Current through September 18, 2024
Authority: IC 13-13-5; IC
13-14-8-2;
IC
13-14-8-7; IC
13-18-3-1; IC
13-18-3-2;
IC
13-18-16-8; IC
13-18-16-9
Affected: IC 13-18-2; IC 13-18-16
Sec. 8.1.
(a) If a
routine sample is total coliform-positive, the PWS must collect a set of repeat
samples within twenty-four (24) hours of being notified by the laboratory or
the commissioner of the positive result. The provisions of this section are
applicable until all required repeat monitoring under this section and fecal
coliform or E. coli testing required under section 8.3 of this rule that was
initiated by a total coliform positive sample taken before April 1, 2016, is
completed as well as analytical method, reporting, record keeping, public
notification, and consumer confidence report requirements associated with that
monitoring and testing. The following apply to repeat monitoring:
(1) A PWS that collects:
(A) more than one (1) routine sample per
month must collect no fewer than three (3) repeat samples for each total
coliform-positive sample found; or
(B) one (1) routine sample per month or fewer
must collect no fewer than four (4) repeat samples for each total
coliform-positive sample found.
(2) The commissioner may extend the
twenty-four (24) hour limit up to forty-eight (48) hours on a case-by-case
basis if the PWS has a problem beyond its control in collecting the repeat
samples within twenty-four (24) hours.
(3) The PWS must have:
(A) sufficient sample bottles on hand to
collect any required repeat samples within twenty-four (24) hours of
notification by the laboratory or the commissioner; or
(B) the ability to acquire sample bottles and
collect samples within twenty-four (24) hours of:
(i) notification by the laboratory or the
commissioner; or
(ii) a positive
total coliform sample.
(b) The PWS must collect at least one (1)
repeat sample from the following locations:
(1) The sampling tap where the original total
coliform-positive sample was taken.
(2) A tap within five (5) service connections
upstream of the original sampling site.
(3) A tap within five (5) service connections
downstream of the original sampling site.
If a total coliform-positive sample is at the end of the
distribution system, or one (1) service connection away from the end of the
distribution system, the commissioner may waive the requirement to collect at
least one (1) repeat sample upstream or downstream of the original sampling
site.
(c) The
PWS must collect all repeat samples on the same day, except that the
commissioner may allow a PWS with a single service connection to collect:
(1) the required set of repeat samples over a
four (4) day period; or
(2) a
larger volume of repeat samples in one (1) or more sample containers of any
size, as long as the total volume collected is at least:
(A) four hundred (400) milliliters;
or
(B) three hundred (300)
milliliters for a PWS that collects more than one (1) routine sample per
month.
(d) If
one (1) or more repeat samples in the set is total coliform-positive, the PWS
must do the following:
(1) Collect an
additional set of repeat samples, in the manner specified in subsections (a)
through (c), within twenty-four (24) hours of being notified of the positive
result, unless the commissioner extends the limit as provided in subsection
(a)(2).
(2) Repeat the process of
collecting additional repeat samples required under subdivision (1) until
either:
(A) total coliforms are not detected
in one (1) complete set of repeat samples; or
(B) the PWS:
(i) determines that the MCL for total
coliforms in section 7 of this rule has been exceeded; and
(ii) notifies the commissioner.
(e) If a PWS
collecting fewer than five (5) routine samples per month has one (1) or more
total coliform-positive samples, and the commissioner does not invalidate the
samples under section 8(f) of this rule, the PWS must collect at least five (5)
routine samples during the next month the PWS provides water to the public,
except that the commissioner may waive this requirement to collect five (5)
routine samples the next month the PWS provides water to the public if the
following conditions are met:
(1) The
commissioner, or an agent approved by the commissioner, performs a site visit
before the end of the next month the PWS provides water to the public. Although
a sanitary survey need not be performed, the site visit must be sufficiently
detailed to allow the commissioner to determine whether additional monitoring
or any corrective action or both is needed. An employee of the PWS may not
perform this site visit.
(2) The
commissioner has determined why the sample was total coliform-positive and
establishes that the PWS has corrected the problem or will correct the problem
before the end of the next month the PWS serves water to the public. In this
case, the following must be met:
(A) The
decision to waive the following month's additional monitoring requirement must
be:
(i) documented in writing;
(ii) approved and signed by the supervisor of
the state official who recommends the decision; and
(iii) made available to the:
(AA) U.S. EPA; and
(BB) public.
(B) The written documentation required under
clause (A)(i) must describe:
(i) the specific
cause of the total coliform-positive sample; and
(ii) what action the PWS has taken or will
take to correct this problem.
(C) The requirement to collect five (5)
routine samples the next month the PWS provides water to the public cannot be
waived solely on the grounds that all repeat samples are total
coliform-negative.
(D) Under this
subsection, a PWS must still take at least one (1) routine sample before the
end of the next month the PWS serves water to the public and use the routine
sample to determine compliance with the MCL for total coliforms in section 7 of
this rule, unless the commissioner has determined that:
(i) the PWS has corrected the contamination
problem before the PWS took the set of repeat samples required in subsections
(a) through (d); and
(ii) all
repeat samples were total coliform-negative.
(E) The commissioner shall not waive the
requirement for a PWS to collect repeat samples in subsections (a) through
(d).
(f)
After a PWS collects a routine sample and before the PWS learns the results of
the analysis of that sample, if the PWS collects another routine sample from
within five (5) adjacent service connections of the initial sample, and the
initial sample, after analysis, is found to contain total coliforms, then the
PWS may count the subsequent sample as a repeat sample instead of as a routine
sample.
(g) Results of all routine
and repeat samples not invalidated by the commissioner must be included in
determining compliance with the MCL for total coliforms in section 7 of this
rule. Any sample not designated as special purpose prior to analysis by the
laboratory must be used to determine compliance with the MCL for total
coliforms in section 7 of this rule.
