The United States Environmental Protection Agency ... For a table of currently regulated contaminants, potential health effects, and sources, read National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations, which lists the legally enforceable standards that apply to public water systems as well as National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations, the non-enforceable guidelines regulating contaminants that may cause cosmetic or aesthetic effects in drinking water.
A National Secondary Drinking Water Regulation (NSDWR or secondary standard) is a non-enforceable guideline regarding contaminants that may cause cosmetic effects (such as skin or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, or color) in drinking water. EPA recommends secondary standards to water systems but does not require systems to comply. However, states may choose to adopt them as enforceable standards. This information focuses on national primary standards.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established National Primary Drinking Water Regulations that set mandatory water quality standards for drinking water contaminants. These are enforceable standards called "maximum contaminant levels" or "MCLs", which are established to protect the public against consumption of drinking water contaminants that present a risk to human health. An MCL is the maximum allowable amount of a contaminant in drinking water which is delivered to the consumer .
In addition, EPA has established National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations that set non-mandatory water quality standards for 15 contaminants. EPA does not enforce these "secondary maximum contaminant levels" or "SMCLs." They are established only as guidelines to assist public water systems in managing their drinking water for aesthetic considerations, such as taste, color and odor. These contaminants are not considered to present a risk to human health at the SMCL.
The EPA publishes documents like the 164-page "Health Effects Support Document for Manganese". There were 11,859 results for a search for manganese, 24,679 for iron, and 21,082 for aluminum.
The Washington State Department of Health has a published process for handling complaints about "Secondary Contaminant Treatment Requirements and Options"
The mission of the Office of Drinking Water (ODW), a part of the Environmental Health Division of the Washington Department of Health, is to protect the health of the people of Washington by assuring safe and reliable drinking water. About five million of the state's six million residents are served by 16,900 regulated public water systems. Another million residents are served by about 340,000 private sources such as wells, which are not subject to state or federal drinking water regulations. ODW regulates public water systems under state law, and under a formal agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which establishes minimum standards for drinking water quality.
ODW helps to ensure drinking water is safe and reliable through programs that rely on prevention as the first line of defense, with a goal of avoiding potentially health-threatening and costly problems. Water system inspections or sanitary surveys look at all aspects of water plant operations, including water sources, pumps, storage tanks, treatment units, filtration plants, records of water monitoring, and future needs. Water system operator certification and training ensures that qualified, capable people are operating public water systems. Technical assistance programs, grant and loan programs, and construction plan reviews help ensure that water systems are designed and operated properly. Ongoing surveillance allows contamination and other problems to be found and solved as early as possible. And enforcement strategies ensure water systems address water quality and water delivery risks in a timely manner.
Responding to actual or potential public health emergencies is ODW's highest priority. Disruption in the supply of safe drinking water poses a health risk. Reasons for the disruption can include water main breaks, water system distribution or water quality problems, earthquakes, floods, power outages, windstorms, or acts of vandalism or terrorism. Contamination of drinking water supplies can come from bacterial, chemical, or other sources. When an emergency occurs, ODW works hand in hand with the water system, the community, and the local health jurisdiction to get things back to normal. A toll-free, after-hours hotline provides system operators easy access to our technical staff.
Public water systems are required to test the water they supply for contaminants that may cause health problems. They provide customers with a yearly Consumer Confidence Report that includes information about the quality of their drinking water. For acute health risks such as bacterial contamination, water systems must notify their customers within 24 hours.
Washington has a formal agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (PDF 99 KB) for meeting the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which was passed in 1974 and amended in 1986 and 1996. The SDWA includes water quality standards, sampling, treatment, and public notification requirements. The 1996 amendments added new requirements related to annual water quality reports, operator certification requirements, system capacity, and source water assessment and protection. Generally, the SDWA applies to water systems with 15 or more connections, or those regularly serving 25 or more people daily, 60 or more days per year. Approximately 4,200 public water systems in Washington are subject to the SDWA.
Through its agreement with EPA, the Office of Drinking Water has had full authority and responsibility for implementation of the SDWA in Washington since 1976. This authority is called "primacy." If the state did not administer the SDWA requirements, EPA would directly enforce the requirements in Washington. As a condition of primacy, the state must adopt and administer state rules that are at least as stringent as the federal requirements. Under the primacy agreement, the state receives a grant to pay a portion of the cost of administering the SDWA.
In addition to the federal SDWA laws, the authority for the activities of the Office of Drinking Water comes from several Washington State statutes:
Although the Department of Ecology may not be directly involved with the quality of our drinking water, as mentioned above, this agency does have a mandated relationship with the Department of Health. ECY's Groundwater assessment page has a wealth of information and links.
The Environmental Health Division provides a variety of environmental and public health services under federal, state, and local code provisions. However, the Planning and Building Department issues permits for Individual Water Systems and Public Water Systems.
The main purpose of the Environmental Health Division is to provide a safe and healthy environment for the citizens of Grays Harbor County. A healthy community requires clean and safe air, water, food and facilities, such as housing and schools. Environmental Health programs are aimed at minimizing the public exposure to unsafe conditions in order to prevent disease and injury. The Environmental Health Division works to minimize any exposure to health threats for its citizens.
Specific activities the division is responsible for include the following (excerpt):