401 KAR 8:020. Public
and semipublic water systems; general provisions.
RELATES TO: KRS
211.350-211.392, 223.160-223.220, 224.10-100, 224.10-110, 224.16-050, 369, 40
C.F.R. 141, 142.14, 142.15, 142.16, 142.20, 142.21, 142.40-142.65
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS
223.200, 224.10-100(28), 224.10-110(2), 40 C.F.R. 141.3, 141.31, 141.75,
142.14, 142.15, 142.20. 142.21, 142.40-142.65, 42 U.S.C. 300f-300j-26
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND
CONFORMITY: KRS 224.10-100(28) and 224.10-110(2) authorize the cabinet to
promulgate administrative regulations for the regulation and control of the
purification of water for public and semipublic use. This administrative regulation
establishes the general provisions for regulating public and semipublic water
supplies.
Section 1. A public or
semipublic water system shall be subject to the requirements of 401 KAR Chapter
8, except those exempted in 40 C.F.R. 141.3.
Section 2. (1) Public
and semipublic water systems. A person shall not operate or commence operation
of a public or semipublic water system except in compliance with the provisions
of 401 KAR Chapter 8 and 40 C.F.R. 141. A water supply system constructed prior
to November 11, 1990 may be continued in use, if the operation, maintenance,
bacteriological, chemical, physical, and radiological standards comply with 401
KAR Chapter 8, or the system obtains a variance or exemption from those
standards in accordance with 40 C.F.R. 141.
(2)(a) A
cross-connection shall be prohibited.
(b) The use of automatic
devices, such as a reduced pressure zone back flow preventer and a vacuum
breaker, may be approved to protect public health, in lieu of air gap
separation.
(c) A combination of air
gap separation and an automatic device shall be required if determined by the
cabinet to be necessary due to the degree of hazard to public health.
(d) Every public water
system shall determine if or where a cross-connection exists and shall
immediately eliminate it.
(3) A bypass shall not
be created or maintained without the prior written approval of the cabinet
stating the approved circumstances for establishment of a bypass, its design,
and the exact conditions for its use.
(4) An auxiliary intake
shall not be used in direct connection with a public or semipublic water system
except with prior written approval from the cabinet stating the emergency
condition that necessitates the intake.
(5) The plumbing system
serving the purification plant and auxiliary facilities shall discharge to a
sewer system if available.
(a) If a sewer is not
available, the connection shall be made to a sewage disposal facility approved
pursuant to KRS Chapter 211.350 through 211.392 or 224.16-050.
(b) There shall not be
connections between the sewer system and a filter backwash, filter-to-waste
drain, or clearwell overflow line, unless an air gap is provided between the
drain and overflow line and the sanitary storm sewer or natural drainage
system, so as to preclude the possibility of back-up of sewage or waste into
the drain or overflow line.
(6) The owner or
operator of a public water system shall operate and maintain the facilities and
systems of treatment, intake, and distribution to comply with the provisions of
401 KAR Chapter 8. Operation and maintenance includes effective performance;
preventive maintenance; operator staffing and training pursuant to 401 KAR
8:030, 11:040, and 11:050; establishing representative sample points that
comply with the requirements of 401 KAR Chapter 8; and adequate process
controls for testing, including quality assurance procedures.
(7) Reports to the
cabinet.
(a) The supplier of
water shall provide a complete monthly operating report to the cabinet, which
shall be received at the Division of Water, 200 Fair Oaks Lane, Frankfort,
Kentucky 40601 not later than ten (10) days after the end of the month for
which the report is filed.
1. A completed report
shall include:
a. Volume of water
treated;
b. Type and amount of
chemicals added;
c. Test results
appropriate to be reported by the plant; and
d. The dated original
signature, or equivalent, pursuant to KRS Chapter 369, of the owner or
authorized agent.
2. A supplier of water
shall submit the reports required by 40 C.F.R. 141.75(b) to the cabinet not
later than ten (10) days after the end of each month the public water system
serves water to the public.
3. A public water system
shall report to the cabinet in accordance with 40 C.F.R. 141.31.
(b) Reports of failure
to comply. A public water system shall report to the cabinet within forty-eight
(48) hours, by phone or in writing, the failure to comply with a provision of
401 KAR Chapter 8, including the failure to comply with monitoring requirements.
(c) Emergency reports.
1. If a public water
system experiences a line break or loss of pressure as established in 401 KAR
8:150, Section 4(2)(e), loss of disinfection, or other event that may result in
contamination of the water, the public water system shall immediately report to
the cabinet by calling the Division of Water in Frankfort at (502) 564-3410 or
the appropriate regional field office of the Division of Water.
