Getting Ready for LCRI: Your Guide to the New Sampling Requirements

We are happy to share some important information to help water suppliers prepare for the upcoming Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). We know that regulatory shifts can feel overwhelming, but we want to make sure you have plenty of time and support to get your sampling sites ready. To ensure a smooth transition, all of your sample pool updates will need to be submitted by November 1, 2027, before the new LCRI sampling protocols begin on January 1, 2028.

For more information, visit the department’s Lead and Copper Rule webpage or email cdphe_wqcd_DWrules@state.co.us.

New LCRI Sample Site Tiers

The LCRI overhauls the sample site tier levels to target sites most likely to contain lead, while creating a single tiering framework for both community and non-transient, non-community (NTNC) water systems:

• Tier 1: Single-family structures served by a lead service line (LSL) or with premise plumbing made of lead.

• Tier 2: Buildings or multi-family residences served by an LSL or with premise plumbing made of lead.

• Tier 3: Single-family structures served by a lead connector and/or a galvanized service line (or containing galvanized premise plumbing) known to be previously downstream of a lead service line.

• Tier 4: Single-family structures with interior plumbing consisting of copper pipes joined by lead solder.

• Tier 5: Representative sites throughout the distribution system with other interior plumbing materials (e.g., plastic, or copper pipes with lead-free solder).

• 1st and 5th Liter Sampling: For any site with a lead service line, you must collect both a first liter sample for lead and copper and an additional fifth liter sample for lead. When evaluating your system's compliance, the department will use the higher lead result between those two samples for each site.

• Distribution System and Site Assessments: If an individual tap sample exceeds 10 parts per billion, systems must conduct a Distribution System and Site Assessment (DSSA). This includes follow-up lead sampling within 30 days, Water Quality Parameter Monitoring within 5 days for systems with corrosion control treatment, and submitting a recommendation to the department. The DSSA helps evaluate whether the high result is due to a localized issue at that specific property or points to a broader systemic issue with your corrosion control treatment.

• Faster Consumer Notices: The turnaround time for delivering the Consumer Notice of Tap Results to your customers is dropping significantly, from 30 days down to just 3 business days. Suppliers may deliver the notices via email. Alternatively, suppliers may call the customer, provided the written notice is subsequently mailed or emailed to them within 30 days.

When and how do we update our sample pool? 

Sample site updates are only required if your currently selected sites do not represent the highest risk sites (e.g., Tier 1) available in your service area. If your current sampling sites already represent the highest risk tiers available, you do not need to make changes to your sample pool.

Any water system with sample site changes will need to update their sample pool by November 1, 2027. Please make these changes directly in the drinking water Portal under the “My… Sample Sites” tab. The department will make Portal updates by Spring 2027 that will feature the new drop-down menus you will need to correctly enter your sites. We will notify you the moment the Portal is ready for your updates so you can log in and make those changes.

Keep in mind you will continue sampling according to your current, approved sample pool until 2028.

What is changing about the sampling process? 

The changes under the LCRI go beyond updating your pool of sample sites. There are also important updates coming to the physical sampling procedures, including:

How can systems get ahead of the LCRI sampling changes before 2028? 

We want to make sure you feel prepared for these new procedures, which is why we strongly recommend that systems with lead service lines start taking proactive fifth-liter samples right now. Please note that any fifth-liter samples taken before January 1, 2028, are not for compliance and will not be used in your 90th percentile calculations. However, by running a trial now, you can get ahead of potential challenges and ensure a seamless operational transition when the LCRI goes into effect. 

This is also the perfect time to start practicing the new 3 business day turnaround for consumer notices. Practicing both your sampling procedures and your communication workflows today will ensure your system is running smoothly when the LCRI starts. We are always here to help you navigate these updates, so please keep an eye out for more information as we get closer to Spring 2027!

➽ Bryan Pilson Technical, Regulatory Implementation and Coordination Unit Manager

Culture of Health Success Stories: Recognizing Our Wins: A Public Health Milestone 50 Years in the Making

Oftentimes, members of the public only consider their water access and wastewater treatment when something negative happens. If there’s a spill or if a barrier breaks down, etc. That’s why it’s important to highlight wins when we see them. 

Our common goal under the Clean Water Act, passed by Congress in 1972, is to have waters that are “Fishable, swimmable, and drinkable.” The work to meet this crucial goal continues every day in Colorado’s Water and Wastewater facilities, and facilities across the country.  

The work of water professionals is a vital part of public health, and we must celebrate the outcomes that enhance the quality of our water. We all work to promote the health of our fellow citizens, our local animal populations and the environment we all share. 

