Tuesday March 17, 2015

Drinking Water Section presentations at ATCAVE 2015

Thursday February 12, 2015

Proposed Revision to Drinking Water MCL for TCE

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The Department of Public Health (DPH) has made minor revisions to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund’s (DWSRF) Project Priority Lists (PPLs) for State Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. As required by federal law, the DPH is making these revisions available for a 30 day public review and comment period. The revisions are detailed in a Memorandum dated April 11, 2014 that was sent to all public water systems that submitted applications for funding and local officials. The Memorandum also provides instructions for submitting comments on these revisions to the DPH. Comments must be received by the DPH no later than 4:30pm on May12, 2014. To view the revised PPLs please visit the DWSRF webpage.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Bi-monthly water quality monitoring schedule update.

Monday, March 31, 2014

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program now includes an “American Iron and Steel (AIS)” requirement. Loan recipients are required to use iron and steel products that are produced in the United States in their projects. The EPA has released guidance as to how to incorporate this new provision. For more information, please visit the DWSRF American Iron and Steel website.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Connecticut Water Sector Free Incident Command System (ICS)/National Response Framework (NRF) Training, sponsored by EPA Water Security Pision and brought to you in coordination with CtWARN and CT Department of Public Health. The free one-day course will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at the Lake Whitney Water Treatment Plant Community Room, 900 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT. An application has been submitted to be able to provide water and wastewater operator Training Contact Hours (TCHs) for workshop participation. Click the workshop flyer for registration and prerequisite course information.    

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Revised Public Water System Screening Form

The Department of Public Health Drinking Water Section (DWS) has developed a new Public Water System Screening Form. This new form replaces the existing Public Water System Information Form, the Screening Application for Water Companies and the Food Service Establishment Water System Registration Form. This form is used to determine if a proposed project or a change in operation at an existing facility will result in the creation of a new water company or public water system or change the status of an existing public water system.

Public Drinking Water Quality Standards 19-13-B102 revisions have been adopted (1/14/2014)

To view the revised regulation use the following link: http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=4431&q=525778

Monday, January 13, 2014

Upper CT River Water Utility Coordinating Committee – Public Membership Meeting

The Department of Public Health (DPH) has announced an Upper CT River Water Utility Coordinating Committee (UCWUCC) public meeting will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, January 30, 2014 in the New Britain Water Department’s meeting room at 1000 Shuttle Meadow Drive in New Britain. Steve Messer of the DPH Drinking Water Section Statewide Water Supply Planning Unit will present on the state’s WUCC water supply planning process and its current status. An agenda of technical items; which includes draft WUCC Rules and Procedures guidance, the state’s High Quality Source (HQS) list, and notice of a forthcoming public hearing to discuss possible WUCC management area boundary revisions; can be found here. Please contact Steve Messer with any inquiries regarding the upcoming UCWUCC meeting at (860) 509-7333.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Magazine Cover Story - CT Certified Operator Robert Longo Highlighted

The cover story, "Cool in Crises" of the "Water System Operator" magazine December 2013 edition features CT DPH Certified Operator Robert Longo of the Bristol Water Department. This article can be viewed online at: http://www.wsomag.com/editorial/2013/12/cool_in_crises.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Consumer Confidence Report Webinar Series

EPA 2-part webinar for Community water systems, state and federal drinking water program staff and technical assistance providers interested in learning more about the CCR Rule.

For more information and to register click here  

Tuesday, December 11, 2013

Web Updates

The Drinking Water Section has posted new applications for storage tank construction, tank interior coating, CT calculations for groundwater systems, and chemical feed installation projects. These applications are designed to work in tandem with our guidelines for storage tank construction, liquid chemical feed systems and CT for groundwater systems using chlorine disinfection. These applications should be submitted to the Drinking Water Section along with a General Application Form in order to initiate a technical review under the RCSA Section 19-13-B102(d)(2).

The Drinking Water Section has posted a new regulatory clarification relative to surface water drainage and roof drains under the RCSA Section 19-13-B51d.  

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Department of Public Health (DPH) High Quality Source (HQS) List

The DPH Commissioner prepares a list of high quality source waters annually pursuant to CGS section 25-33q statutory requirements. The DPH High Quality Source (HQS) list designates existing and potential future sources of water that require protection so that the highest quality sources of water are recognized, protected, and available to provide water for human consumption. Connecticut and Rhode Island stand alone as states that prohibit surface waters that receive treated wastewater or industrial discharges from use as public water sources. The value of the state discharge prohibition is borne out by emerging contaminants like pharmaceutical by-products and personal care products that are now being detected in public water supplies elsewhere and recent events such as the 2011 pre-winter storms and Hurricane Sandy provide excellent reminders of the importance of protecting water supplies.

Please see Circular Letter #2013-06 for details. The review of technical materials necessary to prepare, update, and publish the state’s second annual HQS list update is now underway. Public water systems and regional planning organizations should review the current and potential future sources detailed in the inaugural DPH High Quality Source (HQS) List to ensure that public water supply needs now and into the future are adequately represented. Requests to the Department for consideration of additions, revisions, or omissions to the current list must be submitted in writing to the attention of Mr. Steve Messer of the DPH Drinking Water Section Statewide Water Supply Planning Unit no later than December 31, 2013.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (Lead Reduction Act)

In January 2011 Congress enacted The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (Lead Reduction Act or “Act”) which takes effect January 4, 2014. The “Act” changes the definition of “lead-free” in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and reduces the allowable lead content in pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures that provide water for human consumption from 8.0% to 0.25%. Lead usually enters drinking water systems through the corrosion of pipes and plumbing fixtures; hence, regulatory efforts to reduce lead levels in drinking water tend to focus on the lead content of water system components.

Please see DWS Circular Letter 2013-05, EPA's Draft Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act: Frequently Asked Questions and the complete text of the Lead Reduction Act. Michael Hage is the Department’s primary contact for the Lead Reduction Act and can be reached at 860-509-7333.

Monday, October 07, 2013

Public Notification Rule

The Drinking Water Section has developed a new webpage dedicated to helping public drinking water systems maintain compliance with the Public Notification Rule. Public notification is intended to ensure that consumers will always know if there is a problem with their drinking water. The new webpage contains a summary of rule requirements and templates that systems can use to develop public notification materials when required. Please visit the Public Notification Rule webpage for more information.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Public Hearing Held

The Drinking Water Section held a Public Hearing/ Open Forum on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, to hear testimony regarding the Draft Project Priority Lists for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) loans in State Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 and the draft Intended Use Plan for Federal Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014 capitalization grants. Additional comments will be accepted until 4pm on Friday, September 20, 2013. 

To view these documents and the public hearing announcement please visit the Drinking Water Sections DWSRF webpage and scroll down to the section titled Public Hearing/Open Forum.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Revisions to the Total Coliform Rule

On February 13, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published revisions to the 1989 Total Coliform Rule. The rule, known as the Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) will apply to all public water systems (PWS), and when compliance begins on April 1, 2016, all water system will see changes to how they monitor coliform and react to positive samples. The RTCR encompasses a series of changes intended to place more emphasis on public health protection The major change will be the elimination of the MCL and MCLG for total coliforms, instead using similar triggers to require the evaluation of the water system with the ultimate goal of identifying and correcting sanitary defects which may have caused the presence of total coliforms in the distribution system.

Please see Circular Letter # 2013-04, EPA's RTCR Quick Reference Guide and the RTCR as published in the Federal Register.