Watershed Management for Potable Water Supply Assessing the New York City Strategy (2000) / Chapter Skim
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3 Evolution of Key Environmental Laws, Regulations, and Policies
3 Evolution of Key Environmental Laws, Regulations, and Policies
Pages 88-129
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From page 88... ...
Some stakeholders are most concerned with waterborne diseases, others with the chronic effects of chemicals used in water treatment, and others with ecological and aesthetic considerations. In addition to multiple stakeholder concerns, water supply managers and environmental regulators must also contend with increased public awareness 88
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From page 89... ...
Consumer confidence in the water supply is a complex issue that must be taken into consideration in making management decisions. The most prominent public concerns regarding drinking water quality and water supply systems are discussed below, followed by a description of the relevant environmental laws and regulations that have been developed to address these concerns.
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From page 93... ...
reports that descriptions of water treatment are found in Sanskrit medical lore and Egyptian inscriptions dating back to the fifteenth century B.C. Boiling water and filtration through porous vessels or through sand and gravel have been used to improve water quality for thousands of years.
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From page 94... ...
1892 Rienecke observes that increases in the bacterial content of drinking water in Hamburg, Germany, corresponded to increases in infant mortality and reports a 50 percent decline in infant mortality from diarrhea! disease in the year after Hamburg started to filter the public water supply.
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From page 95... ...
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From page 96... ...
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From page 97... ...
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From page 98... ...
Enteric protozoa, on the other hand, are relatively resistant to chlorine disinfection but are typically removed by the physical processes of coagulation and flocculation followed by filtration. Unfortunately, these treatment processes do not guarantee complete removal of microbial pathogens from drinking water, as evidenced by outbreaks of waterborne disease associated with water supplies that have conventional treatment.
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From page 102... ...
For carcinogens and pathogens, MCLGs have currently been set at zero in order to provide complete public health protection. For some contaminants, EPA has developed MCLs, which are enforceable concentrations of chemicals that must not be exceeded in a drinking water supply.
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From page 103... ...
At the present time, the most common long-term approach to preventing the formation of DBPs is precursor control. Lowering concentrations of humic and fulvic acids in stormwater and lowering concentrations of algae in water supply reservoirs are important first steps.
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From page 105... ...
All these problems are directly or indirectly related to biological growth within water supply reservoirs and to how that growth responds to changing environmental conditions. Drinking Water Aesthetics The public expects its drinking water to be clear and free of taste and odors.
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From page 106... ...
matter. These particles scatter light of specific wavelengths and can be responsible for the observed color of water supply reservoirs.
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From page 107... ...
These laws target microbial pathogens and associated waterborne disease, chemical contaminants of drinking water, and aesthetic and ecological considerations related to water quality. The CWA focuses jointly on human and aquatic ecosystem health by establishing a water quality standard of "fishable and swimmable" that is applied to all bodies of water, including sources of drinking water.
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From page 108... ...
Safe Drinking Water Act In the early 1970s, several scientific factors came together that prompted Congress to draft new legislation on drinking water quality. First, a community water supply study showed that 41 percent of 969 water supplies did not meet current drinking water standards set by the U.S.
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From page 109... ...
that is issued by EPA to the water supply system. Source Water Quality.
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From page 110... ...
Four other extremely important criteria have been established for unfiltered water supply systems. First, an effective watershed control program must be established and maintained.
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From page 111... ...
. The ICR mandates water supply systems to collect water quality data that will be used to form a national database of important parameters
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From page 112... ...
The upper bound on disinfectant residuals was formerly determined by the taste and odor of the finished water. The MRDL for chlorine, the TABLE 3-6 Anticipated Regulatory Schedule for the Disinfectants/Disinfection By-Products Rule and the Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Proposed Final Effective Stage 1 D/DBP 1994 Dec.
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From page 113... ...
These placeholder MCLs, which represent starting points for the negotiation process, are 0.040 mg/L for TTHMs and 0.030 mglL for HAA5. Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule.
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From page 115... ...
In addition to strengthening the nation's water quality standards system, this legislation regulates discharges into bodies of water, it encourages the use of the best available technology for pollution control, and in the past it provided billions of dollars for construction of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)
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From page 116... ...
The water quality parameters that are most important for a drinking water supply include certain microbes, turbidity, nutrients, total organic carbon, and toxic compounds, examples of which are listed in Table 3-7. Water quality standards across the states vary considerably for specific parameters.
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From page 117... ...
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From page 118... ...
It specifies the amount of a pollutant or other stressor that needs to be reduced to meet water quality standards, allocates pollution control responsibilities among pollution sources (both point and nonpoint) in a watershed, and provides a basis for taking actions needed to restore a body of water.
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From page 119... ...
, then it was meeting effluent standards. Over time, the impact of point source discharges on the water quality of receiving bodies has become important, and there has been a corresponding evolution away from technologybased effluent limits toward water quality-based effluent limits (WQBEL)
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From page 120... ...
Shippen, EPA, personal communication, 1998~. After a state has established use classifications and water quality criteria, it must develop an antidegradation policy that distinguishes three levels of water quality: Tier 1 (the lowest level of quality)
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From page 121... ...
must ensure New York's compliance with the CWA. NYS DEC determines the use classifications and water quality criteria for all state waters, it oversees the TMDL program, it operates the SPDES permitting program for WWTPs, and it is responsible for developing and implementing the state antidegradation policy.
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From page 122... ...
This voluntary program allows New York City to acquire fee titles or conservation easements to vacant water quality-sensitive watershed lands on a "willing buyer/willing seller" basis. All titles and conservation easements are held in perpetuity.
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From page 123... ...
The objective of this plan is to develop a comprehensive approach to identify significant sources of pollution, to recommend measures for improving water quality, and to protect the character of watershed communities east of the Hudson River. In addition to the Watershed Protection and Partnership Programs, the MOA established the Watershed Protection and Partnership Council to provide broad oversight of New York City watershed management.
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From page 124... ...
As part of its many responsibilities under the filtration avoidance determination, NYC DOH monitors waterborne disease occurrence in the City by a variety of methods discussed in Chapter 6. NYC DOH and NYC DEP work together to determine the prevalence of waterborne disease and its possible sources in the watershed, the water supply system, or the distribution system.
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From page 126... ...
1996. R18-11-1 Appendix A Numeric Water Quality Standards.
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From page 127... ...
1997b. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule; Notice of Data Availability, Proposed Rule.
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From page 128... ...
. Water Quality Regulations: Surface Water and Groundwater Classifications and Standards.
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From page 129... ...
1999. Clean Water Act Reauthorization.
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