The Safe Drinking Water Act requires that public drinking water systems notify their customers when drinking water standards are violated. The purpose of the public notification requirement is to inform consumers of any potential adverse health effects, and to tell them what steps they can take to minimize the impact of the violation. It also serves to educate consumers about the public water system's responsibility to assure the delivery of safe drinking water.

Do The Public Notification Rules Apply to Your Community?

Yes, the Safe Drinking Water Act requires owners and operators of all public drinking water systems to notify the persons they serve if certain violations of the National Primary Drinking Water regulations or certain other specified events occur.

Actions Your Community Should Be Taking

If you are informed of test results that indicate your community's public water system is in violation of a maximum contaminant level or another requirement, you must immediately contact your state drinking water authority, notify them of the violation, and ask for their direction in proceeding with public notification. (Note: the state agency may declare a sample invalid or require a check sample before confirming a violation and, thereby, ask you to delay public notification.) The method, timing and frequency of public notification required varies based on the "level" of the violation and the availability of the public communication media. There are two "levels" of violations, Tier 1 violations and Tier 2 violations.

Tier 1 Violations

Tier 1 violations are more serious and include:

• Failure to comply with an applicable maximum contaminant level (MCL)
• Failure to comply with a prescribed treatment technique
• Failure to comply with the requirements of any treatment or monitoring schedule that has been set under a variance or exemption.

Tier 1 violations are further subdivided into "acute" and "non-acute" violations. Acute risks are those that involve an immediate risk to human health, as specified by the state agency. At a minimum, such violations must include violations of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for nitrate and/or nitrite, violations of the MCL for total coliforms when fecal coliforms or E. coli are present, or occurrences of a waterborne disease outbreak in an unfiltered surface water system. Non-acute violations are those Tier 1 violations which do not immediately threaten the public health.

Tier 1 Notification Methods

The method you should use to notify the public will depend largely on whether or not your community has a daily (or weekly) newspaper of general circulation received by most households in the community. If your community does have such a paper, the owner or operator of the system must notify the public through the newspaper within 14 days of a Tier 1 violation and provide additional notice by direct mail or hand delivery. For acute Tier 1 violations, you must also deliver notice to the principal television and radio station(s) serving the area within 72 hours following the violation.

For communities without a newspaper, notice of Tier 1 acute violations must be made by hand delivery or by posting within 72 hours of the violation. For non-acute violations, hand-delivery or by posting must be made within 14 days of the violation. These notices must be repeated every three months as long as the violation continues.

Tier 2 Violations

Tier 2 violations are less serious, and include:

• Failure to comply with monitoring requirements; and
• Failure to comply with testing procedures; and, Community water sysrtems must also follow Tier 2 notification requirements if they operate under a variance or exemption.

Tier 2 Notification Methods

For Tier 2 violations in communities with a newspaper, you must provide notice within three months of the violation through the newspaper, and provide notice by mail or hand delivery within three months of the initial notice. The requirements for Tier 2 violations in communities without a newspaper state that you must provide notice by hand delivery or by posting within three months of the violation. These notices must also be repeated every three months as long as the violation continues.

Information That Must Be Included In The Public Notice

If your community is required to provide notice to the public concerning a violation you must be sure that it is a clear and readily understandable explanation of the violation. The notice must:

• include information about any potential adverse health effects, including use of mandatory public health language, found in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 141.32(e)
• contain information about the population at risk
• contain information about the steps being taken to correct the problem
• contain information about the necessity of seeking alternative water supplies, if any
• include any preventive measures that should be taken until the violation is corrected
• contain the telephone number of the owner, operator, or designee of the public water system as a source of additional information.

You must also be sure that the notice does not contain any unduly technical language or small print that would prevent residents from understanding the information. Where appropriate, be sure that the notice is multi-lingual to be sure that the majority of the population has been reached.

Public notification rules are in effect for all contaminants that your community is required to monitor. Public notification must also be provided for violations of any newly regulated contaminants as the requirements for those new contaminants become effective. The information provided in this Guide describes the federal public notification rules; your state may add requirements for your area. Be sure to check with your state authority to determine whether additional requirements apply.

Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996

The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (SDWAA) substantially altered the public notification provisions. Among other provisions, the Amendments call for 24-hour notice to consumers of numerous types of violations and establish even more prescriptive notice requirements for violations with "serious adverse health effects." EPA is currently working on developing regulations to implement the changes prescribed in the SDWAA, including developing a definition for the term "serious adverse health effects." Until new regulations are promulgated, your community should follow the existing public notification requirements as they are explained above.

Additional Information

The Public Notification requirements are published in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 141,142, and 143.

"General Public Notification for Public Water Systems" is available by calling the Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC) at 1-800-276-0462. Refer to Order Number G-360.

(See Resource Section for drinking water contacts)