Water Lines Safe Dun king L Water H4tlii\e November 2002 Monthly Report SDW Hotline Report In This Issue Monthly Trends 1 What's New 2 Freauentlv Asked Qs & As 3 Did You Know? 4 Hotline Stats 5 Appendix A 7 Top Ten Topics Topic Questions (phone & email) Percent of Total* Questions Tap Water Testing 210** 11 Local Drinking Water Quality 175 9 Household Wells 123 7 Other EPA 115 6 Lead 96 5 Home Water Treatment Units 83 4 Other Drinking Water Background 82 4 Coliforms 76 4 Consumer Confidence Report 66 3 Complaints about PWS 59 3 *A total of 1,887 questions were answered by the Hotline (via telephone and email) in November 2002. **Citizens who obtain their drinking water from private household wells asked 33 percent of the tap water testing questions. Calls E-mails Total 1,455 228 1,683*** ***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 Monthly Trends During the fall of 2002, the Hotline noted an increase in questions about public notification (PN) that were specifically associated with Total Coliform Rule (TCR) violations. These questions were primarily posed by citizens with concerns about the contents or timing of notifications they had received. Most of the notifications described Tier 2 TCR violations that had occurred the month before they were received, and many callers asked why their water systems had not notified them sooner about those violations. Hotline Information Specialists explained to these individuals that the PN rule generally requires notification within 30 days of a Tier 2 violation. The following graphs illustrate the increase in TCR related PN questions, relative to total PN questions, over the last several months. Percentage of Monthly Public Notification (PN) Questions Associated with a TCR Violation 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 1°% —| 1 — — — o%l' ' ' -I—UJ—U -J—UJ—U-l—LJ— Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 Comparison of All Public Notification Questions (PN) and Public Notification Questions Associated with a TCR Violation 80 j 70- 60- 50- 40- 30- 20- 10- 0-- ~ Total PN Questions ¦ TCR PN Questions Apr. 2002 May 2002 Jun. 2002 Jul. 2002 2002 Sep. 2002 Oct. 2002 Nov. 2002 ------- November 2002 What's New Add This To Your Calendar: Who? What? Where? When? More Information EPA Closing the Gap: Innovative Responses for Sustainable Water Infrastructure Marriott at Metro Center Ballroom 775 12th St. NW Washington, D.C. 20005 12/31/2003 • Open to Public • Contact closingthegap @cadmusg roup.com • For more information: www. e pa. a ov/wate r/a ap forum.html National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) NDWAC Conference Call Meeting on Hydraulic Fracturing, Underground Injection Control, and Coal bed Methane EPA Headquarters 12/12/02 • Open to public NDWAC Small System Affordability Working Group RESOLVE, Inc., 1235 23rd St. NW, Suite 275, Washington, DC 12/18/02- 12/19/02 and 1/13/03-1/14/03 • Open to public • Limited seating • Contact RESOLVE at (202) 944-2300 NDWAC Contaminant Candidate List Classification Process Work Group National League of Cities, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 12/16/02- 12/17/02 • Contact RESOLVE at (202) 944-2300 NDWAC Contaminant Candidate List Classification Process Work Group RESOLVE, Inc., 1235 23rd St. NW, Suite 275, Washington, DC 2/5/03-2/6/03 • Contact RESOLVE at (202) 944-2300 EPA Arsenic and Surface Water Treatment Rules Training Transmitted by satellite broadcasts to designated downlinks throughout the nation 1/29/03 and 1/30/03 • Advance notification is necessary • For downlink locations, registration contacts, more info: www.epa.aov/safewa ter/dwa/satellite.html New Publications: ¦ The final Implementation Guidance for Radionuclides. EPA816-F-00-002, is now available at www.epa.gov/safewater/rads.implement.html or by contacting the Safe Drinking Water Hotline. -2- ------- November 2002 Frequently Asked Qs & As This section provides answers to frequently asked questions not necessarily represented in one of the Top Ten Topic categories. Q: Our water quality has been terrible for days, but the water company says that there is no problem and will not provide any information more current than the 2002 annual water quality report. With whom can I speak about this situation? A: Public water systems oversee the drinking water delivered to your home. You should first contact your drinking water provider. If you do not obtain a satisfactory explanation, your next step should be contacting your state drinking water program office, which has the regulatory enforcement authority to ensure water systems in the state are meeting all drinking water standards. [State drinking water program offices can be found at www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm.] Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency may be able to help. Please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline if you need assistance in obtaining any telephone numbers. Q: I am concerned about the quality of my drinking water, but I am afraid to ask the water company for information. How can I find out if my water system is in compliance and providing safe drinking water? A: Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, most water suppliers are required to provide their customers with annual drinking water quality reports, or consumer confidence reports (CCRs). These reports tell consumers, among other things, what contaminants have been detected in their drinking water and how these detection levels compare to national drinking water standards. The reports must be provided annually before July 1, and, in most instances, are