Service Connection
Volume 16, Issue 1
Spring 2008
Contents 
Wake Up Your Water System - Summer's Coming!
Doing More With Less: Director's Corner
Will the New Lead and Copper Rule Get You?
State Receives Federal Assistance to Protect Drinking Water
Help the Public Drinking Water Commission Recognize a Deserving Drinking Water Program Staff Person
Rethinking Water Use During Boil Water Orders
2007 Consumer Confidence Report
Operator Licensing News and Updates
Bacteria Operation and Maintenance Samples
Do You Add Chlorine?
Wake Up Your Water System - Summer's Coming!
Linda Robinson, Compliance Officer
The Maine CDC Drinking Water Program regulates many seasonal water systems. Boys’ and girls’ camps, restaurants, sporting camps and motels open and begin serving drinking water to the public after hibernating all winter. If you operate a seasonal system, follow the steps below to help avoid common drinking water mistakes that can get you into hot water with the Drinking Water Program.
- Inspect your well. Take off the well cap and check to see if spider webs or insects are inside. If so, clean them out with a shop vacuum. Bugs can cause bacteria to spread in your water system.
- Disinfect your well. Water that has been stagnant in your well and pipes during the winter may now contain bacteria. “Shock” your well by adding approved chlorine bleach, such as Clorox. For details on how much bleach to add, visit www.medwp.com and search for “shock chlorination.”
- Pressurize your system. Turn on faucets at the ends of the system to get chlorinated water into all of the pipes. When you can smell chlorine coming out of the taps, shut the water off and let it sit overnight. Chlorine works best if it stays in contact with contaminated materials for a long time.
- Flush the pipes. After you let your water sit overnight, turn on the faucets and let them run. This will help to move the chlorinated water out of the system. Be careful where you flush the water; chlorine can harm septic systems or your lawn.
- Flush your storage tanks. Drain and refill your water storage tanks to remove rusty water and make sure the valves still work. Flush the water until it is no longer discolored.
- Take a hike. Take a walk to check for leaks in lines that run over the ground. Leaking lines can allow bacteria to get into your drinking water and can increase your power costs by pumping water that you don’t use.
- Wait a week before taking bacteria tests. We strongly encourage collecting an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) sample after you take the steps above to ensure adequate and complete system disinfection. O&M samples do not count towards annual testing requirements but can give you peace of mind that your system is running well.
- Collect compliance samples within 30 days of startup, as required by State Drinking Water Regulations. Check your Annual Testing Requirements Letter sent to your system for required water tests and frequencies due during the operating season.
Call your Compliance Officer with any questions about your drinking water requirements.
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Director's Corner:
Spending Time in Quadrant Two
Author and lecturer Steven Covey describes time spent in one of four ways. The “Time Management Matrix” is broken into four quadrants: Quadrant 1 activities are important and urgent; Quadrant 2 activities are important but not urgent; Quadrant 3 activities are not important but urgent; and Quadrant 4 activities are not important and not urgent.
According to Covey, one of the keys to being an effective person is to spend more time in Quadrant 2. There, we are spending time on important activities that are not urgent such as: “prevention, relationship building, recognizing new opportunities, planning and recreation.”
To become a more effective Drinking Water Program, we have started a process to spend more time on Quadrant 2 activities. DWP staff brainstormed ideas for DWP improvement and formed the following five workgroups:
- Documentation Control
- Improved Database Reliability and Accuracy
- Expedited Enforcement
- Clearer Roles and Responsibilities
- Goals and Measurements
Teams of five to eight DWP staff members are participating in these workgroups. Each workgroup is charged with developing an end product which will include deliverables, an implementation plan, training, and follow-up activities.
We anticipate the DWP staff will annually go through a similar exercise to identify the top priority activities for continuous improvement of the quality of service that we provide. If you have suggestions on ways we can improve, please contact me.
Yours for safe drinking water,
Roger Crouse, Acting Director
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Will the New Lead and Copper Rule Get You?
Dan Piasecki, Compliance Officer
Is your public water system ready for the Short Term Revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule? Are you sure? The changes go into effect this year. If you aren’t completely ready or if you need to take another look at the new requirements, read on!
Exceeding Lead?
For most public water systems in the state, the revisions should be easy to manage. The major exception will be community water systems that exceed the lead action level. In addition to the existing public education and outreach activities, community systems exceeding the lead action level will also have to provide information on water bills, notify area public health agencies, contact high-risk customers, and implement activities from an outreach toolbox. To improve customer awareness, the EPA has simplified the public education language.
Below the Action Level?
Water systems whose sample results are below the action levels will only have to make a few changes. One of these changes is customer notification of lead testing results. For each testing site, the water system must provide the customer with the result of their sample (non-transient systems are allowed to post the results). In addition, the notice must also include:
- an explanation of lead health effects;
- steps the consumer can take to reduce exposure of lead in drinking water; and
- the levels and definitions of the action level and maximum contaminant level goal.
