Code of Massachusetts Regulations
310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Title 310 CMR 22.00 - Drinking Water
Section 22.15 - General Reporting Requirements
Universal Citation: 310 MA Code of Regs 310.22
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
(a) Except where a different reporting period
is specified in 310 CMR 22.00, each Supplier of Water shall report to the
Department within 48 hours every failure to comply with any of 310 CMR 22.00
applicable to the Supplier of Water, including failure to comply with any
monitoring requirement applicable to the Supplier of Water pursuant to any of
310 CMR 22.00 and every failure to comply with a Treatment Technique approved
by the Department.
(b)
Nitrate Reporting Requirements. With regard to
nitrate, a Supplier of Water shall notify the Department of Public Health and
local public health authorities within 30 days of the date the Public Water
System first learns of an analysis taken for purposes of 310 CMR 22.06 which
indicates nitrate levels in excess of 10 mg/L.
(c) Except where a different reporting period
is specified in 310 CMR 22.00, for each acute contaminant specified in 310 CMR
22.16: Table 3, or where a single sample result is greater
than four times the MCL, each Supplier of Water shall report to the Department
an MCL exceedance on the same business day that the Supplier of Water becomes
aware of the test results. If the Supplier of Water receives such notification
outside of the Department's regular business hours, then the Supplier of Water
shall notify and consult with the Department on the next business day. In cases
where the Supplier of Water receives such notification, and the following day
is a non-business day then it shall provide notification to the Department by
calling the Department's Emergency notification telephone number and using any
other electronic reporting tool designated by the Department, or other
Department designated numbers no later than 24 hours after it receives such
notification from the laboratory.
(d) A system must notify the Department as
soon as possible but no later than the end of the day (i.e.
prior to midnight) when the system learns of an E. coli MCL
violation, in accordance with 310 CMR 22.05(12)(a)1.a., and must notify the
public in accordance with 310 CMR 22.16.
(2) Unless a shorter reporting period is prescribed elsewhere in 310 CMR 22.00, the Supplier of Water shall report to the Department the results of every test, measurement or analysis the Supplier of Water is required by 310 CMR 22.00 to make within the shorter of the following time periods:
(a) the first ten days
following the month in which the results are received; or
(b) the first ten days following the end of
the required monitoring period as stipulated by the Department.
(3)
(a) The Supplier of Water is not required to
report analytical results to the Department in cases where a Department
laboratory performs the analysis.
(b) The Supplier of Water within ten days of
completing the public notification requirements under 310 CMR 22.16 for the
initial public notice and any repeat notices, shall submit to the Department
and local Board of Health a certification that it has fully complied with the
public notification regulations. The Supplier of Water shall include with this
certification a representative copy of each type of notice distributed,
published, posted, and made available to the Persons served by the system and
to the media.
(c) When requested,
the Supplier of Water shall submit to the Department within the time specified
copies of any records required to be maintained under 310 CMR 22.15 or copies
of any documents then in existence which the Department is entitled to inspect
pursuant to 310 CMR 22.00.
(4) Chemical Addition. Every Supplier of Water shall report to the Department at least once each month the use of chemicals added to the water supply. Such reports shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the chemical, the amount added, the resulting concentration of the chemical in the water, and the reason for adding the chemical to the water.
(5) Annual Statistical Report. Every Supplier of Water shall report electronically to the Department annually, by the due date specified each year on a form prescribed by the Department, full and complete information describing the operation of the Public Water System during the prior year, including but not limited to, the amount of water that passes through their Distribution Systems during the preceding calendar year. A Supplier of Water may request, on a form provided by the Department, approval for a hardship exemption from electronic reporting for the annual report due that year, based on a lack of internet access or service. If granted, the Supplier of Water shall make a paper filing for that year using a form provided by the Department. In no event shall the Supplier of Water fail to file the annual report by the due date specified above. Such reports shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(a) a
monthly breakdown of the amount of water:
1.
purchased from other Public Water Systems;
2. sold to other Public Water
Systems;
3. sold or otherwise
supplied to other consumers; and
4.
withdrawn from each source.
(b) an annual breakdown, to the extent known
to the Supplier of Water, of the amount of water furnished during the year to
each of the following classes of users:
1.
residential users;
2. agricultural
users;
3. commercial
users;
4. industrial
users;
5. other Public Water
Systems; and
6. unaccounted
for.
(c) Total number of
users served by the system.
(d)
Total number of days the system is operating during the calendar
year.
(e) Any updates to the Public
Water Systems' Emergency Response Plan prepared in accordance with 310 CMR
22.04(13).
(f) Names and Grades of
Certified Operators.
(6) Reporting and Public Notification for Certain Unregulated Contaminants. A Community Water System or Non transient, Non community Water System required to monitor under 310 CMR 22.07C shall send to the Department any public notice required under 310 CMR 22.16 and two copies of such monitoring within 30 days of receipt of the analysis report unless 310 CMR 22.15(2) requires submission by an earlier date.
(7) For each sample analyzed under 310 CMR 22.00, for which the Department requires a submittal or report, every Supplier of Water shall submit or report to the Department the following information:
(a) Results of all analytical methods,
including negatives;
(b) Name and
address of the system that supplied the sample;
(c) Contaminant(s);
(d) Analytical method(s) used;
(e) Date of sample collection and time of
sample collection (if applicable);
(f) Date of analysis;
(g) Laboratory name and certification number,
including subcontracting laboratories;
(h) Method Detection or other Reporting
Limits;
(i) Name of sample
collector;
(j) QA/QC information,
where applicable;
(k) Point of
sample collection;
(l) Department
assigned sample location identifier;
(m) Laboratory assigned sample identification
number(s).
