SAFE DRINKING WATER HOTLINE MONTHLY REPORT November 2001 Safe Drinking Water Hotline: National Toil-Free No.:(800) 426-4791 or (877) EPAWATE ~ operated by Booz. Allen.Hamilton under Contract no. GS-10F-0090J ~ See past SDW Hotline Monthly Reports at http://intranet.epa.gOv/ow/hotline ~ For more information, contact Harriet Hubbard, EPA Project Monthly Summary of Hotline Service Top Ten Referrals Total number of calls answered 1,333 Number of Referrals Percent Average wait time (in seconds) 16 Inquiry Referred to: of Total* % of all calls answered in < 1 min 93.2 Referrals % of calls satisfied immediately 97.3 EPA Internet 318 19 % of callbacks answered in 5 days 100 State Lab Certification 232 14 Total number of emails received 356 NSFAVQA/UL/NAIN 161 10 % of emails answered in 5 days 100 State PWSS 132 8 # of Times Callers Listened to AGWT 118 7 Recorded Message About Local Local Water System 112 7 DW Quality 966 Other Hotlines 103 6 # of Times Callers Listened to Local Public Health 80 5 Recorded Message About Arsenic Non-EPA Internet 63 4 Rule 86 FDA/IBWA 46 3 Comparison to Previous Year Calls Emails Nov 2001 1,333 356 Nov 2000 2,278 355 Top Ten Question Topics Question Percent of Topic s(phone Total* & email) Questions Tap Water Testing 197 10 Household Wells 158 8 Local Drinking Water Quality 124 6 Lead 109 5 Home Water Treatment Units 108 5 Arsenic 105 5 Other EPA 95 5 Other Drinking Water Background 93 5 Radon 77 4 Coliforms 71 4 *2,014 total questions were answered by the Hotline (via telephone and email) in November 2001. * 1,693 total referrals to other resources, agencies, and organizations were provided by the Hotline in November 2001. Selected Questions and Answers Q: I was under the impression that the Groundwater Rule was to go final in November 2001. Has it gone final? A: The Groundwater Rule has not been finalized. The Unified Agenda, published on December 3, 2001, lists December 2002 as a final action date for the Groundwater Rule (66 FR 62388). Q: How should the running annual average be calculated to determine trihalomethane maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations (under the current regulations and under the STAGE 1 DISINFECTANTS/ Disinfection Byproducts Rule) when a system did not monitor for one of the quarters included? A: According to Tom Grubbs, with EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 40 CFR 141.30(b)(1) requires systems to average all samples to determine a quarterly average. In 40 CFR 141.30(d), compliance is based on a running annual average. If only ------- Safe Drinking Water Monthly Report November 2001 three quarters of data are available, then the system averages only those 3 quarters to determine compliance with the MCL (plus, it has a monitoring violation for the quarter in which it did not monitor). Under the Stage 1 Disinfectants/ Disinfection Byproducts Rule (which will become effective for Subpart H Systems serving more than 10,000 on January 1, 2002 and for small Subpart H systems and ground water CWSs and NTNCWSs on January 1, 2004), the system would still average the 3 quarters of available data. However, the system would have a monitoring violation for each quarter that the sample would have been used to calculate compliance (i.e., all 4 quarters, not just the one in which the system did not monitor). Q: Do states have reciprocal OPERATOR CERTIFICATION licensing? I am particularly interested in finding out if this is true for Florida and Ohio—will they honor each other's licensing of operators? A: According to Jenny Jacobs, with EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, EPA allows states to decide for themselves whether or not to have reciprocity agreements with other states; usually this process is done on a case-by- case basis. There is no comprehensive list of the states that have reciprocity agreements with other states. The best thing to do for now is to contact the operator certification program managers in states of interest. To find out if Ohio honors the certification you have received from Florida, you should contact Kirk Leifheit or Gary Cutler at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency; both can be reached at (614) 644-2752. To find out if Florida accepts certification from other States, contact Tim Banks at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection at (850) 488-8163, email: banks.t@dep.state.fl.us. Q: Where in the regulations does it say states must initiate and complete a SOURCE WATER Assessment Program? A: Source Water Assessment Program regulations have not been promulgated. The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, P.L. 104-182, added Section 1453 directing EPA to require states to develop and submit Source Water Assessment Programs to EPA for approval. Because each state develops and implements their own assessment program, EPA published guidance describing how the states should carry out a source water assessment program, rather than promulgating federal regulation. Q: We are a motor vehicle repair shop operating a MOTOR VEHICLE WELL. How do we find out if our well is in a