mailed directly to customers' homes. Your water system's CCR may be posted on-line at: www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm. Alternately, to obtain a copy of your water system's most recent CCR or additional information about the system, you should contact your local water supplier directly. If you have reason to believe that your water supplier is not complying with federal drinking water regulations, you may contact your state drinking water program office. Q: We are going to be changing our water system's disinfection practice. Is there a public notification requirement when a system switches from chlorine to chloramines? A: According to Tom Grubbs of EPA's OGWDW, there is no formal notification requirement when a system changes its disinfection practice, but there are important reasons to do so when changing to chloramines. Since kidney dialysis patients will be affected, dialysis centers, hospitals, and other health care providers must be notified. Chloramines must be removed from water used for dialysis, and is more difficult than chlorine removal. In addition, because chloramines are toxic to fish, pet stores and aquariums should be notified so that they can remove any residual chloramines. Q: Our water system is subject to the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts (DBP) Rule. What requirements must we meet to qualify for reduced monitoring for disinfectant byproduct precursors (DBPP)? A: Subpart H systems with an average treated water total organic carbon (TOC) of less than 2.0 mg/L for two consecutive years, or less than 1.0 mg/L for one year, may reduce monitoring for both TOC and alkalinity to one paired sample and one source water alkalinity sample per plant per quarter (40 CFR 141.132(d)(2)). The system must revert to routine monitoring in the month following the quarter when the annual average treated water TOC is greater than or equal to 2.0 mg/L. Q: When a public water system (PWS) monitors for chlorine in the distribution system, should the residual disinfectant be measured as free chlorine or total chlorine? A: A PWS must measure residual disinfectant concentrations with one of the analytical methods approved by EPA for this purpose (40 CFR 141.74(a)(2)). The table in 40 CFR 141.74(a)(2) includes EPA approved analytical methods for residual disinfectant based on both free chlorine and total chlorine. -3- ------- November 2002 Q: Must a community water system distribute consumer confidence reports (CCRs) to consumers who are served by the system but are not bill-paying customers (e.g., renters or workers)? A: According to 40 CFR 141.155(b), a system must make a good faith effort to distribute its CCR to consumers who do not receive water bills, using means recommended by the primacy agency. A good faith effort to reach consumers would include a mix of methods appropriate to the particular system, such as posting the reports on the Internet, mailing to postal patrons in metropolitan areas, advertising the availability of the report in the news media, publication in a local newspaper, posting in public places such as cafeterias or lunch rooms of public buildings, delivery of multiple copies for distribution by single-biller customers such as apartment buildings or large private employers, and delivery to community organizations. Q: l/l/e are preparing to do our Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule List 1 sampling. Is there a time frame specified for samples to be shipped to the laboratory for analysis? A: Unless otherwise informed by the state or EPA of other sampling arrangements, public water systems monitoring for List 1 contaminants must collect samples in a manner that allows adequate time for the samples to be sent via overnight delivery to the laboratory (40 CFR 141.40 (a)(5)®(A)). This is because some samples must be processed within 30 hours of collection. Q: Our state transportation department has plans to move a natural spring that serves as a partial source of drinking water for our community's well. To whom can we address our concerns about this proposed project? A: If you have concerns about the potential impact of an activity on your community's source water, you may contact your state's Source Water Assessment and Protection Program office. The source water program offices for every state can be found at www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm. Q: Is it possible to find out the number of Class II oil and gas underground injection control (UIC) wells in a particular state? A: The approximate number of Class II oil and gas UIC wells in each state is provided at www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/classii.html. More specific information, including the exact number of Class II UIC wells in a state may be available from the state's Underground Injection Control Program contact. A list of these contacts is available at www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/states.html. Did You Know? Tap water costs slightly over $2.00 per 1,000 gallons in the United States (EPA 1999 report, Drinking Water Costs and Federal Funding). -4- ------- November 2002 Monthly Summary of Hotline Service Total number of calls answered 1,455 Total number of emails received 228 Average wait time (in seconds) 0:31 Percent of calls satisfied immediately 99.9% Percent of all calls answered in < 1 min 84.8% 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 1,192 Number of times callers listened to recorded message about arsenic rule 50 Comparison to Previous Years Calls Emails November 2002 1,455 228 November 2001 1,333 356 Top Ten Referrals Inquiry Referred to: Number of Referrals Percent of Total* Referrals *1,172 total referrals to other resources, agencies, and organizations were provided by the Hotline in November 2002. 