2. If a report required
by this paragraph is made during other than normal business hours, it shall be
made through the twenty-four (24) hour environmental emergency telephone
number, (800) 928-2380.
(8) Records to be maintained.
An owner or operator of a public water system shall keep the records
established in 40 C.F.R. 141.33 on the premises
or readily accessible to
cabinet staff inspecting the system.
(9) Boil water and
consumer advisories.
(a) Boil water advisories.
1. A public water system
or semipublic water system shall issue a boil water advisory if the system
believes an advisory is warranted.
2. The cabinet may
direct that a boil water advisory be issued upon:
a. The reception of
confirmed positive bacteriological results including E. coli or fecal coliform
in at least one (1) sample; or
b. Other circumstances
that warrant an advisory for the protection of public health.
3. The cabinet may, if
circumstances warrant for the protection of public health, issue a boil water
advisory directly, rather than rely on a public or semipublic water system to
issue the advisory.
4. A boil water advisory
shall remain in effect until the cabinet approves the lifting of the advisory
based on bacteriological results showing coliform bacteria are not present in
the water.
(b) Consumer advisory.
1. The cabinet may issue
a consumer advisory if:
a. Conditions within a
public water system or semipublic water system indicate a possible adverse
health effect from consumption of the water distributed by the system; or
b. Other information of
interest to the consumer exists.
2. The advisory shall
notify affected persons of a required or recommended action.
(c) A public or
semipublic water system shall:
1. Immediately notify the
local health department that serves the area affected if a boil water advisory
or consumer advisory is issued.
a. The notification may
be made by telephone or fax machine for an occurrence during normal business
hours.
b. For an occurrence
after normal business hours, the public or semipublic water system shall notify
the affected local health department in a manner agreed upon by the system and
affected health department; or
2. Develop a protocol
with a local health department that describes when and how the system shall
notify the affected health department if the system issues a boil water
advisory or consumer advisory. The protocol shall address:
a. For which types of
advisories the system shall notify the affected health department;
b. What procedures shall
be used to notify and under what circumstances;
c. How soon after the
occurrence the notification shall be made; and
d. To whom the
notification shall be made, during and after business hours.
(10) How to issue an advisory.
(a) A boil water
advisory or consumer advisory shall be issued through newspapers, radio,
television, or other media having an immediate public impact.
(b) As a health and
safety measure, the water system shall repeat the notification during the
period of imminent danger at intervals that maintain public awareness.
(c)1. The advisory shall
be readily understandable and shall include instructions for the public, as
well as an explanation of the steps being taken to correct the problem.
2. Boiling instructions
shall caution to boil water to be used for consumption by boiling the water for
at least three (3) minutes at a rolling boil.
(11) Maps.
(a) A public or
semipublic water system shall have on the premises, or readily accessible to
cabinet staff inspecting the system, an up-to-date map of the distribution
system. The map shall, at a minimum, show:
1. Line size;
2. Cutoff valves;
3. Fire hydrants;
4. Flush hydrants;
5. Tanks;
6. Booster pumps;
7. Chlorination
stations;
8. Connection to
emergency or alternative sources;
9. Wholesale customer
master meters; and
10. Type of piping
material in the distribution system and its location.
(b)1. If a public water
system is not able to comply with the requirements of paragraph(a) of this
subsection, the system may petition the cabinet to modify this requirement.
2. The petition for
modification shall state specifically what portion of the requirements of
paragraph (a) of this subsection is not practical and why.
(12) Operation and
maintenance manual.
(a) Each public water
system shall develop and keep on the premises, for operators and employees of
the system, an operation and maintenance manual that includes:
1. A detailed design of
the plant;
2. Daily operating
procedures;
3. A schedule of testing
requirements designating who is responsible for the tests; and
4. Safety procedures for
operation of the facility, including storage and inventory requirements for
materials and supplies used by the facility.
(b) The operation and
maintenance manual shall be updated as necessary, but not less than annually,
and shall be available for inspection by the cabinet.
(c) Public water systems
serving fewer than 100 people or thirty (30) service connections may request
that the cabinet waive the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
The request shall be in writing and any waiver granted by the cabinet shall be
in writing and be retained by the public water system for examination by
cabinet personnel.
(13) Flushing
recommended.
(a) To protect public
health, a distribution system may be thoroughly flushed at least twice a year,
usually in the spring and fall. The purpose of systematic flushing is to reduce
turbidity created from the scouring of accumulated sediment within the water
lines.
1. Flushing shall start
at the hydrants nearest the source of supply and proceed in an outward
direction to the end of each main.
2. Flushing shall
continue at each hydrant until all traces of turbidity and color are gone.
