As previously reported, each year Community Water Systems across the Commonwealth of Virginia are required to complete and distribute a Water Quality Report, or Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which provides utility customers with information about their drinking water. The federally mandated reports contain information, including: 1) source of the utility’s water, and the type of treatment it receives, if any, 2) results of all required chemical analysis, including lead and copper results, and an explanation of them, including their probable sources and potential health effects, if any, 3) violations, if any, of state or federal waterworks regulations, and what has been done to address them, 4) reporting of any unregulated contaminant monitoring, 5) a cross-connection control survey, 6) information regarding source water protections and tips for conserving water, and 7) contact information for the system’s owner/operator.
In 2017 SERCAP assisted 25 community systems around the Commonwealth of Virginia by preparing their Annual Water Quality Reports, and in 2018 the agency assisted nearly 50 small water systems with these reports. In 2019, for the third year in a row, SERCAP will exceed its previous years’ service by assisting well over 50 systems with these reports. Most of these small water systems do not have the capacity to prepare the reports, and must rely on engineering firms or technical assistance providers to prepare the reports for them. SERCAP’s assistance enables these utilities to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations, since the Annual Water Quality Reports must be distributed to utility customers no later than July 1st of each year.
*Funding for SERCAP’s Regional Department is made possible by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Community Services’ (OCS) Grant, USDA RD’s Technitrain Program, the Drinking Water Compliance Grant through the EPA, and the EPA Private Well Grant. Additionally, all of SERCAP’s programs in Virginia, are leveraged by a Budget Appropriation from the Virginia General Assembly, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD).