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


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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


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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


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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


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