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CEE 437 Water Quality Control Engineering
Lecture topic: Water Related Regulations
Learning objectives: Understand the key regulations under Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act Understand key terms for water quality regulations, such as MCL and MCLG, primary and secondary standard, CCL, federal and state regulations , Use online resources for regulation-related information
Fangqiong Ling Sept/24/
Aqueduct form Imperial Rome
Source water (^) Treatment facilities
Distribution systems
Premise plumbing
- Pipelines
- Storage tanks
- Infrastructure before water meters or property lines
- Pipelines or storage facilities after the customer’s lines
- Groundwater or surface water
Public Water Supply Systems
Safe Drinking Water Act
- 1974, Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
- Federal law protecting drinking water
- Amendments in 1986, 1996
- Rules
- 1989, Surface Water Treatment Act
- 1989, Total Coliform Rule
- Authorizes USEPA to set health-based standards
- Public water supply
- Any supplier delivering water for human consumption
to less than 15 service connections or 25 regularly
served persons is not a PWS.
- Privately or publicly owned.
Maximum Contaminant Level and
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal
- MCL = maximum contaminant level
- Legally enforceable
- Cost- benefit analysis
- MCLG = maximum contaminant level goal
- Level of a contaminant (chemical or biological) in
drinking water below which there is no known or
expected health risk.
- Known carcinogens have MCLG = 0
Secondary regulations
• EPA recommends secondary standards to
water systems but does not require systems
to comply. However, states may choose to
adopt them as enforceable standards.
• Example:
• Taste and odor
• http://www.dailycamera.com/erie-
news/ci_24074348/eries-drinking-water-
drenched-cascade-praise
Class Activity 1
- Each group will be given a drinking water contaminant
- Arsenic
- Perchlorate
- Geosmin
- Total Coliform
- Lead
- Please find out if they belong to primary regulation, secondary
regulation or CCL.
- If they are on primary regulation, please find MCL and MCLG.
- If on primary regulation, briefly summarize health impact.
- EPA webpage on drinking water contaminant
http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm#three
Arsenic
• Group provide information on
regulation, MCL, and MCLG.
• Instructor provide information
on source and treatment.
Case study: Warm spot in Tolono
Case study: Warm spot in Tolono
- Private wells v.s. public water supply
- Point-of-entry softener? 14
Arsenic in Bangladesh
50% of tube wells in Bangladesh is
contaminated.
80% of villages screened is contaminated.
- Cause:
- Long-term exposure to arsenic via drinking water sources
- Slow governmental responses/actions
- Actions taken
- Improving people’s awareness
- Using arsenic free tubewell water
- Using treated pond, canal, or river water
- Using filter water
- Using rain water tanks or sand filtered water
- Helps from UNICEF (United Nations
Children’s Fund)
Taste and odor
• Group provide information on regulation,
MCL, and MCLG.
• Instructor provide information on source
and treatment.
Perchlorate
• Group provide information on regulation,
MCL, and MCLG.
• Instructor provide information on source and
treatment.
