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Concern about the proposed regulations is widespread. Your help is <br />needed to convince members of congress to re- examine and modify the <br />NPDW regulations for lead and pH corrosion levels. Efforts must be <br />made to focus attention on the need to eliminate the most serious <br />threats to public health. Cities must have flexibility to comply <br />with federal drinking water lead contamination standards without <br />being forced to increase local water user rates sharply in order to <br />pay for stringent compliance procedures not reasonably related to <br />the extent of the threat to health of local residents. <br />Please read the Action Alert published in the April 21 edition of <br />Minnesota Cities Bulletin. There you will learn the major issues <br />surrounding the pending regulations and the prospect for further <br />congressional action on this matter. <br />HOW TO CALCULATE THE COSTS OF COMPLIANCE <br />The regulations require that treatment be applied to control <br />corrosion in pipes and household plumbing if any "no action" <br />'lead levels are not achieved. The city must demonstrate that <br />the water system provides drinking water with <br />* lead levels are less than 10 ppb (parts per billion); <br />* no more than 5 percent of the testing samples contain more <br />than 1300 ppb of copper; <br />* no more than 5 percent of the samples have a pH of less than 8. <br />If the local water system fails to meet any of the "no action" <br />levels, the city must submit a treatment plan within one year <br />outlining the steps the water utility will take and a schedule to <br />provide corrosion - control treatment. (Systems that serve 3,300 or <br />fewer persons may have the state provide them with a treatment plan.) <br />Systems serving 500 to 3,300 persons have an extra year to begin <br />monitoring and required treatment once the EPA drinking water <br />rules for lead contamination are final. Systems serving less than <br />500 people will be given two extra years before monitoring and <br />treatment must begin. (But in each case, sampling and testing must <br />go forward as required of all systems.) <br />Use the following information to calculate the cost of additional <br />treatment for pH adjustment or corrosion inhibitors. <br />1. Use the figure of $20 - $50 per million gallons of water treated <br />to determine the annual cost of applying corrosion inhibitor or <br />chemicals required to make necessary pH adjustments. <br />2. Determine the cost of installation of equipment to feed chemicals <br />to the city water system. If there is a well house available for <br />each well in your system and there is sufficient space in the <br />facility to install the chemical feed equipment, the capital costs <br />for installation could be as low as $2,000 per installation. <br />PAGE -13 <br />