(8) Notification of Imposition of Mandatory Water Use Restrictions and Local Drinking Water Health Advisory.
(a) All Public Water Systems establishing a
mandatory restriction on water use must notify the Department in writing within
14 days of its effective date. In its notice to the Department, the Public
Water System establishing a mandatory restriction on water use shall include
appropriate regulations, bylaws or ordinances establishing and imposing the
restriction.
(b) Public Water
Systems establishing water use restrictions should consider requesting from the
Department a declaration of a state of water supply Emergency pursuant to
M.G.L. c. 21G.
(c) Public Water
Systems who would issue a local drinking water health advisory shall consult
with and notify the Department prior to issuance and provide notification to
the Department within 24 hours of termination. At a minimum, all local drinking
water health advisories for contaminants regulated by 310 CMR 22.00 shall
include the required public notice content information listed at 310 CMR
22.16(5)(a).
(9) Emergency Reporting.
(a) Except as otherwise determined by the
Department in writing, each public water supplier shall notify the Department
and its local Board of Health as soon as possible, but not more than two hours
after obtaining knowledge of a potential or actual Emergency described in 310
CMR 22.15(9)(b)1., by calling the Department's Emergency notification telephone
number or using any other electronic reporting tool designated by the
Department, unless the water supplier establishes, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that extenuating circumstances prevented notification within such two
hour time period. Except as otherwise determined by the Department in writing,
each public water supplier shall notify the Department and its local Board of
Health as soon as possible but not more than 24 hours after obtaining knowledge
of all other potential or actual Emergencies, including those described in 310
CMR 22.15(9)(b)2., by calling the Department's Emergency notification telephone
number and using any other electronic reporting tool designated by the
Department, unless the water supplier establishes, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that extenuating circumstances prevented notification within such 24
hour time period. In the event of such extenuating circumstances, notification
to the Department shall be made as soon as possible thereafter, taking into
account the extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances shall include,
without limitation, the following:
1. A lack
of reasonably available communication equipment at the site of the
Emergency;
2. A need to take action
prior to notification in order to mitigate or prevent an actual or potential
threat to public health or safety; and/or
3. A physical injury to the Person
responsible for notifying caused by or associated with the Emergency when the
injury reasonably prevents that Person from notifying.
(b) Emergency reporting is required after the
occurrence of any of the following incidents or Emergencies that result in the
consumers of the system receiving water that does not meet required or routine
quantity or quality conditions:
1. Emergencies
or incidents requiring notification within two hours:
a. Loss of water or drop in pressure to less
than 20 psi, affecting 50% or more of consumers for a system serving less than
10,000 persons;
b. Loss of water or
drop in pressure to less than 20 psi, affecting 5,000 or more consumers for a
system serving 10,000 or more persons;
c. Chemical or microbiological contamination
of the water supply in exceedence of limits specified by the Department's
Office of Research and Standards (ORS), as set forth in ORS' Immediate Action
Levels for Water Treatment Plant Chemicals (available on-line at:
d. Discovery of malicious intent
or an act of vandalism, which may impact a system component;
e. Any consumer complaint in which the water
may have caused physical injury;
f.
A pattern of unusual customer complaints about the water quality such as taste,
odor, etc.; and
g.
Any other Emergency as determined by the Department in writing.
2. Emergencies or incidents
requiring notification within 24 hours:
a.
Loss of water supply from a source;
b. Loss of water supply due to major
component failure;
c. Damage to
power supply equipment or loss of power;
d. Contamination of water in the Distribution
System from backflow or cross connection incident;
e. Collapse of a reservoir, reservoir roof,
or pump house structure;
f. Break
in a transmission or distribution line that results in a loss of service or
drop in pressure to less than 20 psi to more than 100 consumers for more than
four hours;
g. Chemical or
microbiological contamination of the water supply, not specified in 310 CMR
22.15(9)(b)1.c.; and
h. Any other
failure or potential failure of part or all of the water supply system not
listed in 310 CMR 22.15(9)(b)2. that may lead to an Emergency as defined in 310
CMR 22.02.
(c) Unless otherwise determined by the
Department in writing, a water supplier must file an Emergency Response Report
within 30 days of any of the Emergencies identified in 310 CMR 22.04(13)(a), a
Level III or higher Emergency, as described in Massachusetts Drinking
Water Guidelines and Policies for Public Water Supplies, Appendix O - Handbook
for Water Supply Emergencies, or any cross connection problem that
results in contamination of the water provided by the Public Water System. The
Emergency Response Report must include the following information at a minimum:
1. Detailed timeline of the incident and
response;
2. Evaluation of the
incident;
3. Recommendations for
improvements to Emergency response planning, training and
communication;
4. Recommendations
for improvements to water system operations, staffing and budget;
5. Timeline for making all recommended
changes;
6. Updated Emergency
response plan except for those items that are security sensitive; and
7. A completed Emergency Response Checklist.
(A copy of the Emergency Response Checklist form is contained in the
Massachusetts Drinking Water Guidelines and Policies for Public Water
Supplies, Appendix O - Handbook for Water Supply Emergencies, Attachment
E).
(d) Unless
otherwise determined by the Department in writing, a water supplier must
complete an Emergency Response Checklist within ten days of any Level I or II
Emergency, as described in Massachusetts Drinking Water Guidelines and
Policies for Public Water Supplies, Appendix O - Handbook for Water Supply
Emergencies, and maintain on file for five years for the Department's
review.
(e) Each water supplier
must annually submit to the Department all updates to its Emergency Response
Plan made during the year, except for those items that are security sensitive.
At a minimum the annual update must include:
1. An updated Emergency contact list;
and
2. A list and description of
all Emergency response training provided to system personnel and local partners
during the year.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Massachusetts may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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