Sampling and reporting requirements under the EPA Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2 rule) and the Stage 2 Disinfectant and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (Stage 2 DBP rule) will apply to all water utilities by 2013.
The LT2 rules require water operators to maintain a disinfectant residual at every individual point in the storage and distribution system. The Stage 2 DBP rules strictly limit the amount of disinfectants operators may use as well as the levels of DBPs allowed in the system. Simultaneous compliance with these new rules will be a significant challenge for many water systems and their operators.
Compliance is further complicated by new sampling rules, which will no longer allow systems to mask localized problems by averaging data from multiple points. Systems must comply at each individual sampling point. For this reason alone, many systems in compliance under Stage 1 DBP rules will not be compliant under Stage 2 DBP rules.
For more information on the new regulations visit the EPA website here.