&EPA
Unfed States
Enwionmsntal Protection
Issue 12
August 2009
EPA 815-N-09-001
Maria Tomashot and Jillian
Hutson, Editors
O.R.I.S.E. Fellows
Technical Support Center
Inside this issue:
UCMR Update Issue
Number 12-Issued by
the Technical Support
Center (TSC) of the Of-
fice of Ground Water
and Drinking Water
(OGWDW). Future Up-
dates will be distributed
as needed to maintain
the flow of Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring
Regulation (UCMR) in-
formation.
The UCMR2 glass is half full!
Editors7 notes
Editors' notes
Fill your glass with these
dates to remember
UCMR2 data continue to
flow
UCMR occurrence data
availability
UCMR2 word search
A glass full of acronyms:
UCMR, CCRs and PNs
Quality control for PWSs
Quality control for Labs
Questions trickle in
Contact EPA
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Important Announcement! The first half of the Un-
regulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation
(UCMR2) monitoring period is over! Monitoring
began in January 2008 and continues until De-
cember 2010, with 12 month monitoring cycles for
each public water system (PWS). The halfway
point is marked by the first release of UCMR2 oc-
currence data to the National Contaminant Occur-
rence Database (NCOD), where all UCMR2 data will eventually be
posted. In this issue of the Update, we will quench your thirst for UCMR2
knowledge with these topics:
* UCMR2 occurrence data are now available on the Internet
* Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) and Public Notifications (PNs)
* Quality control information for PWSs and Labs
Raise your half full glasses and celebrate the first half of UCMR2 in your
workplace today!
^£t Fill your glass with these
dates to remember...
Stakeholder
EPA Approved Laboratories
Large Public Water Systems
(serving over 10,000)
Small Public Water Systems
Action
Must post monitoring results to the Safe Drink-
ing Water Accession and Review System
(SDWARS) within 120 days from sample collec-
tion.
Must review and approve data using SDWARS
within 60 days of the Laboratory posting your
results. CCR and PN requirements also apply.
Paper reports are sent from EPA directly to
small PWSs and States. No further action is re-
quired by the small PWS following sample col-
lection, other than compliance with CCR and PN
requirements.
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Page 2
Issue 12
UCMR2 data continue to flow
As the first half of UCMR2 monitoring period ends, reflect on what has already
been accomplished (as of June 2009):
PWS size and monitoring type
Screening Survey for Small Systems
Screening Survey for Large Systems
Assessment Monitoring for Small Systems
Assessment Monitoring for Large Systems
62% Complete (297 of 480)
436 out of 720 systems have reported
data to SDWARS
61 % Complete (488 out of 800)
1,959 out of 3,356 systems have reported
data to SDWARS
Admire your hard
UCMR2 work.
Note that data reporting typically lags monitoring by 3-6 months. Note also that the small system
screening survey is occurring over a two-year period, whereas all other monitoring is over a three
year period. Thanks everyone for all you have accomplished. Please keep up the great work and
raise your half full glass, toast, and celebrate your progress.
UCMR occurrence data availability
Download UCMR2
monitoring results:
http://
www.epa.gov/
ogwdw/ucmr/
Where does the data flow after you turn the SDWARS approval tap?
Links to both historic and current UCMR data are on the UCMR Web
site (http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/ucmr/data.html). UCMR2 data are
available in text (.txt) files, which can be imported and viewed with
nearly any Microsoft Word or data processing software. Analyze and
draw conclusions from the UCMR2 data with caution at this point, as
this is a dynamic dataset until monitoring is complete. Details about
the data and information about UCMR2 are included in the PDF file,
which can be downloaded from the Web site with the data.
UCMR2 word search
Take a break from UCMR data and fill up
your cup with letters instead! How many of
these UCMR2-related terms can you find?
