Iowa Admin. Code r. 567-43.1

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024

Rule 567-43.1 - General information

(1)Emergency actions regarding water supplies. When, in the opinion of the director, an actual or imminent hazard exists, the supplier of water shall comply with the directives or orders of the director necessary to eliminate or minimize that hazard.

(2)Prohibition on the use of lead pipes, solder and flux. Any pipe, solder or flux which is used in the installation or repair of any public water supply system or any plumbing in a residential or nonresidential facility providing water for human consumption which is connected to a public water supply system shall be lead-free as defined in 567-402. (455B). This action shall not apply to leaded joints necessary for the repair of cast iron pipe.

(3)Use of noncentralized treatment devices.

a. Community PWS. Community public water systems shall not use bottled water, point-of-use (POU) or point-of-entry (POE) devices to achieve permanent compliance with a maximum contaminant level, action level, or treatment technique requirement in 567-Chapters 41 and 43.

b. Noncommunity PWS. Noncommunity public water supply systems may be allowed by the department to use point-of-use devices to achieve MCL compliance provided the contaminant does not pose an imminent threat to health (such as bacteria) nor place a sensitive population at risk (such as infants for nitrate or nitrite).

c. Reduced monitoring requirements. Bottled water, point-of-use, or point-of-entry devices cannot be used to avoid the monitoring requirements of 567-Chapters 41 and 43, but the department may allow reduced monitoring requirements in specific instances.

d. Bottled water requirements. The department may require a public water system exceeding a maximum contaminant level, action level, or treatment technique requirement specified in 567-Chapters 41 and 43 to use bottled water as a condition of an interim compliance schedule or as a temporary measure to avoid an unreasonable risk to health. Any bottled water must, at a minimum, meet the federal Food and Drug Administration bottled water standards, listed in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Chapter 165.110. The system must meet the following requirements:

(1) Monitoring program. Submit for approval to the department a monitoring program for bottled water. The monitoring program must provide reasonable assurances that the bottled water complies with all maximum contaminant levels, action levels, or treatment technique requirements in 567-Chapters 41 and 43. The public water system must monitor a representative sample of bottled water for all contaminants regulated under 567-Chapters 41 and 43 the first quarter that it supplies the bottled water to the public, and annually thereafter. Results of the monitoring program shall be provided to the department annually. If the bottled water is from a community public water system that currently meets all of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements, the monitoring requirements of this subparagraph shall be waived by the department. The specific supplier of the bottled water must be identified in order for the department to waive the monitoring requirements.

(2) Certification requirements. The public water system must receive a certification from the bottled water company that the bottled water supplied has been taken from an "approved source"; the bottled water company has conducted monitoring in accordance with 43.1(3)"Z>"(1); and the bottled water meets MCLs, action levels, or treatment technique requirements as set out in 567-Chapters 41 and 43. The public water system shall provide the certification to the department the first quarter after it supplies bottled water and annually thereafter.

(3) Provision of bottled water to consumers. The public water supply system is fully responsible for the provision of sufficient quantities of bottled water to every person supplied by the public water system via door-to-door bottled water delivery.

e. Point-of-use devices. Reserved.

f.Point-of-entry devices. Reserved.

(4)Cross-connection control. To prevent backflow or backsiphonage of contaminants into a public water supply, connection shall not be permitted between a public water supply and any other system which does not meet the monitoring and drinking water standards required by this chapter except as provided below in"a" or"b. "

a. Piping and plumbing systems. Piping systems or plumbing equipment carrying nonpotable water, contaminated water, stagnant water, liquids, mixtures or waste mixtures shall not be connected to a public water supply unless properly equipped with an antisiphon device or backflow preventer acceptable to the department.

b. Bulk water loading stations. Positive separation shall be provided through the use of an air gap separation or a backflow preventer, which is acceptable to the department, at all loading stations for bulk transport tanks.

(1) Minimum air gap. The minimum required air gap shall be twice the diameter of the discharge pipe.

(2) Backflow preventer criteria. An approved backflow preventer for this application shall be a reduced pressure backflow preventer or an antisiphon device which complies with the standards of the American Water Works Association and has been approved by the Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research, University of Southern California.

When, in the opinion of the department, evidence clearly indicates the source of contamination within the system is the result of a cross-connection, the department may require a public water supply to conduct public notification, identify and eliminate the connection, and implement a systemwide cross-connection program.

(5)Requirement for certified operator. The department maintains a list of operators who are certified in accordance with 567-Chapter 81. The list includes the operator's name, certification classification (Water Treatment, Water Distribution, or Grade A Water System), and grade (A, I, II, III, or IV), and is periodically updated during the year.

a. CWS and NTNC systems. All community and nontransient noncommunity public water supply systems must have a certified operator in direct responsible charge of the treatment and distribution systems, in accordance with 567-Chapters 40 through 44 and 81.

b. TNC systems. Any transient noncommunity public water supply system which is owned by the state or federal government, such as a state park, state hospital, or interstate rest stop, or is using a groundwater under the direct influence of surface water or surface water source, must have a certified operator in direct responsible charge of the treatment and distribution systems, in accordance with 567-Chapters 40 through 44 and 81. Any TNC which uses chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant or oxidant must have a certified operator in direct responsible charge of the system, pursuant to 567-Chapter 81. The department may require any TNC to have a certified operator in direct responsible charge.

(6)Return water in public water supply systems. Steam condensate, cooling water from engine j ackets, water used in conjunction with heat exchange devices, or treated wastewater shall not be returned to the public water supply system.

(7)Sanitary surveys. Each public water supply system must have a periodic sanitary survey, conducted by the department or its designee, which is a records review and on-site inspection of the system. Systems must provide the department, at its request, any existing information that will enable the department to conduct the sanitary survey. The inspection evaluates the system's ability to produce and distribute safe drinking water and identifies improvements necessary to maintain or improve drinking water quality. The sanitary survey includes review and inspection of the following areas: water source; treatment facilities; distribution system; finished water storage; pumps, pump facilities, controls and other equipment; monitoring, reporting, and data verification, including self-monitoring requirements; system operation and management; maintenance; properly certified operators; and records. A report of the sanitary survey is issued by the department or its designee, and may include both enforceable required actions for remedying significant deficiencies and nonenforceable recommended actions. The frequency of the sanitary survey inspection must be at least once every five years for noncommunity systems and once every three years for community systems. The department or its designee must provide the system with a written notice describing any significant deficiencies identified no later than 30 days after the department identifies the significant deficiency. The notice may be included in the sanitary survey report and may specify corrective actions and deadlines for completion of corrective actions. Systems must respond in writing to significant deficiencies outlined in the sanitary survey report or written notice within the time period specified in the report, indicating how and on what schedule the system will address significant deficiencies noted in the survey. At a maximum, the written response must be received within 30 days of receiving the survey report. All systems must take the steps necessary to address significant deficiencies identified in the sanitary survey report that are within the control of the system and its governing body.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 567-43.1

ARC 9915B, IAB 12/14/11, effective 1/18/12

Amended by IAB April 11, 2018/Volume XL, Number 21, effective 5/16/2018