3. Hydrants shall be
opened and shut slowly to prevent damage from water hammer.
(b) In addition to the
regularly scheduled flushing, the following conditions shall indicate a need to
flush the entire system:
1. Turbidity within the
distribution system greater than five (5) or one (1) nephelometric turbidity
units, or NTU, as applicable to the system;
2. An inability to
maintain an adequate residual of a disinfection agent in any part of the
system; or
3. A heterotrophic plate
count, or HPC, in excess of 500.
(c) Other indicators
that flushing may be necessary shall be taste and odor complaints, color of
water, contaminated water samples, or line repairs.
(14) A person shall not
introduce into the water supply system a substance that may have a deleterious
physiological effect, or for which physiological effects may not be known.
(15) Certified lab
analysis required. For the purpose of determining compliance with the sampling
requirements of 401 KAR Chapter 8, samples shall be analyzed by a laboratory
certified by the cabinet as prescribed in 401 KAR 8:040, except that
measurements for turbidity, disinfectant residuals, and other parameters
specified by 40 C.F.R. 141.28 and 141.131 may be performed by a certified operator
or an individual under the supervision of a certified operator.
(16) Right of entry. The
cabinet may enter an establishment, facility, or other property of public and
semipublic water supplies in order to determine whether the supplies have acted
or are acting in compliance with applicable laws or regulations that the
cabinet has the authority to enforce.
(a) Entry may include
collection of water samples for laboratory analyses and inspection of records,
files, papers, processes, controls, and facilities required to be kept,
installed, or used under the provisions of 401 KAR Chapter 8.
(b) The cabinet or its
authorized agent may cause to be tested a feature of a public water system,
including its raw water source, to determine compliance with applicable legal requirements.
(17) Recommended
practices for water supply reservoirs to be used for drinking water. The
following practices may be employed by water systems that have a lake primarily
used as a source of raw drinking water:
(a) Prohibition of
swimming, water skiing, and other contact sports;
(b) Prohibition of large
motor-driven craft or any craft with toilets;
(c) A requirement that
an area at least 100 feet wide from the upper pool elevation be kept clear of
all sources of potential contamination such as septic tanks, drain fields,
livestock, and barns;
(d) Prohibition of effluent
from sewage treatment plants being discharged into the lake;
(e) Picnicking may be
permitted around the lake if plans for the development of a picnic area meet
regulatory requirements of the cabinet; and
(f) Implementation of a
nonpoint source pollution control plan.
(18) Water treatment
chemicals and system components. Chemical additives and protective materials,
such as paints and linings, may be used by a water system if they meet the
requirements established in the Great Lakes-Upper Mississippi River Board of
State Public Health and Environmental Managers' Recommended Standards for Water
Works.
(19) Disposal of
chlorinated water. Chlorinated water resulting from disinfection of treatment
facilities and new, repaired, or extended distribution systems shall be
disposed in a manner that shall not violate 401 KAR 10:031.
(20) Water loading
stations. A public water system that provides water loading stations for the
purpose of providing water to water hauling trucks or other bulk water devices
shall construct the stations to conform to the standards in the Great
Lakes-Upper Mississippi River Board of State Public Health and Environmental
Managers' Recommended Standards for Water Works.
Section 3. The cabinet
shall maintain records and submit reports as established in 40 C.F.R. 142.14, 142.15,
and 142.16(f).
Section 4. A public
water system may receive a variance or exemption from some provisions of 401
KAR Chapter 8 only in accordance with 40 C.F.R. 141.4.
Section 5. A public
water system may use noncentralized treatment devices only in accordance with
40 C.F.R. 141.100 or bottled water only in accordance with 40 C.F.R. 141,
Sections 141.101.
Section 6. Incorporation
by Reference. (1) "Recommended Standards for Water Works, 2003," A
Report of the Committee of the Great Lakes-Upper Mississippi River Board of
State Public Health and Environmental Managers, is incorporated by reference.
(2) This material may be
inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at
Division of Water, 200 Fair Oaks Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This material is also available the
division's Web site at http://water.ky.gov. (17 Ky.R. 588; Am. 1425; eff. 11-15-1990;
18 Ky.R. 1170; 1845; eff. 11-26-1991; 20 Ky.R. 3015; 21 Ky.R. 313; eff.
8-24-1994; 27 Ky.R. 1552; 2511; 2732; eff. 4-9-2001; 31 Ky.R. 154; 740; 1090;
eff. 1-4-2005; 35 Ky.R. 1517; 2010; eff. 4-3-2009; 36 Ky.R. 2088-A; 2321; eff.
6-3-2010; 37 Ky.R 2924; 38 Ky.R. 508; 10-7-11.)