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

Coaches' Classroom: Public Notices: Division Tools and Templates to Cover All Your Bases

The public notification rule establishes requirements for public water systems to communicate any problems about the water to anyone using the water they produce. Specifically, problems related to meeting drinking water standards, failing to test the water, or other situations related to protecting the health of consumers all require public notice and must meet the requirements in the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11).  

Resources
Public Notice Templates are a great tool for efficiently meeting the regulatory requirements. The templates can be generated using our online public notice generator tool. Using the generator tool ensures that your public notice contains the 10 required elements of a public notice, as well as any specific required language.  

Choosing the correct violation category
There are three tiers of public notice:  

• Tier 1 is required for the most immediate potential public health impacts.
• Tier 2 is for situations with potential to have serious effects, such as exceeding a maximum contaminant level.
• Tier 3 is for violations and situations that may not directly impact public health. 

In addition to the tier levels for public notification, public notices may have different language requirements depending on the specific violation. Field-based violations are those that are identified during sanitary survey inspections. When creating a public notice for a field-based violation, you will select the violation category that lists “sanitary survey identified violations - Tier 2 or 3” (see image below). The template will contain instructions and a link to the Public Notice Health Effects Language for Sanitary Survey Tier 2 Violations chart, which provides the language required to be entered for each violation found on your Sanitary Survey findings letter. You will also need to add the description of each violation, the date the violations need to be corrected, and the steps you are taking to correct them in the table provided in the template you generate. Once completed, you are ready to deliver the notices to your customers per the tier requirements. After you distribute the public notice(s), please submit a final copy, along with a certificate of delivery to the drinking water portal.   

Consumer Confidence Reports to Meet Public Notification Requirements
Community public water systems are required to complete a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) each year.  Under some circumstances, a Tier 3 public notice requirement can be met using the CCR. 

1. The CCR must fall within 1 year of learning of the violation.
2. The CCR must be delivered using a direct delivery method.
3. All 10 public notice elements must be included.

While Tier 2 violations can’t be satisfied with the CCR, all unresolved violations and significant deficiencies are required to be reported on the CCR, this includes those listed on a corrective action plan for a Sanitary Survey deficiency. 

Want to learn more?
If you are interested in learning more about field violations during a sanitary survey and how to complete your public notice requirements, sign up for one of our upcoming free Sanitary Survey Preparation Trainings. If you have more specific questions about health-based violations and PN requirements, join us for our Monitoring and Operating for Regulatory Compliance (MORC) training. All of our training is free and offered in virtual or face-to-face formats.

➽ Angela Green Garcia, Drinking Water Training Specialist

Acute team: How does the WQCD help you prepare for and respond to acute incidents?

Back in October, we discussed different types of acute health risks, what they are, how to report them, and how to prepare your water system. Today, we want to introduce the Drinking Water Acute Team at the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) that responds to and supports public water systems when acute incidents occur.

What is an Acute Health Risk?

Common situations that may pose an acute health risk include:

• Loss of pressure in a distribution system over a large area, such as from main breaks, power outages, or planned construction
• Detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in finished water:
• When confirmed by a repeat sample
• Upon first detection if other information suggests the water may be unsafe
• When follow-up E. coli testing is not completed after a positive total coliform result
• Natural disasters that impact treatment, distribution, or source water quality
• Cross connection or backflow incidents that can create contamination
• Other circumstances that may result in contamination of drinking water

Acute Team Process and Response

When WQCD becomes aware of a situation that may pose an acute health risk, it convenes the Acute Team. This team is made up of experienced staff from multiple sections of the Safe Drinking Water Program.

The Acute Team will:

• Contact the impacted public water system to discuss the situation
• Determine whether the situation qualifies as an acute health risk
• Decide if public notification is required and what type and methods are appropriate
• Work with the system to identify the best course of action
• Specify any additional steps needed to eliminate the health risk

All actions are taken in accordance with Colorado’s Primary Drinking Water Regulations and Safe Drinking Water Program Policy 1: Response to Acute Health Threats at Public Water Systems.

