CE 428 Water and Wastewater Treatment Design
Major Regulations Related to Water
S.K. Ong
1. SOME MAJOR US ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS RELATED TO WATER
Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Clean Water Act (CWA)
Water Quality Act
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
1948, amended in 1958, 1972, 1977
1977, amended in 1987, 1994, 2000
1965, amended in 1977, 1987
1974, amended in 1986, 1996
2. CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF REGULATIONS GOVERNING DRINKING WATER QUALITY
1893
US Congress enacted the Interstate Quarantine Act authorizing US Public Health Service (USPHS) to
promulgate and enforce regulations aimed at stopping the spread of diseases across national, state and
territorial boundaries. The first water-related regulation, adopted in 1912, prohibited the use of the
common drinking cup on interstate carriers such as trains.
1914
The first federal drinking water standard (DWS) was adopted. The provisions of the DWS of 1914 were
limited to the bacteriological quality of water at 2 coliforms/100 mL for total bacterial plate count. This
standard was commonly referred to as the "Treasury Standard" and only applies to water supplied to the
public by interstate carriers such as ships and trains. This standard was widely adopted by state and local
governments and was revised in 1925, 1942, 1946, and 1962. The 1962 DWS included mandatory limits
for health related chemical and biological impurities and recommended limits for impurities for appearance,
taste and odor. As in the original intent of this DWS, the regulation were legally binding at the federal level
on only 700 water systems that supplied common carriers in interstate commerce (fewer than 2 percent of
the nation's water supply systems). Therefore the DWS was limited as an enforcement tool.
1969
Initial action was taken by USPHS to review the DWS of 1962. A comprehensive study of water supplies in
the US (known as the Community Water Supply Study) was conducted. The study surveyed 969 public
water supply systems (approx. 5 % of the national total). The results of the study (released in 1970)
revealed that 41% of the systems studied did not meet the limits established in the 1962 DWS. In the
meantime, the Nixon administration in 1970 established the US Environmental Protection Agency (US
EPA) and EPA was given the task of reviewing the water standards.
1974
On Dec 16, 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was signed into law providing for the
establishment of primary drinking water regulations to be applied to all public water systems. Development
of the primary drinking water regulations was to take place in two stages: an interim and a revised version.
The National Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NIPDWR) were promulgated on Dec 25, 1975
and became effective on June 24, 1977.
1979
On July 19, 1979 the National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations (NSDWR) were set.
1986
Safe Drinking Water Act was amended to strengthen the SDWA, particularly the regulation-setting process.
2.1 Statutory purpose
SDWA ............to assure that water supply systems serving the public meet minimum national standards
for the protection of public health, i.e., set drinking water quality standards........
 mandated the establishment of drinking water regulations that were the first to apply to all public water systems
 State governments were to accept the major responsibility for implementation and enforcement
 "public water systems" has 15 or more service connections or regularly serves at least 25 people daily at least 60
days per year.
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 Divided into two categories:
community - serves water to a resident population (year round)
Non-community - serves water to a nonresident population
 set National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) or primary standards (Maximum contaminant level
(MCL)) for public health and enforceable,
(NSDWR) or secondary standards - related to aesthetic quality of drinking water
 provides federal money to states for the construction of treatment plants and enforcement
1986 Amendments
 MCLGs and MCL must be established for 83 contaminants
MCLG - nonenforceable health-based goals - to be set at a level which no known or anticipated adverse
effect on human health occurs and that allows for an adequate margin of safety without regard to the cost of
reaching these goals
MCL - enforceable standards set as close to the MCLGs as feasible with the use of the best
technology treatment techniques and other means that are available taking cost into consideration.
Action Level - not an MCL but represents a level at which the utility must take additional action under its
control and inform consumers about their actions
e.g., MCLG for lead level set at 0.0 mg/L while the MCL specifies TT - stands for treatment
technique, consists of corrosion control and lead removal.
 Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) - require treatment of surface water supplies or groundwater supplies
under direct influence of surface water
- require filtration and disinfection for public supplies systems using surface water sources
3. REGULATIONS OF BODIES OF WATER AND WASTEWATER DISCHARGE TO RECEIVING
WATERS
1948
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) – enacted to "enhance the quality and value of our water
resources and to establish a national policy for the prevention, control and abatement of water pollution."
Included funds for state water pollution control agencies, limited provisions for legal action against
polluters.
1958
Amended to broaden Federal government’s authority and enforcement, funds for water pollution research
and training, construction grants to municipalities.
1965
Water Quality Act - States set water quality standards, states prepare implementation plans.
1972
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments changed the thrust of enforcement from water
quality standards, regulating the amount of pollutants in a given body of water, to effluent limitations,
regulating the amount of pollutants being discharged from particular point sources. It mandated that US
EPA publish water quality criteria accurately reflecting the latest scientific knowledge on the kind and
extent of all identifiable effects on health and welfare which may be expected from the presence of
pollutants in any body of water.
- Zero discharge of pollutants to bodies of water was to be achieved by 1985 through the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits (5 year term; renewable; revoke or modify for cause)
- By July 1, 1983, public treatment works must use the best practicable technology (BPT) over the life of
the works. New sources of discharge are required to use the best available technology (BAT) as determined
by the Administrator and published in the regulations.
- Conventional pollutants are biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5), total suspended solids (TSS), fecal
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coliform, pH, and oil and grease; toxic pollutants are those pollutants listed by the Administrator under
CWA Section 307(a); nonconventional pollutants are those that are neither toxic nor listed as conventional.
- is authorized to make grants of $18 billion to the States according to need for construction of new
treatment works during the fiscal years 1973-1975. The Federal share for these projects is 75% with the
remainder to be divided between State and local governments and industrial users.
1977
Amended and became known as the Clean Water Act and later as amended by the Water Quality Act of
1987 .......to restore the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's waters......
- make all waters fishable and swimmable
- discharge of pollutants into navigable waters or waters to be controlled including nonpoint source
discharges. Set permit program for discharges - NPDES
- publish pretreatment standards requiring any industry discharging into a municipal sewage
treatment plant to pretreat its effluent so that it does not interfere with the operation of the plant
- prohibit the discharge of toxic pollutants, publish a list of toxic pollutants and effluent limitations
for these substances. BAT requirements for toxic substances.
1987
- the construction grants program is phased out and replaced with the State Water Pollution Control
Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding
strategy addressed water quality needs by building on EPA-State partnerships.
1994
- institute the National Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) policy - planning, selection, design and
implementation of CSO management practices
2000
- Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) - requires states to developed prioritized list of pollutedor impaired
water bodies and to establish the maximum amount of pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet
water quality standards
Strategies for Control of Waste Discharges
1. Stream Standards: water quality standards set on the stream;
Advantage:
directly regulate water quality of receiving water;
Disadvantage:
which effluent compound to control and by how much
Water Quality Criteria: specify concentrations of water constituents which, if not exceeded, are expected
to result in an aquatic ecosystem suitable for higher uses of water. They are derived from scientific facts
obtained from experimental or in situ observations under defined or regulated environmental conditions
Example: Water Quality Act of 1965 requires states to classify streams by the following standards:
Stream
A
B
C
D
E
F
Best Uses
drinking water
(after disinfection)
water contact sports, fishing etc.
Non-contact sports, no swimming. Fish
and wildlife propagation
Agricultural, industrial, No swimming,
fishing or boating
Waste disposal and transportation
Waste disposal
Dissolved Oxygen
> 5 (trout)
>4 (non-trout)
>4
>4
Coliform
<50/100 mL
<500/l00 mL
<5000/100 mL
>3
>0
>0
State of Iowa
Designated Uses:
Surface waters in Iowa are designated for one or a combination of the following uses:
Class A. Primary Contact Recreation uses. Waters are protected for primary contact water recreation (for
example, swimming and water skiing).
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Class B. Aquatic Life uses. Waters are protected for wildlife, fish, aquatic and semi-aquatic life and
secondary contact water uses. Class "B" waters are divided into the following categories:

