene.
Constructed Conveyance. Broadly interpreted to refer to any
manmade conduit such as ditches, culverts, waterways, flumes,
mine drains, or canals.
Determining
Constructed
Conveyances
Natural Waterways. Factors that a primacy agency should
consider to determine whether or not a natural waterway is
considered a "constructed conveyance" include whether or not
it exists in its current configuration substantially from human
modifications, who owns or controls the water, and the reason
why water is present.
Counting. Whether a "constructed conveyance" counts as a
connection depends on whether the water supplier knows or
i

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should know that the connection exists or that the individuals
are using the water from that connection for human
consumption.
Water Suppliers' A supplier cannot limit its SDWA liability by not making efforts
Liability	to gather necessary information and documentation regarding its
users' water use, or solely by requiring its users to sign a waiver
agreement.
Constructed	Other Than Residential Use Exclusion. A "constructed
Conveyance conveyance" system may automatically exclude a connection
Exclusions	from being counted if its use is exclusively for purposes other
than residential uses.
Alternative Water Exclusion. A "constructed conveyance"
system may exclude a connection from being counted if the
primacy agency makes a factual determination based on
documentation submitted by the water supplier that the water
supplier is providing its users at that connection with alternative
water that provides the equivalent level of public health
protection as the applicable NPDWRs.
Treatment Exclusion. A "constructed conveyance" system may
exclude a connection from being counted if the primacy agency
makes a factual determination based on documentation
submitted by the water supplier that the water at the
connection is treated to provide the equivalent level of public
health protection as the applicable NPDWRs.
Piped Irrigation If in existence prior to May 18, 1994, and providing primarily
Exclusion	agricultural service with only incidental residential use, a piped
irrigation district may not be considered a PWS if all of its
connections comply with the alternative water or treatment
exclusions (above) for "constructed conveyance" suppliers.
EPA has published in the Federal Register the draft guidance and is soliciting
comments until June 22, 1998. Copies may also be obtained by calling the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. Comments should be addressed to Jon
Merkle, Drinking Water Office - (WTR-6), EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San
Francisco, California, 94105. Comments may also be submitted electronically to
merkle.jon@epamail.epa.gov.

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