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WaterOperator.org Blog

Proposal to Strengthen Lead and Copper Rule

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On November 30, 2023, U.S. EPA announced the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). The proposed LCRI is a major advancement in protection from the significant, and irreversible, health effects that can occur after being exposed to lead in drinking water.
  
Key provisions in the proposal include:

  • Achieving 100% Lead Pipe Replacement within 10 years. The proposed LCRI would require the vast majority of water systems to replace lead services lines within 10 years.
  • Locating Legacy Lead Pipes. Under the proposed LCRI, all water systems would be required to regularly update their inventories, create a publicly available service line replacement plan, and identify the materials of all service lines of unknown material.
  • Improving Tap Sampling. The proposed LCRI would require water systems to collect first liter and fifth liter samples at sites with lead service lines and use the higher of the two values when determining compliance with the rule.
  • Lowering the Lead Action Level. EPA is proposing to lower the lead action level from 15 µg/L to 10 µg/L. When a water system’s lead sampling exceeds the action level, the system would be required to inform the public and take action to reduce lead exposure while concurrently working to replace all lead pipes.
  • Strengthening Protections to Reduce Exposure. Water systems with multiple lead action level exceedances would be required to conduct additional outreach to consumers and make filters certified to reduce lead available to all consumers.

Taken together, these provisions in the proposed LCRI would strengthen public health protections, reduce complexity, and streamline implementation. EPA anticipates finalizing the LCRI prior to October 16, 2024.

Further Resources & News... 

5 Strategies for a Lead-Free Rural Water System

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to focus efforts around reducing lead exposure from all sources, particularly for children.

The agency is proposing tighter rules for exposure to lead in older residential buildings and childcare facilities that have completed lead abatement. The draft rule would lower the lead dust hazard level to any level greater than zero — meaning any amount of lead paint found remaining in a building would be considered a hazard.

EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said in a statement: “This proposal to safely remove lead paint along with our other efforts to deliver clean drinking water and replace lead pipes will go a long way toward protecting the health of our next generation of leaders.”

The proposal complements expected exposure reductions from the replacement of lead-based service lines at public water systems. This article from Water Online (excerpted below) outlines the following suggestions for water utilities in rural areas:

Identify how broad-based the problem is.
It’s hard to make any progress without knowing just how big the problem of lead service lines is in any given community. As other communities have done, utilities can create maps of their service line networks. These maps can help identify concentrations of lead pipelines.

Inform customers about potential lead pipeline contamination.
The average customer doesn’t think about lead contamination when turning on the tap. Customers need to be educated about what their pipes are constructed of and how those materials can affect their water quality. The more they know, the more likely they’ll want their utilities or cooperatives to help them solve the problem.

See how other communities have replaced their lead pipes effectively.
Some communities, utilities, and cooperatives have been very successful in upgrading their water systems. Consequently, other communities should take notice. Building a playbook based on a city or town that has already undertaken the effort can be simpler than starting from scratch.

Look for funding sources.
Any kind of pipe replacement is costly. That’s why it’s important to stay on the leading edge of any funding streams available to cooperatives, utilities, towns, etc. For instance, the EPA has some excellent resources and links to various types of water project grants and loans, such as the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund.

Build a framework for replacing all the lead service lines.
With the right information and well-educated customers, utilities and cooperatives can begin building timelines to replace all the lead service lines. In time, the overarching goal can be a lead-free water system. Though some customers might not like absorbing minimal costs along the way, most will appreciate not having to worry about the quality of the water they and their families are drinking.

Further Resources:  

EPA Mandates Cybersecurity Reporting for the Water Sector

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Public water systems are increasingly at risk from cyberattacks that threaten public health. U.S. EPA has issued new guidance that states are required to evaluate and report on cybersecurity threats for systems that use industrial control systems or other operational technology.

“Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure facilities, including drinking water systems, are increasing, and public water systems are vulnerable," said EPA Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox. “Cyberattacks have the potential to contaminate drinking water.”

This expectation is outlined in a memo that interprets sanitary survey requirements, accompanied by a detailed guidance document aimed at state programs and technical assistance providers. It was released as part of the Biden administration's updated National Cybersecurity Strategy

U.S. EPA offers resources that can help water systems understand and address cyber vulnerabilities including this video on basic cybersecurity concepts that can be used by water systems as a part of an annual cybersecurity training program. Our database on WaterOperator.org also has resources on this topic, including this 56-page guide from WaterISAC on cybersecurity best practices to reduce exploitable weaknesses and attacks.

