SWS eARDWP Help Tips

INTRODUCTION

  1. Water System Classification

    PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION DESCRIPTION
    Community Water System A public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents of the area served by the system. The term ‘residence’ generally means single-family homes, but also includes dwelling units that are more or less equivalent to a residential home. This would include cabins, cottages, mobile homes, efficiency living units, apartments, etc., that are used on a long-term basis by residents. The term ‘yearlong’ infers use that exceeds 6 months of the year. Using this criterion, examples of community water systems may include second home subdivisions, cabin clusters, apartment buildings, mobile home or trailer parks, labor camps and correctional facilities.
    Transient Noncommunity Water System A public water system that regularly serves at least 25 persons daily for at least 60 days out of the year, but does not serve the same 25 persons for over 6 months per year. The days do not have to be consecutive. Examples of a transient noncommunity water system include day-use facilities, campgrounds, resorts, rest-stops, restaurants, hotels, visitor centers, churches, cabin clusters that do not have access for part of the year, and businesses with fewer than 25 employees but regularly has over 25 customers daily for over 60 days per year.
    Nontransient Noncommunity Water System A public water system that is not a community water system and that regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons over 6 months per year. Examples include businesses with over 25 employees, day care facilities, and schools,


  2. General Office Phone: Phone number for the main office. This phone number will be posted on the Drinking Water Watch for general public access at: https://sdwis.waterboards.ca.gov/PDWW/

  3. Report Submitted By: The information included in this section is automatically filled based on the eARDWP user’s profile. If the information in this section is incorrect, the user must update their user profile on the MY PROFILE tab before the report is submitted. You must be logged in to change your user profile.

  4. Comments: Comment boxes are provided throughout the eARDWP to allow the user to provide discussion or clarification on their responses provided in that section of the report. These comment boxes can accommodate up to 4000 characters.

    SECTION 1. PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM CONTACTS.

  5. Public Water System Contacts: This section of the report will be pre-filled with current water system contact information in the Division of Drinking Water database (Safe Drinking Water Information System or SDWIS). Overtype the contact information to provide any necessary updates. The option to add up to four (4) new contacts is provided at the end of this section.

  6. Phone Type Definitions.

    PHONE TYPE DEFINITIONS
    Business The BUSINESS phone type is treated as a public phone number and will appear in Drinking Water Watch (https://sdwis.waterboards.ca.gov/PDWW/), which can be viewed by the public, if the General Office phone number is not provided (see Water System Information section under the Intro tab).
    Home The HOME phone type is treated as a private phone number. If you use your home or personal phone number as your business number, use the HOME phone type instead and leave the BUSINESS phone type blank. Only the BUSINESS phone type will appear in Drinking Water Watch (https://sdwis.waterboards.ca.gov/PDWW/), which can be viewed by the public, if the General Office phone number is not provided (see Water System Information section under the Intro tab).


  7. Contact Type Definitions.

    NOTE: A person may be assigned multiple contact types. For example, the owner may also be both the Administrative Contact and Financial Contact.
    CONTACT TYPE DEFINITIONS
    Administrative Contact (AC) The person who is legally responsible for ensuring that the Public Water System maintains compliance with SDWA requirements. The person to whom Division of Drinking Water mass mailings, enforcement letters and correspondences would be addressed, such as Board of Directors, General Manager or CEO. Each water system must have one and only one AC.

    Please provide an email address for the Administrative Contact as most email communication, particularly email blasts, from the Division of Drinking Water will be sent to the email address of the Administrative Contact.
    Financial Contact (FC) The person who receives Division of Drinking Water invoices and issues payments. Each water system must have one and only one FC.
    Owner The person or entity named in the water supply permit. If not the same as the Administrative Contact, this would then be the legal owner or entity that is legally responsible for the Public Water System.
    Designated Operator in Charge Chief Operators. This person could also be the Administrative Contact, Owner, or Contract Operator. Must be a certified operator for community and nontransient noncommunity water systems.
    Operator Contact Shift Operators. Must be a certified operator for community and nontransient noncommunity water systems.
    Emergency Contact The person who assists with coordinating emergency activities (e.g. collecting samples, conducting public notification, corresponding with Division of Drinking Water.)
    Water Quality Contact The person who receives water quality email updates from Division of Drinking Water. The person responsible for coordinating or conducting water quality monitoring and/or sample collection. Email address required for electronic mailing.
    Legal Contact Public water system’s attorney or legal counsel.
    CONTRACT Operator Contact The person or company with whom the water system has a contract to operate or assist in the operation of the water system.
    Funding Contact The person who receives funding (State Revolving Fund) email updates from the Division. This person is the representative of the water system for projects receiving Safe Drinking Water Act funds.


    SECTION 2. POPULATION SERVED.

  8. Population: all population types should be reported regardless of the public water system classification as shown on the first page of your report.

