18 AAC 80.620. Criteria for avoiding filtration

(a) Unless the department or EPA has determined, in writing, that filtration is required as described in 18 AAC 80.650, the provisions of this section apply, as of the following dates, to the owner or operator of a Class A or Class B public water system who seeks to avoid filtration:

(1) for an existing system that uses a surface water source, beginning on March 18, 1993;

(2) for a new system that uses a surface water source, within 18 months after the department signs the final approval to operate portion of the construction and operation certificate for the system under 18 AAC 80.210(k) ; or

(3) for a system that uses a GWUDISW source, within 18 months after the department determines under 18 AAC 80.605 that the groundwater source is under the direct influence of surface water.

(b) Source water quality must meet the following conditions:

(1) the fecal coliform density must be less than or equal to 20 per 100 ml, or the total coliform density must be less than or equal to 100 per 100 ml, measured as required by 18 AAC 80.1100(k) and by 18 AAC 80.660(c) and (d), in at least 90 percent of the measurements made for the six previous months during which the system served water to the public; if a system measures both fecal and total coliforms, the fecal coliform criterion, but not the total coliform criterion, must be met;

(2) the turbidity level may not exceed five NTUs, measured as required by 18 AAC 80.340(d) (1), 18 AAC 80.660(e) , and 18 AAC 80.665(e) , unless

(A) the department finds that unusual and unpredictable circumstances caused a turbidity event; and

(B) not more than two turbidity events have occurred in the past 12 months during which the system served water to the public, and not more than five events have occurred in the past 120 months during which the system served water to the public.

(1) have met the requirements

(A) of 18 AAC 80.640(a) (1) in at least 11 of the 12 previous months during which the system served water to the public, unless

(i) the system failed to meet those requirements during two of the 12 previous months during which the system served water to the public; and

(ii) the department finds that at least one of the failures described in (i) of this subparagraph was caused by unusual and unpredictable circumstances;

(B) of 18 AAC 80.640(a) (2) at all times the system serves water to the public;

(C) of 18 AAC 80.635(c) (3) at all times the system serves water to the public, unless the department finds that a failure was caused by unusual and unpredictable circumstances; and

(D) of 18 AAC 80.635(c) (4) and (5) at all times during which the system serves water to the public, unless the department finds, under (1) of this section, that failure to meet these requirements was not caused by a deficiency in treatment of the source water;

(2) maintain a watershed control program that minimizes the potential for contamination by Giardia lamblia cysts and viruses in the source water, characterizes the watershed hydrology and land ownership, identifies watershed characteristics and activities that may have an adverse effect on source water quality, and monitors the occurrence of activities that may have an adverse effect on source water quality; the owner or operator shall request initial approval of a watershed control program from the department in writing; subject to (k) of this section, the department will issue written approval of programs meeting the criteria; an approval may contain conditions with which the owner or operator must comply to maintain approval; an approval issued under this paragraph remains valid if the owner or operator continues to adequately maintain and implement the program; the department will determine whether the watershed control program is adequate to meet the goal of limiting potential contamination by Giardia lamblia cysts and viruses; the department will base the determination on

(A) the comprehensiveness of the watershed review;

(B) the effectiveness of the owner or operator's program to monitor and control detrimental activities occurring in the watershed; and

(3) demonstrate, through local ordinances, ownership, or written agreements with landowners within the watershed, that the system can control human activities that may have an adverse impact on the microbiological quality of the source water;

(4) submit no later than July 1 of each year an annual report for the preceding calendar year to the department for review and approval; the report must

(A) meet the report certification requirements of 18 AAC 80.1900;

(B) identify special concerns about the watershed and how they are being handled;

(D) describe adverse activities expected to occur in the future and how the owner or operator expects to address them;

(5) be subject to an annual onsite inspection described in (d) of this section;

(6) ensure that the system does not become a source of a waterborne disease outbreak or, if the system becomes a source of an outbreak, modify the system, with prior department approval and as set out in (h) of this section, to prevent a subsequent outbreak;

(7) comply with the MCL for total coliforms in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (5) in at least 11 of the 12 previous months during which the system served water to the public unless the department finds, under (1) of this section, that failure to meet this requirement was not caused by a deficiency in treatment of the source water;

(8) comply with the MCLs for disinfection byproducts in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(C); and

(9) pay the fee required by 18 AAC 80.1910(b)(10).

(d) The owner or operator shall ensure that an individual approved by the department under 18 AAC 80.685 conducts an annual onsite inspection of the public water system as required under (c)(5) of this section to evaluate compliance with 18 AAC 80.600 - 18 AAC 80.685. The inspection must include a review of the watershed control program prepared under (c)(2) of this section, the disinfection treatment process, the source intake, the equipment maintenance program, operating procedures, and data records. A report of the onsite inspection summarizing all findings must be prepared each year. Based on the report, the department will determine whether the public water system may continue to avoid filtration. The onsite inspection report must

(1) meet the report certification requirements of 18 AAC 80.1900;

(2) be submitted to the department within 30 days after the inspection; if the department conducts the inspection, the department will provide a copy of its report to the owner or operator within 30 days after the inspection;

(3) indicate the adequacy of the design and maintenance of the watershed control program and the disinfection treatment process; and

(4) include

(A) a review of the effectiveness of the watershed control program;

(B) a review of the physical condition of the source intake and how well the source intake is protected;

(C) a review of the system's equipment maintenance program to ensure that the probability for failure of the disinfection process is low;

(D) an inspection of the disinfection equipment for physical deterioration;

(E) a review of operating procedures;

(F) a review of data records to ensure that required tests are being conducted and recorded and that disinfection is effectively practiced; and

(G) identification of any improvements needed in the equipment, system maintenance and operation, or data collection.

