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Quick reference guide and fact sheets

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Guidance on the Ground Water Rule

GWR Triggered and Representative Source Water Monitoring Public Review Draft
Description: The objective of this gudiance manual is to provide states, tribes, and other primacy agencies and ground water systems guidance in meeting the triggered and representative monitoring requirements under the Ground Water Rule (GWR).  A significant requirement of the GWR is that ground water systems (GWSs) that do not demonstrably provide adequate treatment to control viral pathogens (99.99% inactivation and/or removal) must test their source water for the presence of a fecal indicator when they encounter a total coliform-positive sample in the distribution system under the Total Coliform Rule.  The triggered monitoring requirement is designed to allow systems and states to identify and to correct public health risks from fecal contamination found at the source.  In addition, under GWR, states also have the option of requiring source water assessment monitoring which would require systems to regularly sample their sources for fecal indicators.

Ground Water Rule Corrective Action Guidance Manual
Description: The objective of the corrective action guidance manual is to provide States, tribes, other primacy agencies and ground water systems with an overview of the treatment technique requirements of the Ground Water Rule. The guidance manual will provide assistance with determining the information that should be included in a systems corrective action plan and assist states and public water systems to select and implement corrective actions in response to significant deficiencies identified during sanitary surveys or in response to fecal contamination of source water as required under the rule.
Target Audience: States, tribes, other primacy agencies, ground water systems

Sanitary Survey Guidance Manual for Ground Water Systems
EPA 815-R-08-015, October 2008
Description: The objective of the sanitary survey guidance manual is to provide states, tribes, and other primacy agencies with a brief review of the sanitary survey regulatory provisions, give specific examples of what constitutes a significant deficiency, and provide a checklist of elements that should be evaluated during the course of a sanitary survey inspection.
Target audience: States, tribes, other primacy agencies

Source Water Assessment Guidance Manual
Description: This manual provides information on procedures for identifying ground water sources at risk for contamination. Risk factors are discussed with emphasis on identifying readily available factors suitable for office, rather than field determination of risk for contamination at an individual PWS well. The guidance also lists sources of information for making determinations and also includes field methods for determining the presence of a hydrogeologic barrier.

Ground Water Rule Source Water Monitoring Methods Guidance
EPA 815-R-07-019, Revised March 2008
EPA revised this guidance document in March 2008 to clarify text describing the analytical methods approved for use for source water monitoring under the GWR. The objective of the source water monitoring methods guidance document is to provide ground water systems, States, Tribes, and other primacy agencies with a brief review of the source water monitoring provisions. Since the primacy agencies may select one of three fecal indicators (e.g., E. coli, enterococci, coliphage) that the system would be required to test for in the ground water source sample, the source water monitoring methods guidance manual provides criteria to assist primacy agencies determine which fecal indicator is most appropriate to test for in the geographic region of that agency.
Target Audience: Ground water systems, States, tribes, other primacy agencies

Consecutive System Guidance
EPA 815-R-07-020, July 2007
The consecutive system guidance manual describes the regulatory requirements of the Ground Water Rule as it applies to wholesale ground water systems and to the consecutive ground water systems that receive and distribute that ground water supply.
Target Audience: Ground water systems, States, tribes, other primacy agencies

Complying with the Ground Water Rule: Small Entity Compliance Guide
EPA 815-R-07-018, July 2007
This guidance document is intended to be an official compliance guide to the GWR for small public water systems, as required by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This guide contains a general introduction and background for the GWR, describes the specific requirements of the GWR and provides information on how to comply with those requirements.[Note: Copies downloaded prior to January 2008 had an error on page 3. The fourth bullet should read "Collect samples from your ground water sources after a routine Total Coliform Rule (TCR) positive if you do not provide 4-log virus treatment for all your sources, and have the samples analyzed for a fecal indicator specified by the State."]
Target Audience: Small ground water systems

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State Guidance

Draft: The Ground Water Rule Implementation Guidance

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Training

Training for the GWR will begin in 2007. If you are implementing the GWR and are interested in trainings please visit the EPA's microbial and disinfection byproducts training site for a list of trainings, webcasts, and other training opportunities available.

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