WDNR – The state has started revising rules governing how frequently Wisconsin's 11,400 public water systems monitor for bacterial contaminants to reflect changes in federal rules aimed at increasing public health and safety.
The state Natural Resources Board on June 26 approved the scope statement for the rule revisions, giving the Department of Natural Resources the green light to begin the process to revise the state rules in response to changes in the federal rules. The changes would affect all public water suppliers, those that serve at least 25 people at least 60 days of the year and range from rural restaurants, bars and churches to the state's largest cities.
Steven Elmore, DNR's public water supply section chief, says DNR is convening a stakeholder group of representatives from public water systems, public health and environmental groups to help advise DNR on development of the rule, and that there will be several other public comment opportunities as well.
Elmore encourages interested water system operators, citizens and others to sign up for electronic updates on the state rule-making process. To sign up, go to DNR's website, search "Drinking Water," and choose 'subscribe' near the red envelope.
Federal changes require states to take action
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February 2013 adopted changes to the Total Coliform Rule under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Wisconsin and other states authorized to carry out Safe Drinking Water Act responsibilities must adopt all federal requirements or establish rules that provide equivalent protection.
The federal rule changes provide greater public health protection by focusing primarily on E. coli when testing water for bacterial contamination, by providing incentives for systems with past problems to improve their system and by requiring systems with bacterial problems to assess and fix the problems. Those systems with good compliance and performance records could be allowed to reduce the frequency of monitoring.