Policy 1 helps WQCD protect public health and implement the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11). Its purpose is to outline the WQCD’s approach to protecting drinking water consumers from acute health risks using methods such as requiring public water systems to quickly notify customers when an acute health hazard exists.

What a typical Acute Team response looks like:

1. Responding to an incident report 

The Acute Team receives a report, often through the CDPHE Incident Reporting Line (1-877-518-5608), and contacts the impacted water system to gather details.

2. Evaluation of gathered information 

 

The Acute Team reviews the information provided and determines the appropriate response, including whether a boil water or bottled water advisory and associated Tier 1 public notice are needed. Reporting an incident does not automatically result in an advisory. For small water outages, please refer to our Pressure Loss Guidance. 

 

3. Steps to resolve the acute health risk

WQCD staff talk through the necessary actions to resolve the health risk with the water system. This may include:

• Public notice and distribution methods
• Repairing impacted portions of the treatment or distribution system
• Disinfecting and flushing the distribution system
• Identifying the number and location of follow-up samples
• Sampling to ensure the water is safe to drink
• Communicating actions taken and results to the WQCD

4. Ongoing Support 

 

We encourage you to rely on the network of associations, non-profits, county, and state partners as you respond to and recover from acute situations: 

 

WQCD: Acute Team remains available for questions and may check in periodically for updates. Additionally, the WQCD can review materials such as draft customer communications and sampling or flushing plans. We also offer support through our close relationship with Technical Assistance providers throughout the state, including but not limited to: WQCD Local Assistance Unit, Colorado Rural Water Association, Rural Communities Assistance Corp, Water Now Alliance, and many others.

CoWARN: The Colorado Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network is a coalition of drinking water and wastewater providers, engineers, technical assistance providers, and other water sector providers. The network aims to provide assistance between members during emergencies that affect your ability to provide drinking water and/or wastewater services to your customers and communities. Membership is free to join and easy to use.

Local Public Health Agencies and Emergency Managers: Working with your local public health agency is crucial to navigate an acute health risk. Many public health agencies have contacts with critical local customers (healthcare facilities, daycares, restaurants, grocery stores, etc.) and can help you coordinate communication and additional requirements for them. Local public health agencies may also support water delivery efforts and activate their emergency response teams. 

 

5. Resolution 

 

Once the water system has completed all required actions, the Acute Team reviews the steps taken and any sampling results. WQCD uses this information to confirm that the acute health risk has been resolved and will lift the boil or bottled water advisory. 

 

Emergency Planning

Public water systems should prepare for the steps in this response process in advance.
 

1. Work with partners: You have partners in a variety of state and local agencies. We highly suggest that you coordinate with them prior to an acute event to ensure fast and efficient emergency response.

•  Establish contact with local authorities, public health organizations, and other local water/wastewater providers. Identify up-to-date contacts and develop a communication plan.
• Reach out to your Local Emergency Manager and Local Emergency Planning Committee to ensure your system is part of the conversation about interdependencies with other critical infrastructure suppliers. Consider attending Local Emergency Planning Committee meetings to review emergency plans and incident command structure for your local response teams.
• Coordinate with your communications team to draft potential notices and make a plan to navigate delivering tier 1 public notices. 

2. Complete emergency management documents: The EPA has extensive drinking water-specific emergency management planning documents, templates, and checklists. Even if you have already completed some of these documents, please review them to ensure acute scenarios are covered.

• Risk and Resilience Assessment and Emergency Response Plan Templates
• Incident Action Checklists
• CDPHE Pressure Loss Response Guidance

3. Ensure you have CoWARN Access: If your system has had a CoWARN membership for decades or if you are a new member, we highly recommend that you log into the new website to ensure that you have the correct login credentials and that you are set up to activate CoWARN when the need arises.

• How to join CoWARN
• Action to take to log into new website and generate system profile
• How to activate CoWARN
• Please sign the updated Mutual Aid Agreement and submit it to the CoWARN admin - kyra.gregory@state.co.us

➽ Chelsea Cotton, Lead Drinking Water Engineer

➽ Kyra Gregory, Local Assistance Unit Manager