It’s for that reason that we wanted to share one of the biggest public health victories in the US from this last year: for the first time in five decades, the New York State Department of Health announced that people can safely consume fish from the Lower Hudson River. After 50 years of catch-and-release mandates due to severe PCB contamination, decades of rigorous remediation efforts, testing, and dedicated wastewater management have finally restored this stretch of the river to a fishable state.

• Read more about the recent advisory changes directly from the New York Department of Public Health. 

We also have incredible ecological and environmental protection success stories happening right inside our treatment facilities here in Colorado.

A prime example is the collaborative effort between local wastewater providers and the CDPHE Water Quality Control Division through the Voluntary Incentive Program (VIP). Excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus can wreak havoc on local ecology, causing harmful algal blooms that deplete oxygen, kill off aquatic life, and complicate drinking water treatment downstream.

Instead of waiting for strict regulatory mandates to force compliance, Colorado wastewater facilities are utilizing the Voluntary Incentive Program to proactively upgrade their treatment processes. By voluntarily reducing nutrient discharges early, these local operators are actively protecting the delicate ecology of Colorado's lakes, streams, and rivers while also ensuring safer, cleaner sources of drinking water.

Wins, like the Hudson River cleanup, and our state's proactive nutrient reduction, don't happen by accident. They result from continuous monitoring, facility innovation, and the daily dedication of water and wastewater professionals committed to their communities. It is a powerful reminder of why our work matters.

• Learn more about how Colorado facilities are leading the charge on nutrient reduction through the CDPHE VIP Program

➽ Joe Sturgeon, Clean Water (Wastewater) Coach, Local Assistance Unit

Apply today! 2027 Drinking Water Assistance Grants Program

The state of Colorado is unique in many ways. One particular way the Colorado Public Health and Environment’s water quality control division (WQCD) distinguishes itself from other states is through its Capacity Development Program. The EPA requires states to aid water providers in implementing continuous improvement measures. These efforts ensure that as federal and state requirements evolve and new regulations are adopted in response to emerging discoveries about our water sources, water systems will readily adapt to the changes to proactively protect public health. Through this program, the Local Assistance Unit (LAU) provides one-on-one coaching sessions and various training opportunities to develop Operator knowledge, available as a free resource for water systems throughout Colorado.

In an effort to provide financial assistance to public drinking water systems, LAU is excited to announce the return of the 2027 Assistance Grants Program! 

LAU is seeking water systems that could use up to $30,000 to make significant progress to address a regulatory or water quality challenge. All public water systems are eligible for these funds.

Awarded projects must be completed within the 2027 calendar year. 

• The application period will close on October 13, 2026.
• Total funding is $150,000. 
• Successful grantees will receive a maximum of $30,000.
• All public water systems are eligible; a Public Water System Identification (PWSID) number is required.
• If you do not know your PWSID, please visit the Monitoring Schedule linked here for more information on your water system. 

This grant provides financial assistance for systems that need help reaching or exceeding compliance requirements or systems addressing a water quality challenge. The Program primarily funds infrastructure projects or requires systems to address operational and administrative improvements, such as emergency response plans, main break response procedures, cybersecurity, and storage tank inspection plans.

If there is a water system that could benefit from this grant, please submit a 2027 Assistance Grants Application linked here and spread the message!

If you have questions about the application, please complete the live Assistance Grants 2027 Questions form linked here by October 6, 2026.

For more information on the program, visit the Assistance Grants FAQ linked here. 

If you need coaching assistance or classroom training opportunities for your water system, please refer to the Local Assistance Unit’s Training opportunities, recognition, and resources for water systems webpage. 

For more information on other available water grants, please visit the Water Quality Grants webpage or email cdphe.wqcd.watergrants@state.co.us.

➽ Priscila Lopez - Drinking water coach and Excellence Program Manager

Colorado's Water & Wastewater Operators

Reliable drinking water (DW) and effective wastewater (WW) treatment are among the most essential public services a community depends on. Behind every glass of safe drinking water and clean body of water is a team of qualified, dependable, and certified operators whose knowledge and commitment to protect public health and preserve the environment ensure regulatory compliance. Choosing the best operator for your system can have a huge, lasting impact on the wellbeing of local communities.

To alleviate the strain of looking for an Operator in responsible charge (ORC) the Water Quality Control Division maintains a list of certified operators. This list details information about the operators’ level of certification and service area. If you are a system looking for a qualified operator, please visit the WQCD’s contract operator list to assist you in your search. 

