First Step to Lead Rule Compliance: Monitoring

Abstract

Monitoring for lead, copper, and other water quality constituents is the first action a utility must take to comply with the new Lead and Copper Rule. Results of monitoring determine additional actions the utility must take to comply with the rule, such as corrosion control, source water treatment, public education, and lead service line replacement. This article details monitoring requirements; tables give the monitoring schedule for lead and copper for systems of various size, sampling requirements, targeted sampling site criteria for community water systems, a water quality monitoring schedule for constituents other than lead and copper, tap sampling requirements for constituents other than lead and copper, and approved analytic methods. This is the second in a series of articles on the lead and copper rule; the other articles in the series appeared in the August, October, and November 1991 issues of Opflow.