Ground Water Rule

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Drinking Water Rules
Ground Water Rule

EPA published the Ground Water Rule in the Federal Register in 2006 to provide increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use groundwater sources. Of particular concern is any fecal contamination such as E. coli since this may signal the presence of disease-causing pathogens.

The Ground Water Rule applies to public water systems that distribute groundwater, and to any system that mixes surface and ground water if the ground water is added directly to the distribution system and untreated. Neilson Research Corporation provides comprehensive analysis to assist public water systems in compliance with the rule.

Oregon provides a flow chart for determining whether groundwater is under direct influence of surface water. Follow this link to download the .pdf file. http://oregon.gov/DHS/ph/dwp/docs/gwater/gwswi.pdf

The following link is a helpful explanation of the above flow chart:
http://oregon.gov/DHS/ph/dwp/docs/gwater/gwswitxt.pdf

Visit the Groundwater Foundation to learn more about protecting this valuable resource: www.groundwater.org

Ground Water Rule

Contaminant	MCLG(mg/L)	MCL (mg/L)	Potential Health Effects from Ingestion of Water	Sources of Contaminant in Drinking Water
Cryptosporidium	zero	*T T	Gastrointestinal illness (cramps, diarrhea, vomiting)	Human and animal fecal waste
Giardia lamblia	zero	*T T	Gastrointestinal illness (cramps diarrhea, vomiting)	Human and animal fecal waste
Heterotrophic plate count	n/a	*T T	HPC has no health effects.	HPC measures a range of bacteria that are naturally present in the environment
Legionella	zero	*T T	Legionnaire's Disease, a type of pneumonia	Found naturally in water; multiplies in heating systems
Total Coliforms (including fecal coliform and E. coli)	zero	5.0%	Not a health threat in itself; Indicates potential presence of more harmful bacteria.	Naturally present in the environment. Fecal coliforms and E. coli only come from human and animal fecal waste.
Turbidity	n/a	*T T	Measures the cloudiness of water and indicates filtration effectiveness. High levels are associated with higher levels of microorganisms such as viruses, parasites and bacteria which can cause nausea, cramps, diarrhea.	Soil runoff
Viruses (enteric)	zero	*T T	Gastrointestinal illness (diarrhea, vomiting, cramps)	Human and animal fecal waste

* T T = Treatment Technique with compliance monitoring to ensure that treatment technology installed to treat drinking water reliably achieves at least 99.99 percent (4-log) inactivation or removal of viruses.

For more details regarding the Ground Water Rule, see the EPA Fact Sheet: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/gwr/regulation_factsheet_final.html