1. EPA Internet 201 17 2. State Lab Certification 188 16 3. Local Water System 115 10 4. State PWSS 108 9 5. NSF/WQA/UL 94 8 6. AGWT/WSC 86 7 7. Other Hotlines 50 4 8. Local Public Health 47 4 9. EPA Regions 46 4 10. Other State 43 4 Customer Profiles Customer Calls Emails Analytical Laboratories 25 3 Citizen - Private Well 246 34 Citizen - PWS 803 85 Consultants/lndustry/Trade (DW) 90 14 Consultants/lndustry/Trade (Other) 59 19 Environmental Groups 4 1 EPA 17 0 Other Federal Agency 4 5 Government, Local 15 6 Government, State 27 10 Government, Tribal 1 3 Spanish Speaking 1 0 International 1 12 Media 4 0 Medical Professional 0 1 Public Water System 86 4 Schools/University 47 31 Other 25 0 TOTALS 1,455 228 Daily Call Data Total Calls Answered Average Wait Time mm:sec 1-November 52 00:17 4-November 96 00:51 5-November 74 00:33 6-November 83 00:29 7-November 105 00:17 8-November 68 00:16 12-November 117 01:06 13-November 96 00:26 14-November 79 00:35 15-November 76 00:42 18-November 116 00:28 19-November 69 00:28 20-November 57 00:15 21-November 69 00:25 22-November 68 00:44 25-November 69 00:32 26-November 73 00:21 27-November 55 00:10 29-November 33 00:11 TOTALS 1,455 00:31 -5- ------- November 2002 Topic Categories Category Calls Emails Microbials/Disinfection Byproducts Chlorine 14 2 Coliforms 74 2 Cryptosporidium 20 0 Disinfection/Disinfection Byproducts (Other) 9 2 Disinfection - Home Water 16 1 Other Microbials 8 1 Surface Water Treatment (SWTR, ESWTR, LT1FBR) 33 13 Trihalomethane (THM) 6 1 Inorganic Chemicals (IOC)/Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOC) Arsenic 29 10 Fluoride 12 4 Methyl-fert/ary-butyl-ether (MTBE) 4 0 Perchlorate 4 0 Phase I, II & V 36 7 Sodium Monitoring 3 2 Sulfate 2 0 Lead and Copper Copper 7 2 Lead 85 11 Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA)/Lead Ban 3 0 Radionuclides Radionuclides (Other) 4 4 Radionuclides (Radon) 60 6 Secondary DW Regulations Secondary DW Regulations 22 7 SDWA Background/Overview Definitions & Applicability 14 7 MCL List 32 10 Other Background 57 25 SDWA 22 0 Hotline Statistics Category Calls Emails Water on Tap 16 1 Other DW Regulations Analytical Methods (DW) 11 11 Contaminant Candidate List/ Drinking Water Priority List 0 2 Consumer Confidence Report (DW) 55 4 DW Primacy (PWS) 0 0 Operator (PWS) Certification 0 2 Other Drinking Water Security 8 3 Public Notification (PWS) 27 0 Security Planning Grants 13 6 State Revolving Fund (DW) 1 1 Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) 58 0 Other Drinking Water Additives Program 5 4 Bottled Water 32 2 Complaints about PWS 48 8 Compliance & Enforcement (PWS) 14 3 Home Water Treatment Units 76 7 Infrastructure/Cap. Development 3 4 Local DW Quality 157 18 Tap Water Testing 196 14 Treatment/BATs (DW) 11 6 Drinking Water Source Protection Ground Water Rule 1 0 Sole Source Aquifer 1 0 Source Water/Wellhead Protect. 13 5 UIC Program 9 3 Out of Purview Household Wells 101 22 Non-Environmental 30 13 Non-EPA Environmental 43 11 Other EPA (Programs) 90 25 TOTALS 1,595 292 -6- ------- SAFE DRINKING WATER HOTLINE MONTHLY REPORT November 2002 Appendix A: Federal Register Summaries FINAL RULES "National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Minor Revisions to Public Notification Rule, Consumer Confidence Report Rule and Primacy Rule" November 27, 2002 (67 FR 70850) EPA finalized changes to the health effects language for di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate and di(2- ethylhexyl) phthalate in the Public Notification Rule and the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) Rule. EPA also made corrections to Appendix A of the CCR Rule. In addition, the Agency is revising the Primacy Rule to remove regulations pertaining to the Administrator's authority to waive national primary drinking water regulations for federally-owned or operated public water systems. Congress removed this authority in the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The effective date of this rule is December 27, 2002. NOTICES "Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation; Approval of Analytical Method for Aeromonas; National Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Regulations: Approval of Analytical Methods for Chemical and Microbiological Contaminants" November 13, 2002 (67 FR 68911) EPA announced minor corrections to the rulemaking issued on Tuesday, November 29, 2002 (67 FR 65888). "Meeting of the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List Classification Process Work Group of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council" November 26, 2002 (67 FR 70729) EPA announced a meeting of the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) Classification Process Work Group of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC), established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The next two meetings of the NDWAC CCL Work Group will be held on the following dates: December 16-17, 2002 and February 5-6, 2003. "Agency Information Collection Activities; OMB Responses" November 29, 2002 (67 FR 71164) This document announced the Office of Management and Budget's responses to Agency clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Specifically, EPA ICR No. 2067.02, "Laboratory Quality Assurance Evaluation Program for Analysis of Cryptosporidium," was approved November 23, 2002. This Information Collection Request, OMB No. 2040-0246, expires November 31, 2005. -7- ------- |