AWIA Section 2013 Compliance Check

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Small community drinking water systems (CWSs) that serve between 3,301 and 49,999 must submit Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) certifications by June 30, 2021 and an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) by December 21, 2021 in order to stay in compliance with America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA). Certification must be completed every five years and the ERP updated within six months of that recertification. You can confirm if your water system is impacted by the AWIA on the U.S. EPA website. 

In this era of unpredictability, it is increasingly important to adapt water systems to the ever changing and intensifying events that threats like climate change pose. Building a strong water resilience plan is the best way to prepare yourself and your community against these events. In order to stay ahead of the game, utilities should conduct an assessment to reduce risk, plan for and practice responding to emergencies, and monitor systems for contaminants. 

The AWIA does not require utilities to use any specific tools or methods when conducting these assessments. It does however require utilities to meet all requirements listed in Section 2013 and throughout the act. The U.S. EPA also has more information on how to certify your risk and resilience assessment and your emergency response plan. There is also more information on our website about how to complete your RRA and ERP, as well as information about the AWIA Small Systems Certificate Program.

Featured Video: Disinfection Byproducts in Tap Water: 5 Things To Know

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The challenge of disinfection byproduct (DBP) control in drinking water lies in balancing the varying health risks of over 600 known DBPs with the benefits of microbial waterborne illnesses prevented via disinfection. While DBPs can originate from industrial sources, they generally form in water treatment systems when natural organic matter reacts with a disinfectant, usually chlorine-based. Ongoing studies have suggested that the toxicity for any given DBP can range from having no known health effects to exhibiting links between exposure and cancer, birth defects, or reproductive disorders. Disinfectant type and dose, residual chlorine, inorganic and organic precursor concentrations, pH, temperature, and water age can impact DBP formation.

The management of DBPs in drinking water is enforced through the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Disinfection Byproduct Rule (DBPR). Collectively, the rules set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 5 haloacetic acids (HAA5), bromate, chlorite, chlorine/chloramines, chlorine dioxide, and DBP precursors.

According to a 2019 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Stage 2 DBPR invoked the largest number of community water system violations between 2017 and 2018, accounting for approximately 30% of all drinking water violations. Consecutive water systems, those with surface water sources, and systems serving populations of 501 to 10,000 people experienced violations more frequently. A greater compliance challenge is experienced by consecutive systems because they have little control over the water that they receive. While treated water may have achieved compliance at the system’s interconnection, DBP concentrations can rise through the receiving distribution system.

Non-consecutive utilities experiencing compliance challenges for the Stage 1 or 2 DBPR can start by troubleshooting the system using our previous blog post on The Disinfection By-Product Challenge. Consecutive systems should coordinate with their wholesale system following the approaches suggested in the 2019 report discussed above. The preferable methods of control often lie in prevention and optimization. As your system troubleshoots the cause of high DBP concentrations, keep the community informed on your efforts as well as some basic information on the health effects and sources of DBPs. Operators can find a general overview on DBP challenges in this week’s featured video. We recommend using this video to provide customers with answers to the following questions:

  • What are disinfection byproducts?
  • How are DBPs regulated?
  • How do I know if my water has high levels of DBPs?
  • How are people exposed to DBPs?
  • How do I remove DBPs from my home’s water?

Managing Hexavalent Chromium in California Small Drinking Water Systems

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Photo Credit: "PG&E Did It, And Always Knew, Since 1952!" by Alison Cassidy 05/31/2015; Edited with cropping and color correction.

In recent years, hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) has become a taxing contaminant for small water systems in California to manage. The contaminant has a complex regulatory and legal history, some of which was made renowned by the 2000 film Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts. Presently, an invalidated state drinking water standard, an uncertain regulatory future, and varying positions on the potential drinking water health risks, leave small systems unsure how to proceed. Chromium-6 challenges have only been exacerbated by its history of environmental contamination through industrial sources.

On a federal level, there is currently no drinking water standard. Hexavalent chromium was evaluated under the third round of Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring (UCMR 3). While the U.S. EPA is still evaluating the results and risks of chromium-6, there is no current undertaking to develop a new drinking water standard. A regulation does, however, exist for total chromium which includes all forms of chromium. The total chromium standard of 100 ppb assumes that the chromium sample is composed entirely of its most toxic form, chromium-6, to safeguard against the greatest potential risk. In California the total chromium standard was set at 50 ppb. At the time these total chromium standards were established, ingested hexavalent chromium was not associated with cancer risks. Exposure through drinking water has now been linked to both cancer and skin reactions.

According to a 2018 publication by the Water Research Foundation, the three most reliable water treatment technologies for chromium-6 removal include: reduction, coagulation, and filtration (RCF); adsorption onto regenerable strong base anion (SBA) resin; and adsorption onto disposable weak base anion (WBA) resin. Each technology generates unique waste with different handling and disposal requirements that can be expensive for very small systems to adopt and maintain. In a recent 2019 publication by the American Water Works Association, researchers identified a treatment technique that does not generate concentrated waste by reducing chromium-6 to easily separable and non-toxic chromium-3.

Much of the chromium found in drinking water was introduced from rocks, animals, plants, or volcanic activity. While both chromium-3 and chromium-6 can occur naturally, chromium-6 is more often affiliated with industrial sites that use chrome plating, paints and sprays, leather tanning, or corrosion inhibitors.

Hexavalent chromium was brought to the forefront of public health concerns in 1996 as a result of a class-action lawsuit between Hinkley, CA and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Prior to 1996 PG&E had released chromium tainted wastewater into unlined spreading ponds around Hinkley, a remote desert community in San Bernardino County. When Hinkley learned of the contamination years later, it filed a lawsuit against PG&E. During this time, legal clerk Erin Brockovich worked to link cancer illnesses to chromium-6 exposure. A convoluted series of legal battles between PG&E and those who developed illnesses from the contamination left the scientific community uncertain about the health risks of chromium-6 in water.

Only in 2008 did the U.S. EPA recognize research by the National Toxicology Program identifying cancerous tumors in rats and mice who ingested heavy doses of hexavalent chromium. By 2013 the growing plume of contamination in Hinkley had spread to over six miles long and two miles wide. Following a long regulatory investigation of the chromium-6 health effects during the PG&E legal battles, California eventually recognized the link between chromium-6 and cancer in 2014, approving a maximum contaminant level (MCL) in drinking water at 10 ppb effective July 1, 2014.

The new standard proved difficult for many small utilities to meet compliance. Senate Bill 385 gave systems with source water above the new MCL until January 1, 2020 to come into compliance without violations. During this time, impacted systems had to submit plans for achieving compliance, obtain approval of the plan, and carry out the plan in a timely manner. Plans could include steps for finding funding, conducting a feasibility study, investigating treatment options, performing an environmental review, acquiring land, facilitating construction, and testing. 

Developing, implementing, and submitting reports for these plans was no small task for any utility. Drinking water systems granted time to meet compliance were also monitoring sources of hexavalent chromium quarterly. As systems notified customers of new exceedances, they took on the burden of managing strong community concerns. It’s estimated that chromium-6 has been detected in 2,475 California drinking water sources spread across 48 out of 51 counties. The Environmental Working Group published a map that includes the average detected chromium-6 concentration by county across the country.

In developing the new MCL, California estimated that costs to implement the rule would increase water bills by $64 per year for customers of large systems and $5,640 per year for customers of small systems. Polluters were not held accountable to assist with compliance costs in areas of industrial contamination. For small drinking water facilities like the Phelan Pinon Hills Community Services District (PPHCSD) or the San Bernadino County Special Districts Department, the sticker price for compliance came at a cost in the millions. Furthermore, these small systems must spread costs over fewer people making the adoption of hexavalent chromium solutions cost prohibitive. In San Bernadino County, PPHCSD opted to take on a water blending project while the San Bernadio County Special Districts began exploring a pilot program for new treatment technology. Ultimately petitioners against the rule claimed that the MCL was too stringent with compliance too expensive. As a result, the rule was invalidated in 2017 by Sacramento Superior Court under grounds that the Department of Health failed to consider the economic feasibility for small water systems. By this time towns like Phelan had already spent $3.7 million toward the mitigation of chromium-6.

Using the data collected during the standard’s three years of implementation, the State Water Resources Control Board intends to develop a new MCL. As regulatory development ensues, impacted systems are left uncertain how to proceed. There is no certainty that a new MCL will in fact be implemented. Yet if the Board successfully passes a new MCL, systems cannot be certain that the standard will remain at 10 ppb. The board developed this FAQ sheet to help systems with ongoing loans and project plans determine their next steps. The PPHCSD in Phelan believes that the 10 ppb standard will be reinstated and has continued to move forward with their $17 million blending project.

Systems that choose to pause or discontinue projects are still left uncertain whether they are providing their community with safe drinking water. While legally facilities must now comply with the total chromium standard of 50 ppb, California did set the chromium-6 public health goal (PHG) at 2 ppb. This PHG conflicts with the U.S. EPA’s total chromium maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of 100 ppb and existing research debating that ingestion of chromium-6 can alter its toxicity. For now systems must use their best judgement and remain transparent with their community about all decisions. If the 10 ppb standard is reinstated, operators of nearly 800 groundwater supply wells will be in violation of the rule according to a 2018 publication by Hausladen.