(e) Subject to the availability of appropriations from the legislature and the staffing requirements of other projects, and if the department determines that an inspection serves the interests of public health, the department will conduct the inspection required under (c)(5) of this section and prepare the onsite inspection report described in (d) of this section. In addition to the fee required by 18 AAC 80.1910(b)(10), the owner or operator shall pay the fee required by 18 AAC 80.1910(b)(3) for an inspection conducted under this subsection.

(f) An owner or operator who has not installed filtration is in violation of a treatment technique requirement if

(1) the turbidity level, measured as required by 18 AAC 80.340(d) (1) and 18 AAC 80.660(e) , exceeds five NTUs; or

(2) the system is identified as a source of a waterborne disease outbreak.

(g) The owner or operator of a system that fails to meet a requirement of (a) - (d) of this section shall install filtration as required by 18 AAC 80.650.

(h) In determining whether an outbreak has occurred and whether the public water system was the source of the outbreak under (c)(6) of this section, the department will consult the Department of Health and Social Services, division of public health. If the system is identified as the source of a disease outbreak, the department will ascertain the physical system configuration and operating practices in place at the time of the outbreak and identify the cause of the outbreak within the public water system. The department will determine whether the physical configuration or operating practices have changed since the outbreak and whether the changes are sufficient to prevent another disease outbreak. The department will require physical changes, including the installation of alarms, automatic shutoff valves, and redundant components as the department determines necessary to prevent another outbreak, unless the department, after considering the possibility for human error, determines that operational changes alone are likely to prevent another outbreak. If further changes are required to prevent another outbreak, the department will notify the owner or operator and will specify the nature of the required changes, a time frame for implementing the changes, and interim measures required, if any, to prevent another outbreak. If the changes are not sufficient to prevent another outbreak, the department will notify the owner or operator in writing of the need to install treatments as required by this chapter, offering the owner or operator an opportunity to comment on the decision, correct factual information, and appeal the decision under 18 AAC 80.1920.

(i) For purposes of (c)(1) of this section, an event is an unusual and unpredictable event if the department determines that the event does not have a recurrence interval or that the probability of occurrence is less than 10 percent in a year. In making the determination, the department will consider

(1) supporting information, if any, provided by the owner or operator;

(2) whether an event lasts more than a few days;

(3) whether the event causes routinely reported water quality parameters to be exceeded;

(4) whether the owner or operator installs modifications to the system to decrease the likelihood of an event recurring; and

(5) whether an event or its recurrence poses an unreasonable risk to public health.

(j) The department, after making a determination under (h) of this section, will notify the owner or operator in writing and provide an opportunity for comment and appeal the decision under 18 AAC 80.1920.

(k) Based on information obtained from the onsite inspection report required under 18 AAC 80.620(d) , the department will revoke watershed control program approval issued under (c)(2) of this section if the department finds that an owner or operator does not adequately maintain or implement a watershed control program. If revoking an approval under this subsection, the department will provide

(1) written notice to the owner or operator describing specific deficiencies;

(2) an opportunity for the owner or operator to

(A) correct information and comment on the notice;

(B) correct deficiencies within a time specified by the department; and

( l ) The owner or operator may request a waiver of the requirements of (c)(1)(D) and (c)(7) of this section on the basis that the failure was not caused by a deficiency in treatment of the source water. The request must include a summary of events leading to the problem, a summary of measures taken to correct the problem, and a conclusion as to the cause of the problem, with supporting documentation. The department will investigate the failure, including an onsite visit as necessary to determine the cause, and will review the information provided by the owner or operator. The department will issue written findings and conclusions as to the cause of a failure, the adequacy of corrective action, if any, and whether the cause was a result of a deficiency in treatment of the source water or whether the problem occurred after treatment. The department will provide the owner or operator with an opportunity to review, comment on, and appeal the department's findings under 18 AAC 80.1920.

(m) In this section, "previous months" means

(1) the months preceding the owner or operator's request to avoid filtration; or

(2) if the department has issued the approval to avoid filtration under this section, the months preceding each onsite inspection under (c)(5) and (d) of this section.

History: Eff. 10/1/99, Register 151; am 3/25/2001, Register 157; am 9/28/2001, Register 159

Authority: AS 46.03.020

Editor's note: For guidance on watershed control programs, see the Alaska Water Treatment Guidance Manual, referenced in 18 AAC 80.010(d) .

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