Consumer Confidence Reports
Consumer confidence reports are also affected by the revisions. All reports must now contain lead health effect information. Please contact your Compliance Officer if you have not received this information.
Possible Reduced Sampling
The revisions give small, non-transient systems something to celebrate. Systems that have fewer than five acceptable sample taps will be given the option to test only once at each site. In the past, systems had to revisit sites until they collected five samples. For participating systems, compliance will be based on the highest single result instead of a 90th percentile calculation.
Details about the rule changes are at:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/index.html
Contact your Compliance Officer with specific questions about your situation.
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State Receives Federal Assistance to Protect Drinking Water
Press release from January 31, 2008
Augusta, ME – The Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced today that Maine is one of three states selected to receive federal technical assistance over the next year to protect drinking water resources amid the challenges posed by growth. The assistance will come primarily in the form of technical expertise from four national organizations: The Trust for Public Land, the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, the Association of Drinking Water Administrators, and River Network. No direct funding is associated with this grant. The expert assistance will be provided through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr. Dora Anne Mills, Maine Center for Disease Control’s Director said, “Our Drinking Water Program works with public water systems and other agencies to provide Maine people with safe, protected, and affordable drinking water. Source water assessments showed us that unplanned growth around drinking water supplies is a major threat to our ability to accomplish this task.
“New legislation ensures review of actions taken by state agencies that affect public water supplies,” continued Mills. “This is a major step forward as well as a challenge to our workload. The technical assistance and expert resources that the Trust for Public Lands will provide will make our implementation more effective and efficient.”
Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio were chosen from 19 states through a competitive application process. In the application, the Maine CDC’s Drinking Water Program received endorsements from 18 organizations, including key state program managers, water utilities, and universities. The project is expected to run from January through the fall of 2008.
According to Sam Hodder, Maine State Director for The Trust for Public Land, “This is an exciting new project to align state water quality protection and land use programs and policies to better protect drinking water sources. State planners know that unplanned development is the primary threat to our drinking water quality. Their application demonstrated a high level of commitment to protecting that source water, and TPL is pleased to be among the groups working with them to achieve this goal.”
The US Environmental Protection Agency funded project, Enabling Source Water Protection: Aligning State Land Use and Water Protection Programs, will provide the three selected states consultation with experts on best practices from around the country. It will recommend strategies for improving funding for water protection, and include a support network (both within and outside government) for implementation. Through this project, Maine will implement a new law that requires integration of source water protection into an array of State programs.
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Help the Public Drinking Water Commission Recognize
a Deserving Drinking Water Program Staff Person
The Public Drinking Water Commission is accepting nominations* for the seventh annual Drinking Water Staff Merit Award. Nominees will have made a significant contribution to Drinking Water Program operations and exemplify the motto “Working Together for Safe Drinking Water.” All nominations are confidential and are destroyed after selection.
Past award recipients include: 2002, The Drinking Water Program Staff; 2003, Roger Crouse, Assistant Director; 2004, Lindy Moceus, Phase II/V Rule Coordinator; 2005, Cheryl Pratt, Administrative Support Staff; 2006, Bob Peterson, SDWIS Administrator; 2007, Robin Frost, SDWIS Administrator.
Nomination deadline May 23, 2008
Submit to: Drinking Water Commission
Cheryl Pratt, Board Clerk
11 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0011
*Roger Crouse has elected to exclude himself from nomination due to his position on the DWC.
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Rethinking Water Use During Boil Water Orders
Carlton Gardner, Compliance and Enforcement Team Leader
The Drinking Water Program is working with the Health Inspection Program, Environmental & Occupational Health Program, and the Division of Infectious Disease to re-evaluate recommended water uses during “Boil Water Orders.” We will update Boil Water Notices to include information that applies to grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and lodging establishments that are a PWS or are served by a PWS.
Some changes to the recommended water use will include ice making, vegetable misters, food prep, coffee makers, thawing frozen food, cooking and handwashing. Stay tuned for information on specific water uses in the next Service Connection.
The Drinking Water program provides notices to use during Boil Water Orders that advise consumers to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice cubes, washing foods, brushing teeth or for any other activity involving consumption of water.
The Health Inspection Program inspects eating and lodging establishments across the state and is notified of Boil Water Orders. Health Inspectors will contact or visit eating or lodging establishments served by the water system. The Drinking Water Program also notifies the Department of Agriculture if a grocery store or a food processing facility is involved.
The Environmental & Occupational Health Program helps to evaluate exposure to contamination. The Division of Infectious Disease investigates waterborne outbreaks and individual cases where contaminated water is suspected of causing illness.
