HALOACETIC ACID GROUPS REPORTING UCMR 5 RESULTS

Water utilities in the United States monitor for more than 100 contaminants and must meet 91 regulations for water safety and quality.

Should other contaminants be regulated? The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments require that once every five years the EPA issues a new list of up to 30 unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems. Unregulated contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water standards.

The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA in determining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether future regulation is warranted. The fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) includes assessment for 29 PFAs (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and lithium. The rule requires testing for these substances in four consecutive months. Fort Worth began their sampling in January 2023 at the distribution entry points for each treatment plant, except North Holly. North Holly was down at the time so it’s fourth quarter of sampling will occur in January 2024.

Southlake’s testing period is from November 2023 through August 2024. According to federal regulations, water systems must notify their customers of the results within 12 months of receiving the results and in the annual water quality reports. The 12-month time frame applies to the individual quarterly results. Southlake will include UCMR 5 sample results in the 2024 and 2025 annual water quality reports.

For additional information, please visit: www.epa.gov/dwucmr.