Once every 5 years, in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, the US EPA is required to issue a list of unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems (PWSs). The final revisions to the fifth (5th) Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5 (UCMR5) were published on December 27, 2021.
What is a Public Water System?
A public water system provides water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances to at least 15 service connections or serves an average of at least 25 people for at least 60 days a year. A public water system may be publicly or privately owned.
Is my PWS required to monitor the UCMR5 contaminants?
All PWSs serving more than 10,000 people are required to participate in UCMR5 monitoring. Additionally, depending on program funding availability, all PWSs serving between 3,300 and 10,000 people and a representative sample of PWSs serving fewer than 3,300 people will be required by the US EPA to participate. The US EPA or their designated representative will contact the PWSs required to participate with more details on the monitoring and reporting.
What contaminants are included in UCMR5?
UCMR5 sampling and monitoring includes twenty-nine (29) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and one (1) metal (Lithium). Water samples are required to be taken at the entry points to the distribution system.
How are the unregulated contaminant monitoring results used?
The UMCR program was developed to aide in the determination of whether to regulate particular contaminants in the interest of protecting public health. Data obtained through UCMR monitoring is used in the assessment of contaminants on the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) and if the contaminant should require regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
For Community Water Systems (PWSs that operate year-round), the results of the UCMR5 monitoring are required to be published in the annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) or water quality report issued by the PWSs.
When will the UCMR5 monitoring occur?
The contaminants on the UCMR5 list will be required to be sampled for between 2023 and 2025. The US EPA or State agency will begin contacting PWSs about specific monitoring requirements in 2022.
Where can I find more information?
The complete final revisions to UCMR5 were published in the Federal Register. Refer to EPA’s website for more details: https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/fifth-unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule.
The US EPA will conduct outreach training sessions during 2022 and has scheduled stakeholder meeting webinars on March 16 and 17, 2022. The meetings will address: a general introduction to the UCMR program, PWSs subject to UCMR 5 requirements, the analytes to be monitored, monitoring locations and frequency, reporting requirements, ground water representative monitoring plans (GWRMPs), and the laboratory approval program. Refer to EPA’s website for more information and to register for the meetings. https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials.
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