| (iv) Discuss other options consumers can take to reduce
exposure to lead in drinking water, such as alternative sources or
treatment of water.
(v) Suggest that parents have their child's blood tested
for lead.
(E) Explain why there are elevated levels of lead in
the system's drinking water (if known) and what the water system is
doing to reduce the lead levels in homes and buildings in this area.
(F) "For more information, call us at {INSERT YOUR
SYSTEM's PHONE NUMBER} if applicable) or visit our website at {INSERT
YOUR WEBSITE HERE}. For more information on reducing lead exposure
around your home or building and the health effects of lead, visit
EPA's website at www.epa.gov/lead or
contact your health care provider."
(G) In addition to including the elements specified
in subparagraphs (A) - (F) of this paragraph, community water systems
must:
(i) tell consumers how to get their water tested, and
(ii) discuss lead in plumbing components and the difference
between low lead and lead free.
(H) For public water systems serving a large proportion
of non-English speaking consumers, as determined by the executive
director, the public education materials must contain information
in the appropriate language(s) regarding the importance of the notice
or contain a telephone number or address where persons served may
contact the water system to obtain a translated copy of the public
education materials or to request assistance in the appropriate language.
(2) Delivery of public education materials by community
systems. Systems must provide public education materials meeting the
criteria of paragraph (1) of this subsection to the public in accordance
with this paragraph.
(A) A community system must directly deliver printed
public education materials to all bill paying customers.
(i) The community system must deliver public education
materials to local public health agencies even if they are not located
within the water system's service area, along with an informational
notice that encourages distribution to all the organization's potentially
affected customers or community water system's users. The system must
contact the local public health agencies directly by phone or in person.
The local public health agencies may provide a specific list of additional
community based organizations serving target populations, which may
include organizations outside the service area of the water system.
If such lists are provided, systems must deliver public education
materials to all organizations on the provided lists.
(ii) The community system must contact customers who
are most at risk by delivering public education materials to the organizations
listed in this clause that are located within the water system's service
area, along with an informational notice that encourages distribution
to all the organization's potentially affected customers or community
water system's users.
(I) Public and private schools or school boards;
(II) Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Head Start
programs;
(III) Public and private hospitals and medical clinics;
(IV) Pediatricians;
(V) Family planning clinics; and
(VI) Local welfare agencies.
(iii) The community system must make a good faith effort
to locate organizations of the types listed in this clause within
the service area and deliver public education materials to them, along
with an informational notice that encourages distribution to all potentially
affected customers or users. The good faith effort to contact at-risk
customers may include requesting a specific contact list of these
organizations from the local public health agencies, even if the agencies
are not located within the water system's service area.
(I) Licensed childcare centers;
(II) Public and private preschools; and
(III) Obstetricians-Gynecologists and Midwives.
(iv) The community system must implement at least three
activities from one or more categories listed in this clause. The
educational content and selection of these activities must be determined
in consultation with the executive director.
(I) Public service announcements;
(II) Paid advertisements;
(III) Public area information displays;
(IV) E-mails to customers;
(V) Public meetings;
(VI) Household deliveries;
(VII) Targeted Individual Customer Contact;
(VIII) Direct material distribution to all multi-family
homes and institutions; or
(IX) Other methods approved by the executive director.
(v) At least quarterly, the community system must provide
information on or in each water bill as long as the system exceeds
the action level for lead. The message on the water bill must include
the following statement exactly as written except for the text in
brackets for which the water system must include system-specific information:
"{INSERT NAME OF WATER SYSTEM} found high levels of lead in drinking
water in some homes. Lead can cause serious health problems. For more
information please call {INSERT NAME OF WATER SYSTEM}" Upon written
request, the executive director may allow a separate mailing of public
education materials to customers if the water system cannot place
the information on water bills.
(vi) A community system serving more than 100,000 people
must post public education materials on the water system's website.
(vii) The community system must submit a press release
to newspaper, television and radio stations.
(B) With executive director approval, a community public
water system serving 3,300 or fewer people may limit certain aspects
of their public education programs by distributing the public education
materials required by subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph to facilities
and organizations served by the public water system that are most
likely to be visited regularly by pregnant women and children. In
addition:
(i) The executive director may waive the requirement
of subparagraph (A)(vii) of this paragraph, to submit press releases
to the media, as long as the public water system distributes notices
to every household served by the system.
(ii) The public water system shall implement at least
one of the requirements found in subparagraph (A)(iv) of this paragraph.
(C) A community water system may apply to the executive
director, in writing, to use only the text specified in paragraph
(1)(A) - (F) of this subsection, omitting the text specified in paragraph
(1)(G) of this subsection, and to post public education materials
as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection, omitting the tasks
in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph if:
(i) The system is a facility, such as a prison or a
hospital, where the population served is not capable of or is prevented
from making improvements to plumbing or installing point of use treatment
devices; and
(ii) The system provides water as part of the cost
of services provided and does not separately charge for water consumption.
(3) Delivery of public education materials by nontransient,
noncommunity systems. Systems must provide public education materials
meeting the criteria of paragraph (1) of this subsection to the public
in accordance with this paragraph.
(A) The system must post informational posters on lead
in drinking water in a public place or common area in each of the
buildings served by the system.
(B) The system must distribute informational brochures
on lead in drinking water to each person served by the nontransient,
noncommunity water system. The executive director may allow the system
to utilize electronic transmission in lieu of or combined with printed
materials as long as it achieves at least the same coverage.
(4) Frequency and timing of public education. A system
that exceeds the lead action level must provide educational materials
meeting the content requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection
to the public within 60 days after the end of the monitoring period
in which the exceedance occurred. For systems that are required to
conduct monitoring annually or less frequently, the end of the monitoring
period is September 30 of the calendar year in which the sampling
occurs, or, if the executive director has established an alternate
monitoring period, the last day of that period.
(A) Frequency and timing of public education activities
for community systems. As long as a community water system exceeds
the action level, it must repeat the activities of this paragraph
at the frequency contained in this paragraph.
(i) A community system shall repeat tasks contained
in paragraph (2)(A)(v) of this subsection every billing cycle.
Cont'd... |
