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PRO^°

Check your Monitoring Schedule

•	Monitoring and Reporting Requirements (Schedules) are emailed to you in February of each year. This schedule
notes all contaminants your water system must monitor for, along with the required number of samples,
sampling point location(s), frequency and timeframe.

•	For more detailed info on your Monitoring Schedule, please refer to "What You Need to Do Next with
Monitoring Requirements" which can be found at: http://www2.epa.gov/region8-waterops/quick-guide-
drinking-water-monitoring-requirements

•	Suggestions: Post your Monitoring Schedule on your bulletin board. Note when you have to sample on your
desk or wall calendar. Use a scheduler on your computer (like Outlook) to identify sampling dates and set
reminders.

•	If you misplace your Monitoring Schedule, a copy can be found on password protected Drinking Water Watch
(DWW), or call EPA for a replacement copy.

•	Work with your Certified Lab - Once you receive your Monitoring Schedule, share it with your lab(s).

•	Schedule what bottles you will need for the sampling required for the year, and ask for extra Total Coliform
Rule (TCR) sample bottles just in case you have a total coliform (TC) positive and need to take repeats or source
samples for the Ground Water Rule. It saves time!

•	If you are a tribal system, check to see if your lab will copy EPA when they email you your results. This will save
you a step! But ultimately, you are responsible for making sure that EPA receives your sample results.

•	Check your email for messages from EPA. Every month EPA sends out a reminder to the administrative contact
(and others who request through DWW) of what chemical (including radiological) samples remain to be
collected for the monitoring period.

•	Use DWW to print out your chemical sample collection form for the pending requirements. It will contain
information for your lab to understand what to test your samples for.

When to Sample and When to Report Results to EPA - ALWAYS sample as early in the month or monitoring period
as you can - on a Monday if possible! This way, if a sample is lost or exceeds a holding time, you will still have time
to collect another sample before the weekend or end of the month. This is a super easy way to avoid a violation.

•	If the lab is not copying EPA on your sample results, send them in to EPA as soon as you receive them. This way
you can avoid getting a violation for Failure to Monitor. Tip: TCR results are due by the 10th of the month
following the month you sampled. For all other samples, send results to EPA as soon as you receive them from
the lab.

•	Samples results can be emailed to: r8dwu(5)epa.gov or faxed to: 1-877-876-9101

Where to Sample - Take your samples according to your Monitoring Schedule during the correct time period and at
the correct location(s). Some samples must be collected at the entry point while others must be collected in the
distribution system. Use your approved sampling/monitoring plans for distribution system samples!

Surface Water Treatment Rule - For compliance guidance, please refer to the EPA Region 8 SWTR Fact Sheet
located at: http://www2.epa.gov/region8-waterops/swtr-fact-sheet-epa-region-8-ianuary-2011

EPA Region 8 Drinking Water Unit - Tips for WY and Tribal Systems
How to Stay in Compliance with Monitoring Requirements

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Total Coliform Rule

•	Anytime you have a E.coli (EC+) sample you must call EPA IMMEDIATELY at 303-312-6034 and take repeat TCR
samples, as well as Ground Water Rule source sample(s) (if applicable).

•	If you have a TC Positive but an E. Coli Negative, follow the 5 steps outlined in "Follow-up to an Unsafe/Total
Coliform Positive Sample Tech Tip", which can be found at: http://www2.epa.gov/region8-
waterops/emergencies-and-security-follow-unsafe-total-coliform-rule-positive-sample

•	Avoid sampling at new faucets or newly repaired faucets, leaky faucets, outdoor faucets or those faucets
connected to softeners, hot water heaters, or pressure tanks; setting down the bottle lid or exposing the inside
of the lid or bottle to anything other than the sample water (do not rinse or remove powder); and rushing your
sample collection. The TCR samples must be taken at specified locations throughout the distribution system as
designated by your sampling plans.

Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR)

•	Sample according to your approved monitoring plan - you can also find what month(s) you are required to
monitor and locations on your Monitoring Schedule.

•	Submit your sample results and your LRAAforms (applicable to quarterly sampling) as a package as soon as you
receive the results from your lab or no later than the 10th of the month following the quarter you sampled.

•	Complete and submit the TTHM HAA5 OEL Calculator (found on Drinking Water Online at:
http://www2.epa.gOv/region8-waterops/reporting-forms-and-instructions-reporting-forms#dbpr2 ) together
with your compliance reports if the TTHM or HAA5 MCL is exceeded during any quarter.

Nitrates - This is an acute contaminant. If your nitrate sample result is over 10 mg/L you must take a confirmation
sample within 24 hours and call EPA IMMEDIATELY at 303-312-6010.

Lead and Copper Rule

•	Be sure to check your Monitoring Schedule, as lead and copper samples have to be collected during certain
months. If you don't have to sample this year, your Monitoring Schedule will tell you that.

•	Always collect a first-draw sample from a tap where the water has stood in the pipes for at least 6 hours. Avoid
sample locations that have been vacant for weeks or months. The goal is to sample at homes and taps in these
homes that are routinely used.

Other Rules - Check your sample results as soon as you receive them from the lab. If you see any sample has
exceeded an MCL or E. coli positive, contact EPA immediately.

Drinking Water Online - This is where you can find the link to DWW and general info, including: emergencies, what
to do if you lose pressure in your system, sanitary survey info, certified lab info, sampling and treatment
techniques, reporting forms and instructions, rules and guidance. Very helpful website!
http://www2.epa.gov/region8-waterops

Emergencies (After Hours) - If you need to report an emergency (flooding or loss of your water source,
contamination in your drinking water, loss of pressure in the distribution system, or anything else that could require
immediate public notice), after hours call the Region 8 Emergency Hotline at 303-293-1788. Inform the operator
that you are a drinking water system in EPA Region 8.

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