If you have any questions please call Carlton Gardner at 287-8403.
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2007 Consumer Confidence Report
Scott Whitney, Compliance Officer
Reminder: All community water systems must prepare and deliver a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to their customers by July 1, 2008. Community water systems are public water systems that serve at least 15 service connections or at least 25 year-round residents.
Community water systems must complete the following:
- Before July 1, 2008, send a copy of your CCR to the Drinking Water Program (DWP) and distribute copies of your CCR to all persons served by the water system; and
- Before October 1, 2008, send a Certification Form to the DWP that the CCR has been distributed and the information is correct.
For a detailed description of the CCR Rule requirements, you can check out the DWP’s web site at www.medwp.com. If you need further assistance in preparing your CCR, contact your compliance officer at the Drinking Water Program, 287-2070. Thank you for complying with this regulation.
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Contract Operations: It's All About Communication
Teresa Trott, Licensing Officer
Exam Dates
Since the DWP calendar went to print, dates were changed to allow more time between exams and place them consistently in the calendar. Applications must be postmarked the first Saturday of the month BEFORE the exam date. Exams are scheduled for March, June and October.
Remaining exams for 2008 are:
June 24 – Augusta
June 26 –Portland
October 21- Augusta
October 23 – Presque Isle
Responsibilities
As part of the DWP reorganization, Field Inspectors will soon be responsible for reviewing system compliance with operator requirements. Forms will not change. Now all communication about operator requirements will come from your Field Inspector.
The Operator Licensing group at the Drinking Water Program will continue to help operators find appropriate training for continuing education and assist systems with finding contract operators.
The Operator Expense Reimbursement Grant is coming to an end. In 2002, Maine received a grant for $1,505,860 to assist small (serving fewer than 3,300 people) systems with operator compliance.
Maine has been using the grant for short and long term benefits to operators by:
• Training and licensing small system employees has benefited new operators and others who upgraded their license;
• Waiving renewal fees for small system operators for the past 2 renewal cycles;
• Providing low-cost training for exam preparation and continuing education; and
• Purchasing computer software for operator licensing that will track education and simplify the renewal process.
The grant ends in October 2008. Take advantage of low cost training opportunities this year. Benefits to Maine’s water systems will continue through the qualified operators who deliver safe water.
The Association of Boards of Certification Is Looking For Subject Matter Experts
Now is your chance to help shape the Water Operator Exam! The Board of Licensure is looking for operators to review ABC exam questions as subject matter experts.
The review process will be held this April at a convenient Maine location. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Please contact Terry Trott at 287-7485 to volunteer.
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Bacteria Operation and Maintenance Samples
Carlton Gardner, Compliance and Enforcement Team Leader
All Public Water Systems are reminded that operation and maintenance (O&M) bacteria samples cannot be used for compliance purposes. Similarly, a sample submitted as a compliance sample cannot be used as an O&M sample, even if it turns out to be positive for bacteria.
You must write on the chain-of-custody sheet (sample sheet) that the sample is for compliance or O&M when you submit it for analysis.
Please do not put your certified lab in an ethical dilemma by telling them a positive bacteria test should have been an O& M sample. Positive total coliform bacteria samples require repeat samples and, in many cases, additional monitoring during the month following the positive sample.
Recent changes to the Rules Relating to Drinking Water state:
(Section 6(2)) “All reports of laboratory analyses must be submitted to the Department by the certified laboratory contracted by the public water system to analyze the samples. Any portion of the analysis sub-contracted to another certified laboratory must be reported by the primary contracted laboratory. The primary contracted laboratory must submit the final report to the Department.”
The chain-of-custody sheets and results sheet must have:
• the name of the public water system;
• the public water system ID number;
• the date and time the sample was collected; and
• the name of the person collecting the sample, and
• a note stating whether the sample is for compliance or O&M.
Your certified lab should not submit O&M samples to the Maine Drinking Water Program. If you have questions, please call your Compliance Officer or Carlton Gardner, 287-8403.
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Do You Add Chlorine?
All Public Water Systems that add a chemical to drinking water must file a monthly operating report (MOR). MOR’s are due by the 10th day of the following month and should include the amount of chemical added, residual level (if required) and the quantity of water produced.
This requirement applies to water systems that add chlorine (bleach) as part of any treatment system. This includes treatment for taste and odor, arsenic, iron removal, etc. Even if there is no chlorine residual, you must still submit a report to the DWP.
It is important to complete and submit monthly forms. Federal law requires all community and non-transient, non-community systems that add a disinfectant to monitor chlorine residual (either free or total) each time a compliance bacteria sample is collected. Record the residual on the chain-of-custody sheets (sample sheet) and the MOR.
All MOR forms are available on the Download Documents page of the Drinking Water Program web site.
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