Please note that this list is a voluntary listing of organizations and individuals available for hire. Participation in listing your services doesn't constitute a recommendation or endorsement by the state.

If you are an operator who would like to offer your services to public water systems, you can do so by adding your contact information to our voluntary contract operator list using the Contract Operator Listing Form. 

Operators who are using this listing form, please be mindful of the following when enlisting your services:

• Only select:
• Alphabetic entries (A-D) for DW treatment, WW treatment, and Industrial WW treatment.
• Only add numeric entries (1-4) for DW distribution and WW collection.
• There is a small systems certification available for systems serving less than 3,300 people in both wastewater and drinking water. When listing your S certification you will answer yes under DW and/or WW small systems.
• This certificate is not equivalent to carrying a class 1 or class D certification. So if you only carry an S certification do not add anything to the other categories. 

You can review the Water Operator certification types by visiting our website: Which certificate is right for you. 

Before adding a contract operator to this list we verify that all certifications are active. Expired certifications or operators actively under disciplinary action will not be accepted. If you are using this list to look for a qualified operator, we strongly advise you to always verify the status of an operator's certificate(s) using the CCWP public search page to ensure certifications have not expired or been revoked, as we update this list twice per year.

Having access to experienced and reliable operators is essential to a community's success. A poor DW or WW operator can severely compromise public health, devastate local aquatic ecosystems, and trigger legal and economic crises for a municipality or community. If you need assistance finding an operator in your area you can request help using the link to our coaching request form.

➽ Elicia Vigil - Drinking water coach - Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) program manager

The Voluntary Incentive Program: Leading the Charge in Nutrient Reduction

The Voluntary Incentive Program: Leading the Charge in Nutrient Reduction

The Voluntary Incentive Program (VIP) is a collaborative initiative designed to improve Colorado’s water quality by encouraging domestic wastewater treatment facilities to reduce nutrient discharge ahead of mandatory regulatory deadlines. By participating in the VIP, facilities proactively implement strategies to lower phosphorus and total inorganic nitrogen levels—the primary drivers of algae blooms and oxygen depletion in our ecosystems.

The efforts of these participants provide a significant benefit to our state’s watershed health. On a purely voluntary basis, these facilities are demonstrating environmental leadership, protecting aquatic life, and ensuring cleaner water for downstream users long before they are required to do so. We want to recognize and celebrate these organizations for their commitment to a more sustainable Colorado.

A Message to Our Participants

The Voluntary Incentive Program wishes to thank all participants for advancing watershed health through early implementation of efforts to reduce the amount of phosphorus and inorganic nitrogen in Colorado's waters.

Nutrient sampling data for 2025 has been uploaded to our site here: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/nutrients-incentive-program.

Please take a moment to verify your data:

• Confirm the number of months of data collected.
• Verify the calculated median for your facility.

If any data is missing from any year in the table, please contact us at cdphe.wqengreview@state.co.us and we'll work with you to get it corrected. We appreciate you uploading data in a timely manner and helping us make this program a success!

➽ Clayton Moores, P.E. Engineering Section Manager 

Program Manager's Message: Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels (SMCLs)

Colorado’s Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11) match EPA’s federal Safe Drinking Water Act in setting both Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels (SMCLs). Contaminants with MCLs are often referred to as primary contaminants with primary standards. Contaminants with SMCLs are often referred to as secondary contaminants with secondary standards. Public water systems are required to test for primary contaminants to address situations where primary MCLs are exceeded, ensuring drinking water quality does not exceed any primary contaminant standards. It’s a far different picture for secondary contaminants.

Generally, public water systems are not required to test for secondary contaminants, except for fluoride, which also has a primary MCL. When fluoride levels exceed the SMCL of 2.0 mg/L but not the MCL of 4.0 mg/L, public water systems are required to issue a special public notice due to the risk of dental fluorosis (discoloration and pitting of teeth in children while they are growing under the gums). This is thought to impact the appearance of the teeth but not impact health. 

Manganese is also handled a bit differently. There is a health advisory for manganese in drinking water. The lifetime health advisory to protect against chronic neurologic impacts is at 0.3 mg/L. This lifetime advisory is also used for short-term exposure to infants and children due to their sensitive life stage. The acute exposure advisory for adults is 1.0 mg/L. These levels are significantly above the 0.05 mg/L SMCL for manganese. When the department sees results for manganese above one or both of these health advisory levels, we utilize our authority under the public notice rule to require water systems to notify the public about the health risks. But because there is no primary MCL for manganese, we do not require compliance with the health advisory levels.

