Safe
DKIiMtlNG .
Water H4Tiim.
February 2003
Monthly Report
Water Lines
SDW Hotline Report
In This Issue
What's New	
	1
Monthly Trends	
	1
Calendar	
	2
Freauentlv Asked Qs & As	
	3
Did You Know?	
	3
Hotline Stats	
	4
Appendix A	
	6
Top Ten Topics
Questions Percent of
Topic (phone &e- Total*
	 mail)	Questions^
Tap Water Testing
293**
12
Household Wells
182
8
Local Drinking Water
Quality
175
7
Non-EPA
Environmental
101
4
Lead
99
4
Home Water
Treatment Units
97
4
Other EPA
90
4
Other Background
83
4
Public Notification
83
4
Non-Environmental
76
3
*A total of 2,348 questions were answered by
the Hotline (via telephone and e-mail) in
February 2003.
**Citizens who obtain their drinking water from
private household wells asked 43 percent of the
tap water testing questions.
Calls
E-mails
Total
1,516
301
1,817***
***A single call or e-mail may generate multiple
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 Publications:
¦	Stage 1 Disinfection Byproducts Rule:
Laboratory Quick Reference Guide,
EPA816-F-02-021, is now available at
www.epa.gov/safewater/mdbp/
implement.html.
¦	System Partnership Solutions to
Improve Public Health Protection,
EPA816-R-02-022, is now available at
www.epa.gov/safewater/smallsvs/
ssinfo.htm or by contacting the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline.
¦	Sources of Technical and Financial
Assistance for Small Drinking Water
Systems, EPA816-K-02-005, is now
available at www.epa.gov/
safewater/smallsvs/ssinfo.htm or by
contacting the National Service Center
for Environmental Publications.
¦	Using DWSRF Funds for Transmission
and Distribution Infrastructure Needs,
EPA816-F-03-003, is now available at
www, epa. gov/safe wate r/dws rf. htm I#
factsheets.
Monthly Trends
In the past three Monthly Reports, the
Hotline has presented "monthly trends"
related to public notification resulting from
bacterial contamination in drinking water,
specifically total coliform. In February
2003, the Hotline received a total of 83
questions related to public notification,
forty percent of which were from
concerned citizens who had received
notices that their water systems were
unable to achieve the removal
requirements for total organic carbon
(TOC). Systems regulated under the
Stage I Disinfectants and Disinfection
Byproducts Rule that serve 10,000 or
more persons are required to meet the
treatment technique for TOC removal
beginning January 1, 2002, with
compliance based on a running annual
average (40 CFR 141.130(b)(1)). The
notification process for violations of this
treatment technique began after the
annual average calculations were
computed for 2002.
In an effort to better address our callers'
questions and concerns regarding the
significance of the TOC removal
violations for which they have received
public notifications, the Hotline has
developed the following special series of
questions and answers.
Q: What is total organic carbon (TOC)?
A: TOC is a composite measurement of
the amount of organic material in a water
sample. It is an indicator of the natural
organic matter which is found in source
water that is treated to produce drinking
water. Most of the organic material
present in source water is due to
decaying plant and animal matter.
Generally, the treatment process
removes some TOC from the water.
Q: Is TOC a health concern?
A: Disinfectants (such as chlorine) are
added to drinking water to reduce the risk
of disease from pathogens. However,
the disinfectants can also react with
organic material (measured as TOC) and
inorganic material in water to form
unintended disinfection byproducts
(DBPs) (e.g., trihalomethanes). These
DBPs may pose health risks at a certain
level of exposure. By lowering the
concentration of TOC, public water
systems can reduce DBP formation and
exposure.
Q: If DBPs are the concern, why am I
receiving this notice about TOC?
A: The Stage 1 Disinfectants and
Disinfection Byproducts (DBP) Rule
requires some water systems to remove
a specific percentage of TOC from the
water during treatment. Reducing the
amount of TOC in the water should
reduce the amount of DBPs that are
formed. Your water system is notifying
you that it did not remove as much TOC
from the water as required by the Stage 1
DBP Rule.