Class "B" (CW) (coldwater aquatic life): streams or lakes that support trout and associated aquatic
communities

Class "B" (WW) (significant resource warm water): lakes or rivers which support warm water
game fish and associated aquatic communities, including sensitive species

Class "B" (LR) (limited resource warm water): streams which support limited aquatic life
populations primarily composed of minnows and other nongame fish species

Class "B" (LW) (lakes and wetlands): artificial impoundments and natural lakes with lake-like
conditions that support warm water game fish and associated aquatic communities
Class C. Drinking Water uses. Rivers or lakes are protected as a raw water source of potable water
(suitable for drinking).
General Uses
All surface waters in Iowa, including those designated for Class "A", "B", and/or "C" uses, are classified for
the following general uses: livestock and wildlife watering, noncontact recreation, crop irrigation, and
industrial, agricultural, domestic, and other incidental water withdrawal uses. These general uses for all
state waters are protected by eight narrative water quality criteria that are designed to prevent gross
pollution and acutely toxic conditions. See
http://www.state.ia.us/dnr/organiza/epd/wtresrce/wquality/wqgen.htm
2. Effluent Standards - quality standards set on the effluent discharge;
Advantage - easy to administer and equitable;
Disadvantage - expensive and enforcement problems
Water Quality Standard: are legal limits on the minimum quality of water allowed in a particular body of
water - a value backed by enforcement. They are based on water quality criteria and other information such
as economic, technical and social which are all used to estimate an acceptable level of damage or response common practice is 1 in 106 chance of getting cancer.
- Amended Clean Water Act of 1977 require
- Best Conventional Technology (BCT) for conventional pollutants such as TDS, BOD, pH etc.
- Best Available Technology (BAT) for toxic pollutants
- original list was of 125 priority pollutants, the current list contains more than 125
compounds
- POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment Works), in existence prior to July 1, 1977 must meet a
secondary treatment standard (average 30-day):
< 30 mg/L (BOD)
< 30 mg/L TSS
or a minimum average 85% removal of BOD and TSS and pH 6 to 9
NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) for each outfall will specify
effluent quality requirements
3. Effluent Charges
Sell and purchase rights to pollute
effluent discharge fee
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