dEPA
Water Quality Surveillance and Response Systems
For Distribution System Monitoring and Management
What is a Water Quality Surveillance
and Response System?
A Water Quality Surveillance and Response System (SRS)
is a framework designed to support monitoring and
management of distribution system water quality. The
system is comprised of one or more components that
enhance a drinking water utility's capability to quickly detect
and respond to water quality incidents. Early warning and
effective response to an emerging water quality incident can
prevent it from becoming a more serious problem.
As illustrated in the figure below, the SRS components are
grouped into two operational phases: surveillance and
response. The surveillance components provide real-time
data on conditions throughout the distribution system and
include Online Water Quality Monitoring, Enhanced Security
Monitoring, Customer Complaint Surveillance and Public
Health Surveillance. The response components provide
a framework for making response decisions and include
Consequence Management and Sampling & Analysis.
What are the benefits of
implementing an SRS?
One application of an SRS is the detection of
infrequent water quality incidents, but the system
can also provide many benefits to routine utility
operations. Examples of specific benefits that can be
derived from SRS practices include:
• Improved understanding of the impact of
distribution system operations and hydraulics on
water quality
• Early warning of emerging water quality issues,
such as low disinfectant levels, nitrification, taste
& odor episodes and rusty water
• Ability to detect and respond to distribution
system contamination incidents
• Enhanced security at water distribution facilities
• Stronger relationships with partner agencies, such
as public health, law enforcement, emergency
management and primacy agencies
• Improved customer service through timely
response to customers' water quality concerns
urveillance
Take corrective
action if necessary,
then resume routine
surveillance.
r
Can distribution
system contamination
be ruled out?
If unusual water
quality is detected,
an alert is generated
and investigated.
lesponse
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Online Water Quality Monitoring involves continuous
monitoring of water quality parameters
at strategic locations in the distribution
system. Data from these monitoring stations
is automatically transmitted to a central
information management system and
analyzed to detect unusual water quality
conditions. Measured water quality parameters include:
• Disinfectant residual
• Specific conductance and pH
• UV-Vis spectral absorbance
Customer Complaint Surveillance monitors customer
calls to identify unusual trends in water
quality complaints. Calls associated
with an unusual trend are further
investigated to determine if they are
similar in nature and spatially clustered.
Common datastreams include:
V L
• Interactive Voice Response systems
• Work management systems
• Email and social media
Consequence Management consists of planning and
procedures for responding to possible
drinking water contamination incidents. It is
operated in collaboration with a variety of
local and state response partners, including
law enforcement, public health and
emergency response agencies. Its primary
functions are to:
• Establish the credibility of a possible contamination
incident
• Minimize public health and economic consequences
• Guide the remediation and recovery effort
Enhanced Security Monitoring involves the use of
equipment and procedures to detect
and respond to security breaches at
distribution system facilities that are
vulnerable to contamination. It is operated
in collaboration with local law enforcement
to ensure timely response to alerts from
security systems such as:
• Door and hatch contact switches
• Video monitoring systems
• Video analytics
Public Health Surveillance analyzes healthcare data in order
to identify disease clusters that may be
caused by contaminated drinking water.
It is operated in collaboration with local
public health partners to ensure timely
detection of possible contamination
incidents. Common datastreams include:
• Emergency department data
• Emergency medical services runs
• 911 and poison control center calls
Sampling & Analysis involves the collection and analysis
of water samples from the distribution
system. It is activated through
Consequence Management to further
investigate possible contamination
incidents and identify specific
contaminants, if present. Its primary
functions are to:
• Perform field testing and sample collection
• Analyze samples for contaminants of concern
• Characterize the extent of contamination
How can a utility begin the process of implementing an SRS?
Design of an SRS is flexible and can include any combination of the components described above. It should be locally
tailored to meet the specific goals and objectives of your utility and leverage existing capabilities and procedures. Follow
the simple steps below to begin the process.
1. Determine the specific objectives your utility would like to achieve through SRS implementation.
2. Assess existing capabilities at your utility and determine how they can be leveraged to design an SRS that meets
these objectives.
3. Visit the website below for guidance and tools you can use to design your utility's SRS and improve distribution
system monitoring and management.
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For more information
Visit EPA's Water Quality Surveillance and Response website at http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/
initiative.cfm, or contact us at WSD-Outreach@epa.gov
Office of Water (4608T)
EPA 817-F-14-021
December 2014
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