Water Lines
Safe
Dun king L
Water H4tlii\e
June 2002
Monthly Report
SDW Hotline Report
In This Issue
What's New?	

	1
Frequently Asked Qs & As....
	2
Monthly Trends	

	3
Did You Know?	

	3
Hotline Stats	

	4
Appendix A	

	6
Top Ten Topics

Questions
Percent of
Topic
(phone &
Total*

email)
Questions
Consumer
841
16
Confidence Report


Local Drinking Water
589
11
Quality


Tap Water Testing
474**
9
Home Water
324
6
Treatment Units


Cryptosporidium
301
6
Household Wells
228
4
Lead
215
4
Bottled Water
187
4
Other Drinking Water
175
3
Background


Complaints About
144
3
PWS
*A total of 5,282 questions were answered by
the Hotline (via telephone and email) in June
2002.
**Citizens who obtain their drinking water from
private household wells asked 28% of the tap
water testing questions.
Published Monthly
See past reports at
http://intranet.epa.gov/ow/hotline
Safe Drinking Water Hotline: National
Toll-free No.: (800) 426-4791 or
(877) EPAWATER
For More Information Contact:
Harriet Hubbard, EPA Project Officer
(202) 564-4621
Operated by Booz Allen Hamilton
Under Contract #GS-10F-0090J
What's New
New Documents:
¦ Guidance for Implementing a
contacting the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline.
¦ Class V Determination
Factsheet. EPA816-F-02-010, is
now available at www.epa.gov/
safewater/uic/classv.html
Point-of-Use (POU) or Point-of-
Entrv (POE) Treatment Strategy
for Compliance with the Safe
Drinking Water Act-Revised Final
Draft is now available at
www.epa.gov/safewater/
openc.html
¦	Using DWSRF Funds to Comply
with the Filter Backwash
Recycling Rule. EPA816-F-02-
006, is now available for review
at www.epa.gov/safewater/
dwsrf.html
¦	Using DWSRF Funds to Comply
with the Long Term 1 Enhanced
Surface Water Treatment Rule.
EPA816-F-02-005, is now
available at www.epa.gov/
safewater/ccr/ccrwriter.html
¦	Using DWSRF Funds to Comply
with the Stage 1 Disinfectants
and Disinfection Byproducts
Rule. EPA816-F-02-007, is now
available at
www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf.ht
ml
¦	Using DWSRF Funds to Comply
with the Radionuclides Rule.
EPA816-F-02-008, is now
available at www.epa.gov/
safewater/dwsrf.html
¦	Fact Sheet: Announcement of
Preliminary Regulatory
Determinations for Priority
Contaminants on the Drinking
Water Contaminant Candidate
List. EPA816-F-02-003, is now
available at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl
/cclregdetermine.html
¦	Protecting Public Health and
Drinking Water Resources (UIC
Program Poster). EPA816-H-02-
005, is now available in Spanish
by contacting the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline.
¦	Checklist: Disinfection Profiling
for the LT1ESWTR. EPA816-F-
02-009, is now available by
New Legislation:
¦	On June 12,2002, Title IV of the
Public Health Security and
Bioterrorism Preparedness and
Response Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-
188) amended the Safe Drinking
Water Act by adding Section
1433 (Terrorist and Other
Intentional Acts), Section 1434
(Contaminant Prevention,
Detection and Response),
Section 1435 (Supply Disruption
Prevention, Detection, and
Response), and by modifying
existing language in the Act.
Title IV addresses public water
system vulnerability
assessments, emergency
response plans, and funding
appropriations.
Add This To Your Calendar:
¦	On June 19, 2002, EPA
announced a public meeting to
discuss the results of the
Agency's preliminary regulatory
determinations for nine
contaminants, presently listed on
the Contaminant Candidate List
(CCL), together with the
determination process, rationale,
and supporting technical
information for each (67 FR
41722). The stakeholder
meeting will be held from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, on July
16,2002.

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June 2002
Frequently Asked Qs & As
Q: When is a new community water system required to
deliver its first Consumer Confidence Report (CCR)?
A: A new community water system must deliver its first
CCR by July 1 of the year after its first full calendar year
in operation and annually thereafter (40 CFR
141.152(c)).
Q: The operator of a public water system (PWS) is
preparing his annual consumer confidence report (CCR)
The testing laboratory detected arsenic during the past
year at a level less than the maximum contaminant level
(MCL), but above the minimum detection limit. When
reporting the amount of arsenic found in the drinking
water in the system's CCR, the operator must include
language describing the likely sources of arsenic in the
drinking water. How does a PWS determine the source
of a contaminant?
A: Specific information regarding contaminants may be
available in sanitary surveys and source water
assessments, and should be used when available to the
operator. If the operator lacks reliable data on the
specific source of the contaminant, the CCR should
include one or more of the typical sources listed in 40
CFR Part 141, Subpart O, Appendix A, that is most
applicable to the situation (40 CFR 141,153(d)(4)(ix)).
A: Surface water systems or GWUDI systems serving
fewer than 10,000 people must comply with the
applicable LT1ESWTR provisions for turbidity by
January 14, 2005 (Long Term One Enhanced Surface
Water Treatment Rule: A Quick Reference Guide,
EPA816-F-02-001, January 2002).
Q: A laboratory uses a mass-type method (laser
phosphorimetry) to determine uranium levels in the
drinking water. In order to calculate the "net" alpha
(gross alpha minus uranium and radon) used to
determine compliance with the gross alpha MCL, the
laboratory result must be converted from mass to
activity. What mass to activity ratio must be used?
A: If uranium (U) is determined by mass-type methods
(i.e., fluorometric or laser phosphorimetry), a 0.67 pCi/ug
uranium conversion factor must be used (40 CFR 141.25
Footnote 12).
Q: Does the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection
Byproducts Rule (Stage 1 DBPR) apply to transient
noncommunity water systems (TNCWS)?
A: Yes, a TNCWS using chlorine dioxide as a
disinfectant or oxidant must comply with the chlorine
dioxide requirements of the Stage 1 DBPR (40 CFR
141.130(b)(2)). The Stage 1 DBPR does not apply to
TNCWS that use disinfectants other than chlorine
dioxide.
Q: Is there a safe level of lead in drinking water for
children?
A: Lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human
health even at low exposure levels because it is
persistent and can bioaccumulate in the body overtime
(56 FR 26460, 26468; June 7, 1991). Young children,
infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead
because the physical and behavioral effects of lead
occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults.
A dose of lead that would have little affect on an adult
can have a significant affect on a child. In children, low
levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the
central and peripheral nervous system, learning
disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and
impaired formation and function of blood cells (40 CFR
141,85(a)(1)(ii)). Under the Safe Drinking Water Act,
EPA has set an MCLG for lead at zero, indicating that
there is no safe level of lead for children (56 FR 26460,
26469; June 7, 1991).
Q: When must a public water system serving less than
10,000 people comply with the turbidity requirements of
the Long Term 1 rule?
Q: The underground injection control (UIC) requirements
in 40 CFR 144.81 (9) do not apply to single family
residential septic system wells or to non-residential
septic system wells, which are used solely for the
disposal of sanitary waste and have the capacity to
serve fewer than 20 persons a day. Is the word capacity
defined by EPA?
A: According to Robyn Delehanty from EPA's Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW), questions
regarding the applicability of UIC regulations should be
directed to the appropriate state or regional
implementing agency. There is no published EPA
definition for the term capacity as used in this section.
Q: How can a person investigate whether the
development of new homes utilizing septic systems as
the only form of wastewater treatment might adversely
affect a nearby stream used as a drinking water source
for several small communities downstream?
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June 2002
A: The state Source Water Assessment and Protection
Program contact can assist with information on
protecting sources of drinking water. Information is also
available at the Office of Ground Water and Drinking
Water Web site at www.epa.gov/safewater/swp.html.
Q: Under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Regulations (UMCR), is composite sampling permitted
for samples collected in accordance with the UCMR
regulations in 40 CFR 141.40?
Monthly Trends
With the approaching July 1st mailing list
deadline for Consumer Confidence Reports
(CCR), the Safe Drinking Water Hotline
received an increasing number of
questions regarding these annual reports.
Eighty-seven percent of the CCR questions
were from citizens requiring assistance on
how to read the CCR or requesting
additional local water information. Public
water systems contributed 10 percent to
the CCR question volume, requiring
assistance with regulatory requirements or
requesting copies of CCR Writer Version
2.0. (See July 2002 Issue of Water Lines
for more information.)	
Did You Know?
"Without a change in the way we manage water, up to
107 million people will die from water-related diseases
over the next 20 years."
Peter H. Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute
In a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
A: No. Public water systems, unless otherwise informed
by the State or EPA of other sampling arrangements,
must not composite (combine, mix, or blend) samples
taken in accordance with the UCMR regulations in 40
CFR 141.40. Each sample must be collected,
preserved, and tested separately (40 CFR 141.40(5)).
1,000
900
800-1-
700- -
300- -
200- -
l~l , n , n , i-i, n


&
O

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June 2002
Monthly Summary of
Hotline Service
Total number of calls answered	3,718
Total number of emails received
279
Average wait time (in seconds)
0:19
Percent of calls satisfied immediately
99.4%
Percent of all calls answered in < 1 min
91.7%
Percent of callbacks answered in 5 days
100%
Percent of emails answered in 5 days
100%
Number of times callers listened to recorded

message about local DW quality
2,945
Number of times callers listened to recorded

message about arsenic rule
136
Comparison to Previous Years

Calls
Emails
June 2002
3,718
279
June 2001
5,106
389
Top Ten Referrals
Inquiry Referred to:
Number of
Referrals
Percent of
Total*
Referrals
1. Local Water System
458
15
2. State Lab Certification
457
15
3. NSF/WQA/UL
390
13
4. EPA Internet
386
12
5. State PWSS
331
11
6. Local Public Health
192
6
7. AGWT/WSC
141
5
8. FDA/I BWA
141
5
9. Non-EPA Internet
85
3
10. Other Hotlines
81
3
*3,107 total referrals to other resources, agencies, and
organizations were provided by the Hotline in June 2002.
Hotline Statistics
Customer Profiles
Customer
Calls
Emails
Analytical Laboratories
9
2
Citizen - Private Well
391
39
Citizen - PWS
2,212
105
Consultants/lndustry/Trade (DW)
94
20
Consultants/lndustry/Trade (Other)
88
27
Environmental Groups
9
2
EPA
31
1
Other Federal Agency
10
4
Government, Local
24
9
Government, State
36
7
Government, Tribal
1
0
Spanish Speaking
19
0
International
3
23
Media
8
1
Medical Professional
15
2
Public Water System
164
11
Schools/University
27
23
Other
37
3
TOTALS
3,718
279
Daily Call Data

Total Calls
Answered
Average Wait Time
mm:sec
3-June
92
00:21
4-June
99
00:16
5-June
89
00:19
6-June
91
00:11
7-June
120
00:46
10-June
84
00:15
11-June
97
00:14
12-June
82
00:26
13-June
105
00:12
14-June
105
00:13
17-June
89
00:17
18-June
91
00:16
19-June
76
00:13
20-June
120
00:21
21-June
114
00:17
24-June
109
00:21
25-June
94
00:18
26-June
115
00:26
27-June
128
00:18
28-June
135
00:22
TOTALS
3,718
00:19
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June 2002
Topic Categories
Category
Calls
Emails
Microbials/Disinfection Byproducts
Chlorine
40
5
Coliforms
105
11
Cryptosporidium
300
1
Disinfection/Disinfection


Byproducts (Other)
27
8
Disinfection - Home Water
58
4
Other Microbials
42
1
Surface Water Treatment (SWTR,


ESWTR, LT1FBR)
44
7
Trihalomethane (THM)
39
3
Inorganic Chemicals (IOC)/Synthetic
Organic Chemicals (SOC)
Arsenic
73
11
Fluoride
42
5
Methyl-ferf/ary-butyl-ether (MTBE)
11
0
Perchlorate
2
0
Phase I, II & V
63
11
Sodium Monitoring
21
3
Sulfate
3
0
Lead and Copper
Copper
47
3
Lead
210
5
Lead Contamination Control Act


(LCCA)/Lead Ban
4
0
Radionuclides
Radionuclides (Other)
50
4
Radionuclides (Radon)
86
4
Secondary DW Regulations
Secondary DW Regulations
93
6
SDWA Background/Overview
Definitions & Applicability
42
2
MCL List
66
4
Other Background
157
18
SDWA
30
1
Hotline Statistics
Category
Calls
Emails
Water on Tap
54
2
Other DW Regulations
Analytical Methods (DW)
29
6
Contaminant Candidate List/


Drinking Water Priority List
7
1
Consumer Confidence Report (DW)
830
11
DW Primacy (PWS)
3
0
Operator (PWS) Certification
1
1
Other Drinking Water Security
27
7
Public Notification (PWS)
24
1
Security Planning Grants
38
7
State Revolving Fund (DW)
2
4
Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR)
37
0
Other Drinking Water
Additives Program
7
3
Bottled Water
177
10
Complaints about PWS
142
2
Compliance & Enforcement
(PWS)
28
2
Home Water Treatment Units
305
19
Infrastructure/Cap. Development
3
1
Local DW Quality
574
15
Tap Water Testing
455
19
Treatment/BATs (DW)
35
6
Drinking Water Source Protection
Ground Water Rule
7
1
Sole Source Aquifer
6
0
Source Water/Wellhead Protect.
28
7
UIC Program
12
4
Out of Purview
Household Wells
211
17
Non-Environmental
60
13
Non-EPA Environmental
83
31
Other EPA (Programs)
122
13
TOTALS
4,962
320
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SAFE DRINKING WATER HOTLINE MONTHLY REPORT
June 2002
Appendix A: Federal Register Summaries
FINAL RULES
"Underground Injection Control Program; Notice of Final Determination for Class V
Wells, Final Rule"
June 7, 2002 (67 FR 39583)
EPA announced a final determination for all sub-classes of Class V injection wells not included
in the final rulemaking on Class V motor vehicle waste disposal wells and large-capacity
cesspools (December 7, 1999). These include shallow non-hazardous industrial waste disposal
wells, large-capacity septic systems, agricultural and storm water drainage wells, and other wells.
The Agency determined that the existing Federal UIC regulations are adequate to prevent these
Class V wells from endangering underground sources of drinking water (USDWs) and no new
rulemaking is necessary at this time.
NOTICES
"Announcement of Preliminary Regulatory Determinations for Priority Contaminants on
the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List"
June 3, 2002 (67 FR 38222)
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, directs EPA to publish a list of
contaminants (referred to as the Contaminant Candidate List, or CCL) to assist in priority-setting
efforts. EPA announced the preliminary regulatory determinations for nine contaminants from
the current CCL and described the supporting rationale for each.
"Notice of Final Decision on Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal Wells in EPA Region 8;
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class V Program"
June 4, 2002 (67 FR 38403)
EPA announced a decision under which each motor vehicle waste disposal well in Colorado,
Montana, or South Dakota (regardless of whether it is in Indian country) or in Indian country in
North Dakota, Utah, or Wyoming must either be closed or covered by a Class V UIC permit
application no later than January 1, 2007.
"OMB Approvals Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; Technical Amendment"
June 10, 2002 (67 FR 39712)
This document announced the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) response to Agency
clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.).
EPA ICR No. 1812.02, "Safe Drinking Water Act; Annual Public Water Systems Compliance
Report," was approved September 28, 2001. The expiration date for this ICR, OMB No. 2020-
0020, is September 30, 2004. EPA ICR No. 1928.03 (later this ICR No. was changed to
2052.01), "Information Collection Request for Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment
-6-

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Rule (final Rule)," was approved October 25, 2001. The expiration date for this ICR, OMB No.
2040-0229, is October 31, 2004.
"Public Water System Supervision Program Revisions for Iowa"
June 10, 2002 (67 FR 39722)
EPA announced that Iowa is revising its approved Public Water System Supervision Program.
EPA has determined that these revisions are no less stringent than the corresponding Federal
regulations. Therefore, EPA intends to approve these program revisions. All interested parties
may request a public hearing on the approval.
"National Drinking Water Advisory Council: Request for Nominations to Contaminant
Candidate List Working Group and Small Systems Affordability Working Group"
June 19, 2002 (67 FR 41717)
EPA announced the formation of a Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List Working Group
and Small Systems Affordability Working Group of the National Drinking Water Advisory
Council, and is soliciting nominations to these working groups.
"Announcement of a Stakeholder Meeting on Preliminary Regulatory Determinations for
Priority Contaminants on the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List"
June 19, 2002 (67 FR 41722)
EPA announced a public meeting to discuss the results of the Agency's preliminary regulatory
determinations for nine contaminants on the Contaminant Candidate List (67 FR 38222; June 3,
2002) together with the determination process, rationale, and supporting technical information
for each.
"Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment
Request: EPA Laboratory Quality Assurance Evaluation Program for Analysis of
Cryptosporidium Under the Safe Drinking Water Act"
June 26, 2002 (67 FR 43109)
EPA announced that it has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR) entitled, "EPA
Laboratory Quality Assurance Evaluation Program for Analysis of Cryptosporidium under the
Safe Drinking Water Act," ICR No. 2067.02, OMB Control No. 2040-0246, to OMB for review
and approval. The expiration date is July 31, 2002.
"Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment
Request: Reliability, Validity, and Variability in Behavioral Determinants of Drinking
Water Disinfection By-Product Exposure"
June 28, 2002 (67 FR 43594)
EPA announced that it has forwarded the ICR entitled, "Reliability, Validity, and Variability in
Behavioral Determinants of Drinking Water Disinfection By-Product Exposure," EPA ICR No.
2030.01, to OMB for review and approval.
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"Public Water System Supervision Program Revision for the State of Florida"
June 28, 2002 (67 FR 43598)
EPA announced that the State of Florida is revising its approved Public Water System
Supervision Program. Florida has adopted drinking water regulations for the Stage 1
Disinfection Byproducts Rule. EPA has determined that these revisions are no less stringent
than the corresponding Federal regulations. Therefore, EPA intends to approve this state
program revision.
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