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February 2003
Calendar:
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
More Information
NDWAC
Contaminant Candidate
List Classification Process
Workgroup
RESOLVE, Inc.
Suite 275
1235 23rd St. NW
Washington, DC
2/5/2003 -
2/6/2003
• Contact RESOLVE at
(202) 944-2300
NSF International
Public Water System
Compliance Using Point-
of-Use and Point-of-Entry
Treatment Technologies
Orlando, FL
2/13/2003 -
2/14/2003
• For more information:
www.nsf.ors/cBhe/BOu
EPA
SDWA Tribal Program
Meeting
Las Vegas, NV
2/25/2003 -
2/26/2003

NSTA
National Science Teachers
Convention
Philadelphia, PA
3/23/2003 -
3/26/2003

NDWAC
Contaminant Candidate
List Classification Process
Workgroup
Washington, DC
3/27/2003 -
3/28/2003

NRWA
Rural Water Rally
Washington, DC
4/6/2003 -
4/8/2003

OW, OSWER, EPA
Region 4
2003 EPA Science Forum
Washington, DC
5/5/2003 -
5/7/2003
• For more information:
www.eBa. eov/ord/scien
ceforum
National Association
State Floodplain
Managers
Annual Conference
St. Louis, MO
5/11/2003 -
5/16/2003

NDWAC
Contaminant Candidate
List Classification Process
Workgroup
Washington, DC
5/12/2003 -
5/13/2003

EPA
Source Water Protection
Conference
Washington, DC
6/2/2003 -
6/4/2003
For more information:
www.eBa.sov/safewater/
Brotect/swBeonf. html
AWWA
Annual Conference
Anaheim, CA
6/15/2003 -
6/19/2003

NDWAC
Contaminant Candidate
List Classification Process
Workgroup
Washington, DC
7/16/2003-
7/17/2003

EPA
Community Involvement
Conference
Philadelphia, PA
7/22/2003-
7/25/2003

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February 2003
Frequently Asked Qs & As
This section provides answers to frequently asked
questions not necessarily represented in one of the
Top Ten Topic categories.
Q: When a public water system (PWS) asks its
customers to collect first-draw samples for lead
testing compliance, how long can the PWS wait
before performing acidification on the samples?
After acidification, must the first-draw samples stand
for a certain period of time?
A: A PWS has up to 14 days after the first-draw
samples are collected to perform the acidification.
After acidification, the samples must stand in the
original containers for the time specified in the
approved EPA method before the samples can be
analyzed (40 CFR 141.86(b)(2)).
Q: A community water system (CWS) is required to
complete an annual Consumer Confidence Report
(CCR). Is it necessary to include contaminants
detected while monitoring for compliance with the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR)?
A: Yes. The CCR table must contain detected
unregulated contaminants for which a CWS is
required to monitor, including the average and range
at which the contaminant is detected. The report
may include a brief explanation of why the CWS is
monitoring for unregulated contaminants (40 CFR
141.153(d)(7)).
Q: I plan to construct a new Class V underground
injection control (UIC) well that will be associated
with the recovery of geothermal energy for the
production of electric power. Do I need to provide
notification to anyone? If so, to whom do I need to
send it and what information do I need to include in
the notification?
A: You must provide basic inventory information
about your well to your state, tribal, or EPA UIC
Director, if you have not already done so pursuant to
40 CFR 144.26. If you are in a state that has UIC
Program primacy (i.e., the state runs the UIC Class
V Program), then you must contact your state UIC
Director to determine exactly what information you
must submit and by what date. If you are in a state
that does not have primacy for its Class V UIC
Program or in Indian Country, then EPA implements
the Class V Program (i.e., Direct Implementation or
Dl Programs) and you must submit the inventory
information described in 40 CFR 144.83(a)(2) prior
to construction of your well. The basic UIC inventory
information required by both primacy states and Dl
states or tribes includes the facility name and
location, the name and address of a legal contact,
the ownership of the facility, the nature and type of
well(s), and the operating status of the injection
well(s) (40 CFR 144.83).
Q: What must a public water system using chlorine
or chloramines measure to determine compliance
with the maximum residual disinfectant level
(MRDL)?
A: For compliance with the Stage 1 Disinfectants
and Disinfection Byproducts Rule, community water
systems (CWSs) and non-transient non-community
water systems (NTNCWSs) using chlorine to
maintain a residual disinfectant must measure either
free chlorine or total chlorine to determine
compliance with the MRDL. CWSs and NTNCWs
using chloramines to maintain a residual disinfect
must measure either total chlorine or combined
chlorine (63 FR 69390, 69425; December 16, 1998).
Did You Know?
Typically, less than one percent of the water produced in a PWS is used for
drinking and cooking.
(Cotruvo, Joseph A., Joseph A. Cotruvo Jr., "Nontraditional Approaches for Providing
Potable Water in Small Systems," Journal American Water Works Association 95, No. 3
(2003): pp. 69-76.).
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February 2003
Monthly Summary of
Hotline Service
Total number of calls answered
1,516
Total number of e-mails received
301
Average wait time (in seconds)
0:31
Percent of calls satisfied immediately
99.9%
Percent of all calls answered in < 1 min
85.4%
Percent of callbacks answered in 5 days
100%
Percent of e-mails answered in 5 days
100%
Number of times callers listened to recorded