However, manganese levels above the secondary standard, which are often accompanied by high iron levels, can make drinking water quality very problematic for customers and water utilities. Customers may sometimes experience black or dark-colored water with sediment. The water can cause problems with appliances and laundry, via staining clothes. For water utilities, high iron and manganese levels can clog distribution piping, reducing available pipe volume and increasing the need for flushing and maintenance. We have seen situations where high manganese and iron levels impact distribution systems so much that significant deficiencies are created. 

In general, customers do not trust or want drinking water that exceeds secondary standards, especially when they can see, smell, or taste the problems. But water utilities and their customers share concerns for the potential cost of addressing this problem. One thing to consider is that problems like this tend to only get worse and more expensive to address over time. Another consideration is pursuing funding assistance. Manganese is considered an emerging contaminant, and we have dedicated funding to help address this issue. If your water utility has manganese, iron, or other problems with SMCLs please reach out and work with us to explore options to address the situation.

Again, thanks for all you do to keep tap water safe in Colorado.

➽ Ron Falco, P.E, Safe Drinking Water Program Manager

Federal agencies warn U.S. organizations about cyber attacks on water sector

The Water Quality Control Division is partnering with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to issue this urgent warning.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and partners are issuing an urgent warning regarding a sharp increase in cyber attacks targeting programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in water and wastewater systems. Attackers are exploiting internet-exposed equipment to change passwords and alter system settings, sometimes triggering boil-water notices.

Water and wastewater suppliers should take the following actions immediately:

• Disconnect PLCs from the internet. Remote access for operational purposes should go through a VPN (virtual private network) or gateway device, not directly to the PLC.
• Enable password protection and change default passwords.
• Establish a protocol so that only specific, approved computers can access the PLCs. To do this, work with IT to set up Allowlist IPs = every computer has an ID number (an IP address). "Allowlisting" means making an exclusive list of the ID numbers you trust.
• Review CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) list and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Advisories and take action to address any potential vulnerabilities.

How can cybercriminals use a PLC? 

• Locking out operators: Hackers change the PLC's internal passwords and IP addresses. This locks the real workers out and leaves them blind to what is happening.
• Flooding: Attackers can force valves to stay open or pumps to run non-stop, causing sewage or water tanks to overflow and flood the facility.
• Water pressure loss: Forcing water pumps to shut down drops pressure in pipes, which can compromise water quality and require cities to issue emergency boil-water notices.
• Chemical manipulation: Attackers can alter chemical dosing rules and make the water unsafe to drink.
• Falsifying information: Sophisticated hackers can feed fake "normal" data to the SCADA screens. While the computer screen shows everything is fine, the physical PLC is actively damaging the equipment on the floor.

What can systems do to protect themselves? 

After disconnecting PLCs from the internet, operators should ensure they have a known clean backup of the PLC image in case they are locked out by a modified password.

Note: Owners, operators, and integrators of Rockwell Automation MicroLogix 1400 PLCs should see Rockwell Automation’s IMPORTANT NOTICE: Restoring Access to a MicroLogix™ 1400 Controller When the Password Is Unknown for guidance addressing this activity.

To securely enable remote access to your OT systems, CISA recommends system owners, operators, and integrators see the following resources for guidance:

• CISA: Primary Mitigations to Reduce Cyber Threats to Operational Technology.
• United Kingdom's National Cyber Security Center: Secure Connectivity Principles for Operational Technology
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Malicious Cyber Actors Targeting Water and Wastewater Sector Internet-Facing Programmable Logic Controllers, Causing Operational Disruptions.

For additional support, contact the Environmental Protection Agency’s Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Program for the Water Sector or your CISA Regional Office.

What should I do if my system is affected? 

Regulatory requirements: 

1. Contact the department for any type of cybersecurity event including any tampering to computers, operating technology, or cyber assets. Notify the department as soon as possible, but no later than 10 a.m. of the calendar day following any cybersecurity event (see Regulation 11 for details).
2. Provide written notice within five calendar days to the department explaining the circumstances of the occurrence and setting forth the action(s) taken to ensure the ability of the system to maintain critical operations and to prevent any recurrence. The Tampering Threat and Incident Report Form described below will satisfy this requirement.

Highly recommended: 

• To report a cyber incident, contact CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center (contact@cisa.dhs.gov), or call 1-844-Say-CISA (1-844-729-2472). Please see Reporting a Cyber Incident for more details or contact FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or your local FBI field office.