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Community Water Supply Public Notification Rule

mother and her children drinking water out of glass
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

Community Water Supply Public Notification Rule

Contact your EGLE drinking water staff when you intend to deliver a public notice to ensure you meet content and delivery requirements. Your EGLE drinking water staff can provide a Public Notice template that best fits your situation. To immediately notify your customers to boil their drinking water, the following templates may apply while you contact your EGLE drinking water staff.

Authority - Michigan administrative rules R 325.10401 through R 325.10409 promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act 1976 PA 399, as amended, MCL 325.1001 et seq. This rule is as stringent as the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, Public Notification Rule, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 141.201 et seq. promulgated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, Public Law 93-523, as amended, 42 USC 300f et seq.

Boil water notice templates

Types of public notices

  • Tier 1

    Required for violations or situations with significant potential to adversely affect public health as a result of short-term exposure. Public notification must be made within 24 hours. During this time, you must also contact your EGLE District Office to initiate consultation. Example situations where a Tier 1 Public Notice is required include: 

    • E. coli maximum contaminant level (MCL) violation
    • Nitrate, nitrite, or total nitrate and nitrite MCL violation
    • Violation of the maximum residual disinfectant level (MRDL) for chlorine dioxide
    • Treatment technique (TT) violation involving a single exceedance of the maximum allowable turbidity limit
    • Lead action level exceedance (ALE)

  • Tier 2

    Required for violations with potential to have serious, but not immediate, adverse effects on public health. Public notification must be made within 30 days or as soon as possible. The supply shall repeat the notice every three months as long as the violation or situation exist. Tier 2 Public Notice includes any MCL, TT, or MRDL violation not included in Tier 1 Public Notice requirements. Example violations where a Tier 2 Public Notice include:

    • Exceedance of drinking water standard = MCL violation
    • Exceedance of chlorine residual monitoring = MRDL
    • Failure to conduct a triggered Level 1 or Level 2 assessment within 30 days of trigger TT

  • Tier 3

    Required for situations that do not fall within the Tier 1 or Tier 2 categories, such as but not limited to, monitoring and reporting violations. These violations do not pose an immediate health threat. Public notification must be made within one year and shall repeat the notice annually for as long as the violation, or situation exist. Tier 3 Public Notice includes all other monitoring, testing procedure, or reporting violations unless the department elevates them to a Tier 2. Example violations where a Tier 3 Public Notice is required include:

    • Failing to collect routine compliance sample.
    • Failing to report a routine total coliform result to EGLE within 10 days of the end of the monitoring period.  

Ten required elements of a public notice

Every notice that is required under the Safe Drinking Water Act must contain these ten elements. But water supplies may wish to notify consumers about an event, even if not required to by law. Contact your EGLE drinking water staff to ensure your required notices contain these ten content elements:

  1. A description of the violation that occurred, including the contaminant(s) of concern, and the contaminant level(s).
  2. When the violation or situation occurred.
  3. The potential health effects (including standard required language).
  4. The population at risk, including subpopulations vulnerable if exposed to the contaminant in their drinking water.
  5. Whether alternate water supplies need to be used.
  6. What the water system is doing to correct the problem.
  7. Actions consumers can take.
  8. When the system expects a resolution to the problem.
  9. How to contact the water system for more information; and
  10. Language encouraging broader distribution of the notice.

Public notice distribution requirements

Tier 1 Public Notices must be provided in a form and manner to reasonably reach all persons served. At a minimum, one or more of the following must be used:

  • Appropriate broadcast media (television or radio).
  • Posting in conspicuous locations throughout the area.
  • Hand delivery to customers.
  • Another delivery method approved, in writing, by the department.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Public Notices must be delivered by both the following methods:

  • Mail or other direct delivery to each customer receiving a bill, and to other service connections to which water is delivered.
  • Other methods reasonably calculated to reach other persons regularly served by the water supply, including:
    • Publication in a local newspaper.
    • Delivery to customers that provide their drinking water to others, such as apartment building owners, etc.
    • Posting in public places.
    • Delivery to community organizations.

Community water supplies that sell or otherwise provide drinking water to other public water systems are required to give public notice to the owner or operator of the purchasing system. The purchasing system is responsible for providing public notification to the persons it serves.

Electronic delivery (email), notification statements, or posting in a single location may be used in addition to the requirements outlined above. However individually, these methods do not fulfill the delivery requirements under the Public Notice Rules.

Public notification is provided in addition to the annual consumer confidence report (CCR), which provides customers with a more complete picture of drinking water quality and system operations. The annual CCR tells consumers what's in their water, where it comes from, and where they can obtain additional information.

The CCR may be used as a means to deliver a Tier 3 public notice. If a public notice is included in the CCR as the primary means to deliver it to all customers, the above Public Notice Rule content and distribution requirements must be followed. For more information on CCRs visit Consumer Confidence Report Rule.

Public notice certification requirements

All public notices must be certified and reported to EGLE.  There is a certification form for Tier 1 Public Notices; and a separate certification form for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Public Notices. The certification form, along with a copy of the distributed public notice must be received by EGLE within 10-days after distribution.

Related resources

Michigan public water supplies

EPA

Home Flushing Guidance

Contact us

EGLE Drinking Water Staff