Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) The board of health or the department of
health may perform inspections as often as necessary to determine satisfactory
compliance with this chapter. For purposes of this rule,
"inspection" means the observation and documentation
of the location, construction, or physical condition of a private water system
or any component of such a system and includes, without limitation, water
sampling for the detection of any contaminants, the documentation of a
violation of construction standards, technical procedures, or any other
requirement established under this chapter.
(B) The owner or the
designated agent of a new or altered private water system is responsible
to contact the board of health for an inspection
and the collection of water samples when work on the private water system
has been completed. The property owner shall provide reasonable access to the
board of health for
pre-construction site evaluations and for
conducting final inspection of the outside and inside components of the private
water system and for collection of required water sample(s) while the permit
remains valid.
(C) The board of
health shall inspect each private water system constructed, altered, or sealed
after the effective date of this rule to determine compliance with this
chapter. When a property owner has not contacted the board of health within
thirty working days after the board of health has received documentation
indicating that the private water system construction, alteration, or sealing
has been completed, such as a well log,
completion form, or other notification, the board of health shall
contact the property owner in order to determine the completion status of the
private water system and to schedule an inspection and water sample (when
applicable).
(D) The inspection by
the board of health shall include an examination of at least the following, as
applicable:
(1) A review of
all required forms for compliance within
thirty days of receipt by the board of health and prior to collecting a water
sample and conducting a site inspection.
(2) The well casing for proper ASTM, API,
ANSI or
NSF
designations, casing type, wall thickness, and height above final
grade.
(3) The surface condition of
the annular space around the casing to determine the presence of grout, and the
absence or presence of subsidence, using a probe or other visual indication of
the surface condition of the annular space.
(4) All isolation distance requirements as
provided in rule
3701-28-07 of the Administrative
Code and any other potential sources of contamination.
(5) The pitless adapter, when
necessary.
(6) Removal of the well
cap for determination of proper well cap type, proper installation and venting
and observation of the inside of the casing, when
necessary.
(7) The dedicated water
sample faucet(s) and pressure relief valve.
(8) Required backflow devices.
(9) The complete disinfection and filtration
system, including all required signage and
labeling.
(10) For cisterns,
springs, reservoir tanks, and hauled water
storage tanks, tank size, tank standards and specifications,
manhole covers for safety, and intakes.
(11) Pond intakes, pond and spring watershed
control area, wet side slope, and pond size.
(E) Where board of health or the department
determines that any of the following conditions exist at a well, the registered
contractor performing the work or the well owner may be required to excavate
around the well head for verification of proper
grouting.
(1) A visible open annular space
surrounding the well casing.
(2)
Grout is not detected at or below the water service line connection to the
casing.
(3) The detection of dye in
the well water after placement of tracer dye around the casing at or near the
ground surface.
(4) A well log or
sealing report which indicates that the well has not been grouted or which
lacks information or contains incomplete or erroneous information pertaining to
the grouting of a well.
(5) Or any
other condition as determined by the department or the board of health to
verify compliance with this chapter.
(F)
Where the board
of health determines, based on the inspection and review of the required forms,
that a private water system has not been constructed, altered, or sealed in
accordance of this chapter, the board of health shall either:
(1)
Notify the
contractor of the violation in writing and offer the opportunity to correct in
a timely manner; this contact and any related correspondence shall be recorded
in the permit file. If the violation is not corrected within the time frame
established by the initial notification, the board of health shall issue a
written notice of violation to the responsible persons as specified in
paragraph (L) of rule
3701-28-02 of the Administrative
Code and orders to comply with this chapter. Orders shall be copied to the
department as well as the owner, applicant and all contractors identified on
the permit; or,
(2)
Issue a written notice of violation to the responsible
persons as specified in paragraph (L) of rule
3701-28-02 of the Administrative
Code and orders to comply with this chapter. Orders shall be copied to the
department as well as the owner, applicant and all contractors identified on
the permit.
