Monitoring and Reporting Program
Water may be contaminated by a variety of substances. To protect public health, Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) have been established. The concentration of a particular contaminant in drinking water must not exceed it's MCL. To assure that water served to the public is routinely checked for bacteriologic, chemical and radiologic quality, a Monitoring and Reporting program has been established. The contaminants which must be sampled for, and the number of samples which must be taken, varies with the size and nature of the water system.
Samples must be routinely taken by water suppliers to determine whether MCLs have been exceeded. Minimum sampling frequencies are prescribed by rule. Information on specified sampling frequencies is provided below. If certain requirements are met, sampling waivers may be granted.
If MCLs are exceeded, or a water system fails to take the necessary number of samples, the public must be notified.
Operators of treatment facilities must submit monthy report forms.
Rules
Obtaining Monitoring Waivers; Associated Reduced Sampling Frequencies
Guidance: Laboratory Costs and Sampling Procedures (pdf)
Samples Must be Analyzed by a Utah-certified laboratory.
Bacteriologic Sampling and Public Notice
- Utah Guidance: Bacteriologic Sampling (pdf)
- National Guidance: A Small Systems Guide to the Total Coliform Rule (pdf)
- Public notice requirements are divided into three tiers to take into account the seriousness of the violation or situation. The links shown below are templates which should be used by water suppliers as the situation warrants
- Tier 1 - Required for violations and situations with significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure.
- Tier 2 - Required for all other violations and situations with potential to have serious adverse effects on human health.
- Tier 3 - Required for all other violations and situations not included in Tier 1 and Tier 2.
For Chemical Sampling
- A specific chemical sampling protocol has been established for any NEW or PROPOSED drinking water source. See Initial Chemical Sampling for Any NEW Source (pdf). For a description of the overall approval process for getting a new source approved, see General Requirements for Developing New Sources.
- Lead and Copper sampling is required for Community and Non-Transient Non-Community systems. To learn about the specific requirements of the rule please see Lead and Copper Rule (pdf). The Lead (pdf) and Copper (pdf) forms must be filled out and returned to DDW along with copies of the analytical results. Systems that treat for Corrosion Control need to fill out a Monthly Report (pdf). For current information about Lead in Utah (pdf) or Lead in our schools checklist (pdf), click the link. How does lead get into our drinking water (pdf)? Here's EPA sampling information about lead in day care facilities (pdf) (over 7MB) and lead in schools (pdf) (over 4MB).
- Community and Nontransient-Noncommunity systems must monitor for disinfectants and disinfection by-products. For further information, see D/DBP Rules
Disinfection By-Products Phase 2 Rule - IDSE (initial distribution system evaluation) forms are required under the disinfection byproducts phase 2 rule. The four options of the IDSE are Very Small System Waiver, 40/30 certification, System Specific Study (form not included), and Standard Monitoring Form. Choose the correct form according to your system water type, ground water or surface water, and population.
- 40-30 Certification Template (doc) or (pdf)
- IDSE SMP Template for GW Serving 500 to 9,999 People (doc) or (pdf)
- IDSE SMP Template for GW Serving 10,000 to 49,999 People (doc) or (pdf)
- IDSE SMP Template for SW Serving 500 to 3,300 People (doc) or (pdf)
- IDSE SMP Template for SW Serving 3,301 to 9,999 People (doc) or (pdf)
- IDSE SMP Template for SW Serving 10,000 to 49,999 People (doc) or (pdf)
For Treatment Facilities
- Chlorinators - See Blank Forms for monthly report forms
- Surface Water Treatment Plants - See Blank Forms for monthly report form
Related External Links
How to interpret monitoring results- The Water Quality Interpretation Tool developed by USU Extension Services allows users to enter their water quality data online and receive interpretation of those data pertaining to drinking water, irrigation water, livestock water, and environmental water state standards.
Contact Info
Last Updated:
5/21/08