ground water protection area and if we are in a protected area, do we need a permit? A: States are required to make their local source water assessments widely available to the public through a variety of methods after the assessments are complete. You can find out if your Class V well is in a ground water protection area by contacting the State agency responsible for the State Source Water Assessment and Protection Program in your area. You may call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline to find out who to call in your State for this information (40 CFR § 144.87(d)). Once a local assessment for a ground water protection area is complete, every existing motor vehicle waste disposal well owner in that ground water protection area has one year to close the well or to apply for and receive a permit (40 CFR § 144.87(a)). Question of the Month Q: If the ground water in a certain area contains ten times the national average amount of arsenic, do the cows that drink it pass it through to their milk? A: The Safe Drinking Water Hotline can only provide information about the regulations and programs developed in response to the Safe Drinking Water Act. We recommend that you contact your local Agriculture Extension Service or Farm Bureau for assistance in answering this question. 2 ------- Monthly Safe Drinking Water Report November 2001 Chart of the Month Customer Profiles Treatment/BATs 3% Phase l_ll_V Contaminants 3% Secondary DW Regs Home Water Treatment Units 10% Coliforms •ino/, Figure 1. Additional Topics Discussed with People Who Asked For Information About Household Wells The Hotline answered questions specifically about household wells from 158 people during the month of November 2001. One hundred thirty seven of these people also asked questions about additional topics as depicted in the chart above. By far, the most frequent additional topic discussed with callers who requested general information about household wells was how to have their drinking water tested. Note: the "other" category in this chart comprises home water disinfection, bottled water, wellhead protection, radionuclides (other than radon), and drinking water additives. What's New? Add this to your calendar: EPA's Fourth Annual National Customer Service Conference, originally scheduled for November 28-30, 2001, has been postponed to August 5, 6, and 7, 2002. The event will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, in Washington D.C. Customer Calls Emails Analytical Laboratories 25 9 Citizen - Private Well 289 54 Citizen - PWS 572 98 Consultants/Industry/T rade (DW) 95 27 Consultants/Industry/T rade (Other) 59 26 Environmental Groups 8 3 EPA 21 2 Other Federal Agency 10 2 Government, Local 17 2 Government, State 24 3 Government, Tribal 0 0 Spanish Speaking 2 2 International 1 27 Media 3 1 Medical Professional 3 0 Public Water System 79 23 Schools/University 70 74 Other 55 3 TOTALS 1,333 356 Daily Call Data Total Calls Answered Average Wait Time mm:sec 1-Nov 70 0:16 2-Nov 54 0:15 5-Nov 77 0:26 6-Nov 77 0:16 7-Nov 53 0:14 8-Nov 79 0:13 9-Nov 38 0:12 12-Nov 71 0:22 13-Nov 77 0:16 14-Nov 15 0:17 15-Nov 68 0:08 16-Nov 49 0:23 19-Nov 84 0:29 20-Nov 69 0:08 21-Nov 61 0:15 22-Nov 0 0:00 23-Nov 25 0:06 26-Nov 64 0:19 27-Nov 75 0:24 28-Nov 82 0:12 29-Nov 81 0:14 30-Nov 64 0:12 TOTALS 1,333 0:16 3 ------- Monthly Safe Drinking Water Report November 2001 TOPIC CATEGORIES CATEGORY Calls Emails Microbials/Disinfection Byproducts Chlorine 19 5 Coliforms 62 9 Cryptosporidium 24 1 Disinfection/Disinfection Byproducts (Other) 25 5 Disinfection - Home Water 17 3 Other Microbials 10 4 Surface Water Treatment (SWTR, ESWTR, LT1FBR) 11 6 Trihalo methane (THM) 5 0 Inorganic Chemicals (IOC)/Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOC) Arsenic 81 24 Fluoride 14 4 Methyl-ferft'ary-butyl-ether (MTBE) 9 2 Phase I, II & V 31 14 Sodium Monitoring 3 0 Sulfate 5 1 Lead and Copper Copper 12 1 Lead 102 7 Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA)ZLead Ban 9 1 Radionuclides Radionuclides (Other) 23 5 Radionuclides (Radon) 66 11 Secondary DW Regulations Secondary DW Regulations 43 11 SDWA Background/Overview Definitions & Applicability 12 4 SDWA 19 1 MCL List 35 15 Other Background 77 21 Water on Tap 21 5 Other DW Regulations Analytical Methods (DW) 18 9 Contaminant Candidate List/ Drinking Water Priority List 4 0 Consumer Confidence Report (DW) 48 5 DW Primacy (PWS) 1 0 Operator (PWS) Certification 4 4 Public Notification (PWS) 9 1 State Revolving Fund (DW) 6 2 Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) 1 1 Other Drinking Water Additives Program 3 1 Bottled Water 37 13 Complaints about PWS 20 5 Compliance & Enforcement (PWS) 8 3 Home Water Treatment Units 79 29 Infrastructure/Cap. Development 3 2 Local DW Quality 95 29 Tap Water Testing 168 29 Treatment/BATs (DW) 33 13 Drinking Water Source Protection Ground Water Rule 10 2 Sole Source Aquifer 1 1 Source Water/Wellhead Protect. 12 8 UIC Program 16 3 Out of Purview Household Wells 134 24 Non-Environmental 19 28 Non-EPA Environmental 30 23 Other EPA (Programs) 78 17 TOTALS 1,602 412 4 ------- |