(G)
New
registrant private water systems contractors who construct private water
systems wells shall obtain a minimum of one construction and knowledge
assessment inspection within the first twelve months of registration. The
inspection shall be performed by the department or a person designated by the
department, and shall take place during the construction process to determine
that the private water system is being constructed in compliance with this
chapter.
(H)
New registrant
private water systems contractors who perform work on private water systems
other than construction of a private water system well shall obtain a minimum
of one construction and knowledge assessment inspection from a board of health
within the first twelve months of registration. The inspection shall take place
during key stages of the construction process to determine that the private
water system is being constructed in compliance with this
chapter.
(I)
Private water systems contractor inspections shall be
recorded on inspection report forms prescribed or approved by the department,
and shall provide for a comprehensive review of compliance with this chapter. A
copy shall be provided to the department, the board of health, and the
registered contractor within thirty days of the inspection.
(J)
The department
may elect to conduct construction and knowledge assessment inspections for any
registered contractor, as needed, to determine if work on a private water
system is being completed in compliance with this chapter.
(K)
The board of health shall collect and process water samples as required in
paragraph (W) of rule
3701-28-03 of the Administrative
Code after completion of the private water system and receipt of well logs
and/or completion forms and when the private water system is determined to be
in compliance with this chapter. Water samples shall be collected and processed
according to the following procedures:
(1)
Information regarding the private water systems owner, address of the property,
and date of sampling shall be recorded.
(2) A sanitary survey shall be performed of
the site for a pre-existing private water system that is being sampled for
purposes of an inspection or bond claim.
(3)
Water to be tested shall be
checked at the time of collection by the person collecting the sample for the
presence of chlorine or any other disinfectant used prior to disinfection of
the sample faucet prior to submission for analysis.
(a)
Water samples
from private water systems wells and systems utilizing ultraviolet light for
continuous disinfection shall be collected a minimum of forty-eight hours after
the private water system has been chlorinated or disinfected with a material
other than chlorine and completely flushed to remove all residual chlorine or
other disinfectant from the system.
(b) Water collected
from hauled water storage tanks shall have at least two tenths
of a milligram
per liter residual of chlorine present
at the time a water sample is collected.
(c)
Water collected from private water systems utilizing continuous disinfection
with a chemical disinfectant shall have a chemical disinfectant residual
detected at the level required in paragraphs (M) and
(O) of
rule 3701-28-15 of the Administrative
Code for the specific disinfection device at the time the water sample is
collected.
(4) All water
samples collected as part of the permit requirements of this chapter shall be
collected at the point of discharge of the system, and shall not be collected
from hoses, outside spigots, or yard hydrants. In
circumstances where the sample faucet cannot be relocated to an accessible
location, such as
when the pressure tank is located in an inaccessible
crawl space, in an underground vault or buried below the ground surface, and
when no other sample faucets are accessible, a water sample may be
collected from the closest faucet to the pressure tank. The need to collect the sample at this location shall be
clearly denoted on the forms submitted by the private water systems
contractor.
(5) If the water
system is a well, it shall be purged a minimum of ten minutes. If there is no
drain near the pressure tank several
faucets
throughout the building shall be turned on to assist in purging the system.
Where the yield cannot be sustained for at least ten minutes the
system shall be purged to insure flushing of the distribution system to get a
representative sample from the well. A cistern, pond, hauled water storage
tank, or spring, shall be purged long enough to remove all water standing in
the distribution system prior to collecting the sample. Discharge of water to
the sewage treatment system should be minimized when possible. If the water
sample is collected from the well head out of the pitless
adapter, it shall be run for a minimum of three
minutes.
(6) The person collecting
the water sample shall sanitize their hands just prior to collection.
(7) The sampling faucet, shall be sanitized with either a chlorine
solution containing a minimum of four hundred milligrams per liter chlorine, or
an isopropyl alcohol solution of not less than seventy
per
cent, or a solution of two hundred milligrams per liter quaternary
ammonia, by spraying or flushing the faucet,by flaming a metal sample faucet, or by
using other methods approved by the department.
(8) Water samples shall be collected in a
sterile sample container provided by the laboratory that will perform the
analysis. The sample bottle shall not be rinsed prior to the collection of the
sample. The lip or inside of the sample bottle or inside of the lid shall not
come into contact with any sources of contamination.
