Environmental Progress - Spring 1999

Drinking Water Data About to Flow

Reports will tell "what," "when,""where," and other things about tap water

When the federal Safe Drinking Water Act was re-authorized in 1996, it was amended to require all community water systems to report to their customers annually about the water coming into their homes. The SDWA spells out what consumer confidence reports (CCRs) must contain, as well as some suggested but not required supplements.

Designed to reassure users about overall quality, and to identify potential threats to the water that flows from their taps, the CCRs are also seen as an educational tool that can inform consumers about the complexity and cost of keeping their drinking water both safe and plentiful.

It is expected that if users better understand what is required to provide them every day with drinking water that meets state and federal standards for safety, they may be more supportive when potentially costly upgrades are necessary to continue those efforts.

Reports must tell users about the system, its sources and its track record

Supply operators will be faced with the challenge of providing required information in a user-friendly format that will not daunt consumers and deter them from reading what it offers. U.S. EPA estimates that most reports, not including required tables, will fit on a maximum of two sheets of paper.

Each CCR should have four parts: sections that provide an introduction, information on the specific water system, educational statements, and a compliance history, as well as a table listing all state and federally regulated contaminants that were detected over the CCR reporting year. These components are mandatory.

In addition, supplies may provide a table listing all contaminants that were detected during the reporting period even if they are not regulated and not required to be monitored for, and a table listing all contaminants that were monitored for but not found. These provisions are optional, but the Illinois EPA is encouraging supplies to provide all the information. The Agency is assisting supplies with guidance and providing data for their first reports.

"The amount of information to be provided can appear overwhelming to community water supply operators, particularly since it's a totally new approach for most systems," said Illinois EPA Director Tom Skinner. "But consumers want, and deserve, to know about the quality of the water their families drink every day. We will do everything we can to make preparation and update of these reports as painless as possible for operators and as informative as they were intended to be for consumers."

Reports will be based on calendar-year information

The first report, covering sample data collected between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 1998, must be delivered to consumers by Oct. 19, 1999. Starting with the year 2000, systems must provide reports for the previous year by July 1. New community water systems must deliver their first reports by July 1 of the year following their first full year of operation, and annually thereafter.

Supplies must provide a name and phone number for a contact person, information on public participation and, when applicable, information for non-English speaking populations. The type and location of water sources must be identified, and information must be provided on any violations that occurred, including their potential health effects and a description of corrective actions taken. If supplies have variances or exemptions from certain regulations, the variance or exemption must be explained. Warnings must be included for vulnerable populations about Cryptosporidium and radon, if applicable.

Even small systems must provide consumer confidence reports

Every community water system that serves at least 25 residents year round or has at least 15 service connections must prepare and distribute a consumer confidence report.

So that as many consumers as possible have access to the information, each supply must deliver a copy of its CCR to each customer. Supplies may send the reports by mail, include them in monthly newsletters sent to users, include the reports with water bills, or hand deliver them.

In addition, supplies must make a "good faith" effort to reach non-bill-paying consumers, like apartment dwellers, with the information. They can post the report on a publicly accessible Internet site, mail reports to all postal patrons, advertise its availability in local newspapers, on radio or tv, or post it in public places.

Any system that serves 100,000 or more people must post its reports on a publicly accessible Internet site.