Public Community Water Systems

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that all public water systems sample and test their water supplies for all contaminants with MCLs. The exact type and frequency of testi ng depends on the seriousness of any potential adverse health effects and on state and local regulations. Those concerned about their drinking water quality 

Volatile organic chemical scan If positive, retest for specific chemicals 

Problem Common Signs/Situations Causes Recommended 

Rusty colored Rust stains on clothing and water porcelain plumbing, 

Metallic taste to water. Rust coating in toilet tank. Faucet water turns rust-colored after exposure to air 

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Today resource limitations have caused the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to reassess schedules for new rules. A 1987 USEPA survey indicated there were approximately 202,000 public water systems in the United States. About 29 percent of these were community water systems, which serve approximately 90 percent of the population. Of the 58,908 community systems that serve about 226 million people, 51,552 were classified as "small" or "very small." Each of these systems at an average serves a population of fewer than 3300 people. The total population served by these systems is approximately 25 million people. These figures provide us with a magnitude of scale in meeting drinking water demands in the United States. Compliance with drinking water standards is not... 

According to EPA s National Compliance Report for calendar year 1996 (EPA 1998g), the vast majority of people in the nation received water from systems that had no reported violations of the maximum contaminant level and treatment technique requirements or significant monitoring and reporting requirements. Lead has a maximum permissible level of 15 pg/L delivered to any user of a public water system. Lead and copper are regulated in a treatment technique that requires systems to take tap water samples at sites with lead pipes or copper pipes that have lead solder and/or are served by lead service lines. The water system is required to take treatment steps if the action level (15 pg/L for lead) is exceeded in more than 10% of tap water samples. For calendar year 1996, nearly 6 million people in the United States were served by community water systems that reported maximum contaminant level and treatment technique violations of the Lead and Copper Rule (EPA 1998g). 

Although we are concerned with the chemical industry in this text, the USEPA-developed Large Water System Emergency Response Plan Outline Guidance to Assist Community Water Systems in Complying with the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of2002 (dated July 2003), with minor adjustments,... 

Aquatic life Recreation, wildlife Public water systems Surface waters Community water systems Groundwater - human... 

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (commonly referred to as the CDC) has recommended the ophmal level for fluoride in drinking water (2), which is dependent on water temperature and population type. As water temperature increases, the optimal level decreases. For community water systems (serving both adult and children) with water temperatures ranging from 50 to 53.7°F, the optimal level is 1.2 mg/L for community water systems with water temperature ranging from 79.3 to 90.5°F, the optimal level is 0.7 mg/L. Table 3 presents the optimal fluoride level for community water systems. As shown in Table 4, the optimal levels are significant higher for a school public water supply system. The optimal level for school children is 4.5 times the levels for the general population serviced by a community system. 

The detection frequency of MTBE in source water is for combined private and public wells sampled by the NAWQA Program. The detection frequency of MTBE in drinking water is for community water systems in 12 Northeastern states. To make comparisons between source water and drinking water most equitable, data were used from source water wells located in the same... 

District of Columbi a FI ori da Standard for raw water source for public water supply systems Community water systems shall monitor for this substance at least every 36 months 0.0005 ig/L CELDS 1992... 

In 1966 and 1967, when the use of endrin was not restricted, endrin was detected in 5 of 67 raw water samples from the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers (Schafer et al. 1969). At a later time when endrin use was substantially restricted, an Iowa study of 33 community water supplies using surface water found no detectable concentrations of endrin in the distribution systems (Wnuk et al. 1987). In an extensive water quality monitoring program conducted by the California Department of Health Services, endrin was detected (detection limit not specified) in only 2 of 5,109 public drinking water sources sampled from 1984 to 1992, at mean and maximum concentrations of 0.06 and 0.10 ppb, respectively (Storm 1994). Concentrations did not exceed the Maximum Concentration Level (MCL) of 0.2 ppb. In another recent study, endrin was not detected (detection limit not specified) in 32 samples each of raw water and highly treated reclaimed waste water undergoing evaluation as a possible supplement to raw water sources in San Diego, California (De Peyster et al. 1993). 

The 1996 Amendments to SDWA require that every 5 years US-EPA establish a list of contaminants which are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and may require future regulations under SDWA. The list is developed with significant input from the scientific community and other interested parties. After establishing this contaminant candidate list, US-EPA identifies contaminants, which are priorities for additional research and data gathering. US-EPA uses this... 

Bioterrorism Act of 2003 While not directly related to water quality regulations, the security and vulnerability of community drinking water systems were addressed in the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act). The vulnerability assessments were intended to examine a facility s ability to defend against adversarial actions that might substantially disrupt the ability of a water system to provide a safe and reliable supply of drinking water. 

The first known public water system in the United States was built in Philadelphia as early as 1799. Over 400 additional water systems had been built in major cities throughout the nation by 1860, and this increased to over 3000 by the early 1900s. With these systems came several major outbreaks of disease because when the supply water was contaminated, the system was an efficient way to spread the contamination throughout the community. In 1849, there were cholera epidemics in New York City that... 

A problem of particularly large economic significance is corrosion on buried pipelines, and there are special reasons to worry about the external corrosion. Examples from some communities show that a major part of the water in the public fresh water pipeline system gets lost due to leakage, mainly because of corrosion. 

In modern industrial and post-industrial societies, the quality of life—and indeed life itself—is dependent on highly complex and interrelated systems of power transmission, transportation, public and private buildings, commerce, and communications. Terrorists are capable of attacking any or all of these systems. In this section, we ll briefly survey just four potential threats—to the chemical industry, public buildings, water supplies, and agriculture—and assess current threats as well as some in-place and forthcoming responses. 

In many communities, water is fluoridated to prevent tooth decay. In the United States, for example, more than half of the population served by public water systems has access to water that is fluoridated at approximately 1 mg F per liter, (a) What is the molarity of F in water if it contains 1.2 mg F per liter ... 

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