(9) Water samples to be tested for nitrates,
shall be stabilized at the site or delivered
to the laboratory within the time frame required by the laboratory
in accordance with the standard method. The private water system may be
pre-screened on site with nitrate test strips or
kit as authorized under paragraph (V) of rule
3701-28-03 of the Administrative
Code and used in accordance with the manufacturer's directions. If
the sample is prescreened and the presence of nitrates is detected at five
milligrams per liter or greater, a sample shall be submitted to an approved lab
for nitrate analysis.
(10)
All water samples to be tested for bacteria, shall be
transported in
an insulated
closed container containing ice or other equivalent
cooling media and transported to the laboratory within
the time frame required by the laboratory in accordance with
the standard method.
(11) All
water samples, shall be tested at a laboratory
approved for the testing of microbiological contaminants, and
primary drinking water standards under Chapter 3745-89
of the Administrative Code or a laboratory approved by the department. Testing
for total coliform or coliform CFU or MPN counts
shall use approved methods that are appropriate to the source of the water
being tested and the observed or known water quality.
(12) When a coliform CFU
or MPN count is required, the number of coliform bacteria CFU
or MPN can be determined by using
methods for bacterial
enumeration described in the
twenty-second edition of "Standard Methods for
the Examination of Water and Wastewater,"
which is published jointly by the American public
health association, the American water works
association, and the water pollution control
federation, or through other methods approved by
the department.
(13) For private water systems required to
utilize continuous disinfection or
maintain a chemical disinfectant residual, the indicator bacteria shall be
determined using approved methods that determine a CFU or MPN count or indicate the presence or absence of
the indicator bacteria.
(L) The board of
health may charge the private water system owner a fee for each water sample
collected by the board of health for the purpose of determining the presence of
any contaminants.
(M) The
department shall provide for making the
bacteriological examinations and the determination of the presence of nitrates
in its laboratories of water samples required by these rules at the cost set
forth in the fee schedule established in Chapter 3701-49 of the Administrative
Code for each bacteriological examination and nitrate analysis performed, and
shall establish a system to receive such water samples at its laboratories, and
to make such charges therefore; provided, however, these rules do not prohibit
such examination from being made by other laboratories approved by the Ohio
department of health.
(N) The following
microbiological standards and maximum contaminant levels (MCL) apply to all
private water systems unless otherwise specified:
(1) For water wells not using continuous
disinfection, or not required to have a disinfectant
residual the acceptable level for bacteria indicators in the water sample
shall be:
(a) Four or less total coliform CFU
or 4.2 or less total coliform MPN per one hundred
milliliters of water for the purposes of acceptable well construction and
development and as an indication of the presence of opportunistic bacteria;
(b) No detection of Escherichia coli CFU
or MPN per one hundred milliliters of water; and
(c) If additional microbiological speciation
analysis or coliphage testing is done, there shall be no detection of any
primary pathogenic microorganism, other fecal indicator microorganisms, or
coliphages as determined by the department.
(2) For any private water system required to
have a disinfectant residual or to have
continuous disinfection and/or filtration in accordance with
rule
3701-28-15 of the Administrative
Code, there shall be no detection of total coliform CFU or MPN, or escherichia coli CFU
or MPN per one hundred milliliters of water, or
if additional microbiological testing or speciation analysis or coliphage
testing is done, any primary pathogenic microorganism as determined by the
director.
(3) Water sample results
determined using membrane filter that indicate a high background count or
confluent growth are considered invalid and may not be used to determine
compliance with the water sample requirement of this rule.
(4) For the purposes of making
recommendations for the consumption and treatment of water from private water
systems, the maximum contaminant levels, health
advisory levels, or action levels and standards of chemical constituents
for private water systems shall be the same as the primary maximum contaminant
levels health advisory levels, or action levels
and standards established by the United States environmental protection agency for
public water supplies in accordance with 40 CFR 141
(2018), or the agency for toxic substance and disease registry, or the centers
for disease control and prevention.