California small water systems are not alone in their challenge to manage drinking water contaminants in the absence of strong regulatory guidance. Water systems across the country have had to make tough decisions about treating unregulated drinking water contaminants, many of which were spread through commercial practices. An example of such contaminants is per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and cyanotoxins. Utility decision making to handle these unregulated contaminants must factor in finances, source water conditions, potential project affordability, availability for partnerships, existing infrastructure needs, and more. As we move closer to the new year, water systems and regulatory agencies should take note of the chromium-6 decision-making in California to understand the potential impacts of new regulations on small systems.

Katie Buckley substantially contributed to this article.

Resources to Complete Your Risk & Resilience Assessment and Emergency Response Plan

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Drinking water utilities should be aware of the risk and resilience assessment (RRA) and emergency response plan (ERP) requirements mandated by section 2013 of the America’s Water and Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018. Under section 2013, community water systems (CWS) serving populations of 3,300 people or more are required to perform a risk assessment using the results to develop or update their ERP. The due date to certify the completion of these requirements is dependent on the population served by the system. If a CWS provides water to a consecutive system, they must include the population of the consecutive system in the total population served. 

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*After submitting the RRA, the ERP must be submitted and certified within six months. Community water systems will be required to review and revise, as necessary, their RRA and ERP every five years after the initial certification dates. 

These new AWIA requirements amend section 1433 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), originally created from the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. The Act focused on incidents of terrorism and required CWS’s serving more than 3,300 people to conduct a vulnerability assessment (VA) and develop an ERP. The new AWIA requirements place an emphasis on the risks of malevolent acts, natural disasters, and cybersecurity. Since the vulnerability assessments from the Bioterrorism Act are now more than 10 years old, AWIA approved the destruction of these assessments. Utilities that want their VA returned instead can submit a request letter to the EPA before the due date of their risk assessment.

To assist in meeting the new requirements, the EPA has developed several resources designed specifically for AWIA. Resources and tools are uploaded on this EPA web page as they become available. The risk and resilience assessment is the first requirement due under section 2013 and necessary to develop your ERP. The assessment must include six criteria. Following the assessment, the ERP must include four criteria in addition to any state requirements. In this blog we will provide information about these AWIA resources in addition to other documents that can be useful to complete your RRA and ERP. 

EPA's AWIA Resources:

Resiliency and Risk Assessment:

Emergency Response Plans:

Other Helpful Resources to Get Started:

Resiliency and Risk Assessment:

Emergency Response Plans:

To certify the completion of your RRA or ERP, the EPA has developed guidelines for certification submittals via their secure online portal, email, or mail. If your system needs any additional help to meet these requirements, the EPA will be hosting in-person and online training sessions for each region. If these document suggestions don’t meet your system needs, check out our document library to find a variety of resources on risk assessment and emergency response.

Guidelines for Public Water Systems in Submitting Public Comments on Regulatory Proposals

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Submitting comments on proposed regulations can help the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish inclusive rules that consider the perspective of your public water system. Just one effectively written and well supported comment can create a much bigger impact than hundreds of poorly written arguments.

Your best opportunity to submit a comment for a drinking water or wastewater regulation is offered after the Agency releases a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register. A copy of the proposed rule and supporting documents will be available on the EPA’s electronic public docket system, Regulations.gov, where the public can also submit comment. To comment on a rule with Regulations.gov you should know the Docket number, title of the regulation, or some title keywords. Once you search for the regulation, select ‘comment now’ or ‘Open Docket Folder’ under the correct rule. The docket folder includes information about the proposed regulation, its supporting documents, and other public comments.

An effective comment will be written concisely with clear, professional language and sound reasoning. You will want to provide examples that support your stance citing data driven evidence, publications, case studies, or technical resources when possible. Explain the impact of the proposed regulation from the perspective of your water industry experience. If the impact includes a cost analysis, make sure to include how those costs were calculated. A well written argument for or against the regulation will consider both sides of story. When you oppose a particular regulatory action, suggest potential alternatives. Comments that address particular wording or actions within the regulation should cite their exact page number, column, and paragraph from the register document. 

When submitting the comment, you can choose to attach supporting files, however be sure to read through the restrictions associated with attachments. Finally, remember that anyone can view your comment. Once the public comment period has ended, your decisive utility perspective will inform the revision considerations to the final rule.

A Review of the EPA's New Drinking Water Training System

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The newest tool released by the EPA allows operators to learn about national primary drinking water regulations through an online and self-paced training system. According to the EPA, this system was developed at the request of states, water associations, and operators. Stakeholders wanted operators to have accessible regulatory training easily available to an industry where shrinking resources and a retiring workforce make taking time away from water facilities difficult.

Approximately 130 training modules on various drinking water rules make up the system. The modules runs well in most browsers as long as Adobe Flash is installed and running. Both audio and closed captions are available during the training with the option to run the modules at your own pace. To use this system, each operator will have to create their own account using an email address that has not been registered prior.

The system has a fairly easy setup. When an operator signs in, the homepage shows an Announcements section that will update users on new modules or changes to the system. Operators can design their own lesson plan for the regulations that apply to their system under the Curriculum Builder. The Builder asks questions about the system type, source water, and treatment methods. A new curriculum can be made and started at any time with each curriculum found under the Curriculum List.

Usually 5-15 modules will make up a curriculum. Each module will cover a different rule with a quiz of 4-5 questions at the end. The operator must answer each question correctly to pass. If operators want to run through the modules individually they can find a list under the Course Catalog tab, however this mode does not offer quizzes or completion credit by the system. A complete list of training modules available as of May 2019 can be found here.

An interesting feature to note about the training is that within each module slide includes the CFR citation number so operators can find the corresponding rule in the Code of Federal Regulations. It should also be noted that these topics cover federal regulations only and do not apply to states with stricter drinking water requirements.

When a training has been completed, the Certificates tab will create a print out certificate of the desired curriculum. The only drawback for operators is that this training is not pre-approved for CEUs in any states as of yet. To provide credit, a state primacy will have to review each of the 130 modules. The next plans for this training system involves designing new modules on Special Drinking Water Topics. While these modules have yet to be developed, drinking water operators can look forward to those resources in the future!

What's on the Drinking Water Radar for the Year Ahead: 2019

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Being a small-town water operator is not easy; it is up to you to ensure the quality of your community's water day-in and day-out, often with very limited resources. Let WaterOperator.org help you meet the challenge head-on with this list of tools and resources to put on your radar for the year ahead:

  • Have you gotten in the groove yet with the new RTCR requirements? Here are two new documents from the USEPA designed to help small public water systems: Revised Total Coliform Rule Placards and a Revised Total Coliform Rule Sample Siting Plan with Template Manual. Additional compliance help, including public notification templates, a RTCR rule guide, a corrective actions guidance and more can be found here.
  • While we know your hands are full just getting the job done, there are new and emerging issues you may have to deal with in the year ahead. For example, this past year many communities have been dealing with PFAS contamination issues. This ITRC website provides PFAS fact sheets that are regularly being updated on PFAS regulations, guidance, advisories and remediation methods. Especially of interest is this excel file that has begun to list the different state standards and guidance values for PFAS in drinking water as they are developed. Be sure to check back often for updates.
  • Your utility may also have to adjust to new compliance rules in the coming year. In Michigan, for example, a new Lead and Copper Rule arising from the water crisis in Flint has gone into effect, making it the strictest in the nation. Other states, such as Ohio, have also adopted tougher standards, or are now requiring schools to test for lead. Oregon has established temporary rules that will require drinking water systems in the state using certain surface water sources to routinely test for cyanotoxins and notify the public about the test results.
  • With a warming climate, these incidences of harmful algal blooms in surface water are on the increase, causing all sorts of challenges for water systems that now have to treat this contaminant. This cyanotoxin management template from the EPA can help assist you with a plan specific to your location.
  • Worker turnover and retirements will still be an issue in 2019. According to this article, the median age for water workers in general (42.8 years) and water treatment operators specifically (46.4 years) are both above the national average across all occupations (42.2 years). You can keep transitions as smooth as possible by using EPA's Knowledge Retention Tool Spreadsheet and/or this Electronic Preventive Maintenance Log.
  • New Tech Solutions: A UMass lab focusing on affordable water treatment technologies for small systems will be rolling out its Mobile Water Innovation Laboratory in 2019 for on-site testing. In addition, the facility is testing approaches to help communities address water-quality issues in affordable ways. "Early next year, in the maiden voyage of the mobile water treatment lab, UMass engineer David Reckhow plans to test ferrate, an ion of iron, as a replacement for several water treatments steps in the small town of Gloucester, MA.

But even without all these challenges and new ideas for the future, simply achieving compliance on a day-to-day basis can be tricky - if this sounds familiar, you may want to check out our recent video on how operators can approach the most common drinking water compliance issues.