message about local DW quality
1,154
Number of times callers listened to recorded

message about arsenic rule
58
Comparison to Previous Year
Calls
E-mails
February 2003
1,516
301
February 2002
1,517
300
Top Ten Referrals
Inquiry Referred to:
Number of
Referrals
Percent of
Total*
Referrals
*A total of 1,341 referrals to other resources, agencies, and
organizations were provided by the Hotline in February 2003.
1. State Lab Certification
255
19
2. EPA Internet
185
14
3. State PWSS
146
11
4. Local Water System
142
11
5. NSF/WQA/UL
116
9
6. AGWT/WSC
81
6
7. Local Public Health
60
4
8. EPA Regions
52
4
9. Non-EPA Internet
47
4
10. Other Hotlines
45
3
Customer Profiles
Customer
Calls
E-mails
Analytical Laboratories
20
3
Citizen - Private Well
281
48
Citizen - PWS
790
105
Consultants/lndustry/Trade (DW)
84
18
Consultants/lndustry/Trade (Other)
95
23
Environmental Groups
4
1
EPA
17
0
Other Federal Agency
9
5
Government, Local
11
8
Government, State
36
12
Government, Tribal
1
0
Spanish Speaking
5
0
International
1
23
Media
7
1
Medical Professional
4
3
Public Water System
99
13
Schools/University
30
38
Other
22
0
TOTALS
1,516
301
Daily Call Data

Total Calls
Average Wait Time

Answered
mm:sec
3-February
88
00:36
4-February
84
00:25
5-February
85
00:32
6-February
80
00:23
7-February
87
00:18
10-February
81
00:31
11-February
91
00:22
12-February
88
00:27
13-February
95
00:32
14-February
72
00:20
19-February
81
00:46
20-February
72
00:17
21-February
84
00:32
24-February
90
00:59
25-February
97
00:41
26-February
92
00:31
27-February
76
00:33
28-February
73
00:37
TOTALS
1,516
00:31
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February 2003
Hotline Statistics
Topic Categories
Category
Calls
E-mails
Microbials/Disinfection Byproducts
Chlorine
13
5
Coliforms
34
6
Cryptosporidium
17
1
Disinfection/Disinfection


Byproducts (Other)
39
6
Disinfection - Home Water
23
0
Other Microbials
6
0
Storage - Home Water
17
1
Surface Water Treatment (SWTR,


