Notices and News
Message from IDEM:
Boil Water Advisory-Still an Important Communication Tool!
By Lucio M. Ternieden
IDEM Drinking Water Branch
October 4, 2024
With the several impending new drinking water rules poised to go into effect in the next few months and years, water utility operators are increasingly in the spotlight! Not only are they responsible for the health and safety of their customers’ drinking water, but they must also become rule experts. The business of making good safe drinking water rests in the hands of the thousands of dedicated water operators and their colleagues in the water industry to make sure that the water we depend on each day is not only there in the morning as we make our coffee, but it also must meet ever increasing new regulatory requirements. It is with this in mind that I want to bring up some old business!
We must not forget the basics and principal practices of the day-to-day process of communicating with the customer when addressing the immediate emergency of a water leak or line break by issuing a Boil Water Advisory (BWA). It is easy to get caught up in the emergency of the situation and begin to figure out what is needed to stop the leak from getting any worse. While there are many things to consider in respect of actually digging up the area to get to the pipe, considerable amount of planning and preparation must not be ignored. Important things like calling before digging (811), knowing ahead of time where the lines are located, identifying valves, knowing what area is to be isolated and losing pressure, having all the needed tools and supplies available, and equally important is communication with the affected area customers.
Issuing a BWA ahead of any line work is crucial to a successful repair or replacement of water lines. I believe that customers are fundamentally understanding that water distribution system work is inevitable and are supportive of any upgrades or maintenance. However, I also think that adequate communication and engagement from the utility is very important to foster, develop, and continue a long-considered tenuous relationship. Issuing a BWA signals to the customer that not only there will be work performed in their street or neighborhood, but also that the utility cares for their well-being enough to keep them informed of the activities around their home. It gives direction, and it makes the event manageable within a specific timeframe at which the customer can prepare for and work around if needed. BWAs address the potential of contamination to the customer’s water supply. This must be managed carefully and given the importance that it deserves.
Utilities must not be afraid to talk to their customers and the majority of operators that I talk to are very open to listening to their customers’ concerns and will go to great lengths to address any issues they may have. Unfortunately, I have also come across situations where communication was not an important component. We generally will receive more calls and complaints from water systems which do not actively engage with their customer base and when inspectors investigate, it is often true that the customer just wants to know what is going on, that their voice is heard, and that the water at their home is safe for their families.
In the last couple of years, IDEM has received an increased number of calls from customers regarding their water quality. IDEM Field Inspectors must investigate each complaint to address the issue. Once we have a good understanding of the customer’s issue, our first call is to the water operator. We need to get both sides to determine if it is an isolated issue or otherwise. Operators will work with the field inspector, follow their own procedures, guidelines as well as any requests or suggestions from the field inspector. Then IDEM will contact the complainant to relay any progress, resolution or findings. There are times when the situation is not this simple and more must be done; however, IDEM will encourage customers to continue to work directly with their utility to notify them of where issues are appearing in the distribution system.
IDEM is happy to announce a new resource for customers and operators! Over several years IDEM has developed various guidance documents for BWAs, pressure loss/water main repairs, and discolored water events. We have now consolidated this information on our website. You can access it at our Drinking Water site (www.IN.gov/IDEM/cleanwater/drinking-water). It is called “Boil Water Advisories (BWA) & Discolored Water Events” (https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/drinking-water/boil-water-advisories-bwa-and-discolored-water-events/). This website gives customers and operators general information on BWA and various links to the guidance documents relating to BWA, Discolored Water Events, and other support documentation. You can access the Drinking Water Branch staff listing, Inspector Map, and file an environmental complaint.
I also want to introduce to you the “Boil Water Advisory Questionnaire”. This questionnaire is designed to provide IDEM with the specifics of your BWA event and standardize the data gathering relative to BWAs. It does not replace the actual notification given to the customer but will give IDEM the specifics about the event which are not generally included in the notification. It will also provide some guidance for those utilities which already have a robust BWA notification process. The USEPA recently (May 2024) released their report on BWAs. The twenty-one-page document is called “National Occurrence and Causes of BWA in the United States Report to Congress”. It provides a brief description of water systems, numbers of people served by groundwater or surface water, categorizes the types of BWAs they reviewed and describes their method of acquiring information. While it is no surprise that the bulk of the BWAs in the report are due to water main breaks/leaks, repairs and loss of pressure, I was surprised to learn that there is no national standard in gathering this information and the authors of the report resorted to googling “BWA” in various States to see what information they could get. Very few states are actually gathering this information and fewer still have a way that the public can access it. Only twenty States provided information to this report and Indiana was one of the twenty.
Indiana has requirements in which a water system must notify customers and IDEM of any “situation which carries significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure”, this is to say that if any portion of the distribution system loses pressure and affects customers, there is an increased potential of contamination and a BWA must be issued to those customers warning them of this risk. The development and use of the BWA questionnaire will allow IDEM to gather better information and begin the process to address this data gap. IDEM will continue to work with water systems on their immediate BWA events and provide any technical assistance that is needed. We will be able to then better report these numbers to USEPA, to the governor, and have it available to all Hoosiers.
While the need to issue a BWA is primarily driven by the significant potential of adverse health effects to the customers by the introduction of bacteria and other contaminants into the water system; customers generally complain about discolored water. The term “discolored” means “changed in color in a way that is less attractive” (Oxford Languages, Google Dictionary). This is particularly true when the water at a customer’s home is red, brown, black, pink, or green. There are many reasons why the color is what it is, but IDEM has received hundreds of red/brown/black watercolor complaints in the last year. The issue is not a mystery because Indiana’s groundwater is abundant in naturally occurring minerals like iron and manganese. These minerals when introduced to disinfection drop out of solution and deposit out in the distribution system waiting for a chance to be stirred up and move further down the line. Customers who are unfortunate enough to draw from this water will experience a discolored water event. Call and complaints will soon follow. IDEM’s new website seeks to educate customers on these issues and hopefully are more understanding of the struggles water operators must endure.
It is also true that iron and manganese have secondary limits and are not regulated contaminants. Iron has a secondary standard of 300 micrograms per liter (ug/L), and manganese has a secondary standard of 50 ug/L. The USEPA has also set a lifetime health advisory for manganese at 300 ug/L. These secondary standards are non-enforceable; however, they are in place to guide water systems to minimize problems with taste, odor, and color. Nobody wants or deserves discolored water, especially as an ongoing problem and IDEM can compel and will work with water system to address the immediate concern while working toward a long-term solution. Ultimately, it is the utility’s responsibility to provide a safe, clean and continuous water supply.
IDEM encourages continued engagement with water customers and the annual review of your Emergency Response Plans (ERP) to ensure that information is being shared appropriately and situations and scenarios are covered thoroughly. As always do not hesitate to contact me at LTernied@idem.in.gov or 317/234-7461 with any questions.