CCR
Contaminant
GLEC
Ground water
Inventory
NCOD
Schedule
SDWARS
UCMR
R T N I
E N O N
T A I
A N S
V
E
W I S N
C
E
E
S
A
D M A T E
N A P O L
U T M R C
O N O Y N
RO C O H
G C K I N
S C N L V
C A E P N
H U U C A
E V O L O
D D C U G
U WD C O
L S A M R
E L G R A
C D I A S
L C E P O
D N E S S
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Issue 12
Page 3
A glass full of acronyms:
UCMR, CCRs, and PNs
Information on CCRs and
PNs:
www.epa.gov/safewater/
consumerinformation/
=--1ex.htr-'
You must inform your customers about UCMR2 detec-
tions (i.e. measurements above reporting limits) through
your annual consumer confidence report (CCR). A tier
three public notice (PN) is also required to announce
the availability of UCMR2 data. The U.S. EPA Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water has recently
launched a new Web site with information on both proc-
esses. The Web site will also wet your whistle with in-
formation on many other topics, so check it out!
Quality control for PWSs
You receive a huge box in the mail, dutifully col-
lect your samples, and send them to the lab.
But what happens after that? You see the re-
sults of the sample analyses you pay for, but
quality control (QC) also occurs behind the
scenes.
Internal Laboratory QC samples check for
things like the accuracy and precision of the
analytical equipment. These samples include
the following:
=> Calibration check standards ensure the
calibration curve used to determine contami-
nant concentrations are accurate.
=> Daily performance checks make sure the
analytical equipment is accurately measuring
low concentrations (at or below the minimum
reporting level, or MRL).
=> Laboratory fortified sample matrix (LFSM)
and duplicates (LFSMD) are PWS samples
collected from a PWS spiked with a known
concentration of a contaminant. This deter-
mines if any matrix bias exists, which could
cause inaccurate measurements. These re-
sults can be requested from your lab.
Remember, ask your lab if you have any ques-
tions about quality control—they will be happy to
accommodate you—their customer!
Quality control for labs
As laboratories well know, quality control is the foundation of
good data. The availability of quality control data is also impor-
tant to productive client relationships. Building trust with your
clients is easily done by supporting the validity of your results
with quality control information.
For your large PWS clients (PWSs serving over 10,001 custom-
ers), remember that you must report LFSM and LFSMD results
to SDWARS. The LFSM and LFSMD must be reported when the
fortified sample yields acceptable internal standard and surro-
gate recoveries and all other batch QC are valid. Monitoring
data may not be rejected based on the recovery of fortified target
analytes or the precision between LFSM and LFSMD.
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Page 4
Issue 12
Questions trickle in
So many questions, so little time! Here is a list of potential UCMR2 issues and
who to contact for answers.
Problei
How do I reset my CDX password?
need help using SDWARS.
My inventory (sample locations) in
SDWARS are incorrect.
I need to change my schedule
(either for the entire PWS or a few
sample points).
I am a small PWS and have an is-
sue with sampling.
I am not sure what I am required to
doforUCMR2.
You can automatically reset your
password in CDX. Click the here
link at the top of the login screen.
You can also click Forgot Password
next to the password box.
The UCMR Message Center.
The UCMR Sampling Coordinator
(remember to include your PWS ID
and an explanation).
UCMR Sampling Coordinator
(remember to include your PWS ID
and a reason for the request).
The UCMR Message Center.
The UCMR Message Center or visit
the UCMR2 Web site.
Do you have sugges-
tions for future Up-
dates? Let us know!
Send feedback to:
UCMR_Sampling_
Coordinator@epa.gov
Thank you!
The UCMR2 Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ucmr/ucmr2
Safe Drinking Water Hotline: General UCMR questions: (800)426-4791
CDX/SDWARS Help Desk: SDWARS/UCMR registration and electronic
reporting system questions: (888)890-1995
UCMR Message Center: UCMR implementation questions: (800)949-1581
u
rc
c
o
u
UCMR Sampling Coordinator Correspondences:
Mail: UCMR Sampling Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Technical Support Center (MS-140)
26. W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Fax: (513)569-7191
E-mail: UCMR_Sampling_Coordinator@epa.gov
Laboratories and PWSs:
When contacting EPA
about UCMR issues,
please use your UCMR
Lab ID or Federal PWS
ID, respectively.
Please contact the UCMR Sampling Coordinator if you are not the correct person to receive this newsletter,
your address needs to be corrected, or you do not want to receive this newsletter. Please include your name,
PWS ID (or Lab ID), and the name of the PWS (or Laboratory). Thank you.
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