ESWTR, LT1FBR)
58
3
Trihalomethane (THM)
21
3
Inorganic Chemicals (IOC)/Synthetic
Organic Chemicals (SOC)
Arsenic
39
5
Fluoride
12
5
Methyl-ferf/ary-butyl-ether (MTBE)
10
1
Perchlorate
8
0
Phase I, II & V
25
7
Sodium Monitoring
5
2
Sulfate
5
0
Lead and Copper
Copper
15
0
Lead
94
5
Lead Contamination Control Act


(LCCA)/Lead Ban
3
0
Radionuclides
Radionuclides (Other)
20
2
Radionuclides (Radon)
58
6
Secondary DW Regulations
Secondary DW Regulations
36
9
SDWA Background/Overview
Definitions & Applicability
19
10
MCL List
56
3
Other Background
60
23
SDWA
11
3
Category
Calls
E-mails
Water on Tap
14
5
Other DW Regulations
Analytical Methods (DW)
19
10
Contaminant Candidate List/


Drinking Water Priority List
4
0
Consumer Confidence Report (DW)
69
6
DW Primacy (PWS)
0
1
Operator (PWS) Certification
5
1
Other Drinking Water Security
18
9
Public Notification (PWS)
81
2
Security Planning Grants
11
5
State Revolving Fund (DW)
5
15
Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR)
48
0
Other Drinking Water
Additives Program
5
3
Bottled Water
28
4
Complaints about PWS
34
13
Compliance & Enforcement
(PWS)
11
6
Home Water Treatment Units
86
11
Infrastructure/Cap. Development
5
5
Local DW Quality
152
23
Tap Water Testing
277
16
Treatment/BATs (DW)
17
20
Drinking Water Source Protection
Ground Water Rule
4
0
Sole Source Aquifer
0
0
Source Water/Wellhead Protect.
16
8
UIC Program
13
4
Out of Purview
Household Wells
153
29
Non-Environmental
60
16
Non-EPA Environmental
58
43
Other EPA (Programs)
71
19
TOTALS
1,968
380
EPA DISCLAIMER
Answers to questions in the Safe Drinking Water Hotline monthly report are intended to be purely informational and are based on SDWA
provisions, EPA regulations, guidance, and established policy effective at the time of publication. The answers given reflect EPA staffs best
judgment at the time and do not represent a final or official EPA interpretation. This report does not substitute for the applicable provisions of
statutes and regulations, guidance, etc., nor is it a regulation itself. Thus, it does not impose legally-binding requirements on EPA, States, or the
regulated community. An answer to a question in this report may be revised at any time to reflect EPA's revisions to existing regulations,
changes in EPA's approach to interpreting its regulations or statutory authority, or for other reasons. EPA may provide a different answer to a
question in this report in the future.
Also, an answer provided in this report may not apply to a particular situation based upon the circumstances. Any decisions regarding a
particular case will be made based on the applicable statutes and regulations. Therefore, interested parties are free to raise questions and
objections about the appropriateness of the application of an answer in this report to a particular situation, and EPA will consider whether or not
the recommendations or interpretations in the answer are accurate and appropriate in that situation. The information in this report is not intended,
nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States.
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SAFE DRINKING WATER HOTLINE MONTHLY REPORT
February 2003
Appendix A: Federal Register Summaries
NOTICE
"Agency Information Collection Activities; OMB Responses"
February 3, 2003 (68 FR 5288)
This document announced Office of Management and Budget (OMB) responses to Agency
clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.).
Specifically, EPA ICR No. 2085.01, "2003 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey," was
approved November 27, 2002. This Information Collection Request (ICR), OMB No. 2040-
0251, expires November 30, 2005. Also, EPA ICR No. 1912.01, "Information Collection
Request: National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Lead and Copper (Final Rule)," was
granted a short-term extension on December 19, 2002. This ICR, OMB No. 2040-0210, now
expires on March 31, 2003.
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