  9. Annual Operating Period : Provide season that each population is present at the water system. If year-round, the Begin Date would be 01/01 and the End Date would be 12/31. If present only during the typical summer season, example Begin Date and End Date would be 05/01 through 09/30.

  10. Residential Population : includes all people who reside within the water system service area on a year-round basis, or have the ability to use a dwelling unit for over 6 months of the year (includes number of persons that use second homes, cabins, or other housing units).

  11. Transient Population : the number of persons served on the 60th busiest day; counting only those persons that are not residential or persons onsite for over 6 months out of the year, such as day-use visitors, campers, attendees at events, customers to a business, etc.

  12. Nontransient Population : the number of the same persons onsite for over 6 months out of the year, such as students and employees.

    SECTION 4. GROUNDWATER (GW) AND SURFACE WATER (SW) SOURCES.

  13. Sources: Any source of drinking water supply such as a well, spring or surface water intake.

  14. PSCode or Primary Station Code: a unique 10-digit code assigned to each source for identification and submittal of water quality data electronically to DDW by the laboratory. The code consists of the 7-digit water system number followed by a 3-digit source code, such as: 1000222-001.

  15. INACTIVE source activity status: Inactive sources are not approved as sources of supply and must be physically disconnected or otherwise isolated so that only an intentional act by an operator can place the source into service. To change the status of an Inactive source to ‘Active’, a permit amendment application must be submitted to the local DDW Office, and approval received prior to any use of the source.

  16. STANDBY SOURCES: An emergency source that is not approved to be used for more than 15 calendar days per year or for periods that exceed 5 consecutive days. The local DDW District Office must be notified within 3 days after any use of a standby source. To change the status of a Standby Source to ‘Active’, a permit amendment application must be submitted to the local DDW District Office, and approval received prior to any non-emergency use of the source.

  17. PENDING source activity status: new sources that are not yet approved for use in the water system.

  18. Discuss Changes to Above Sources: provide information on the change in status of any source used in the water system, or the addition or destruction of any source.

    SECTION 6. WATER RATES AND DELIVERIES.

  19. Flat Base Rate: Basic charge that all customers pay

  20. Variable Base Rate: Basic charge is different, depending on size of pipe, water meter, or other factors

  21. Uniform Usage Rate: The charge per 100 cubic feet of water is the same regardless of use

  22. Base Rate + Uniform Usage Rate: Single flat base rate charge plus a charge per 100 cubic feet (hcf) that is same regardless of how much is used.

  23. Variable Usage Rate: Increasing Block or Tier Rate. The charge per 100 cubic feet of water increases as water use increases.

  24. Allocation Based Rate: "Allocation-based conservation water pricing" means a retail water rate structure that meets all of the criteria in Water Code Section 372. See California Water Code sections 370-374.

  25. Hcf (or CCF): 100 cubic foot

  26. Single-family Residential : Single family detached dwellings

  27. Multi-family Residential: Apartments, condominiums, town houses, duplexes and trailer parks

  28. Commercial/Institutional: Retail establishments, office buildings, laundries, schools, prisons, hospitals, dormitories, nursing homes, hotels

  29. Industrial: All manufacturing

  30. Landscape Irrigation: Parks, play fields, cemeteries, median strips, golf courses

  31. Agricultural Irrigation: Irrigation of commercially-grown crops

  32. Other: Fire suppression, street cleaning, line flushing, construction meters, temporary meters

    SECTION 8. WATER TREATMENT.

  33. NSF/ANSI Standard 60 Certification of Direct Additives: Pursuant to Section 64700, Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, (effective January 1, 1994), all chemicals or products, including chlorine, added directly to the drinking water as part of a treatment process must meet the ANSI/NSF Standard 60. If you are not sure whether a chemical you are using meets this standard, contact the manufacturer or distributor of the chemical.

    SECTION 9. CROSS-CONNECTION CONTROL.

  34. Cross Connection Control: Pursuant to Title 17, California Code of Regulations, all public water systems shall protect the water supply from contamination by backflow caused by cross-connections. For premises where cross-connections are likely to occur, prevention of backflow is required through the installation of approved backflow prevention assemblies. Each backflow prevention assembly must be tested annually by a certified backflow prevention assembly tester.

  35. Backflow Prevention Assemblies: include double check valve assemblies (Fig. 1) and reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assemblies (Fig, 2) that operate to prevent water from flowing from a user’s piping back into the domestic water supply system. Each backflow prevention assembly must be tested annually by a certified backflow prevention assembly tester.
    Fig. 1 - a double check valve assembly Fig. 2 - a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly


  36. Backflow Assemblies On-site: this includes backflow assemblies installed within the premises of the user, which protect the internal water distribution system from cross-connections to the satisfaction of the water supplier and health agency, such that backflow protection is not required at the user’s connection to the public water system. This also includes backflow assemblies installed within a non-community water system to protect its distribution system. Examples include backflow assemblies on the water supply to boilers, RV dump stations, commercial dishwashers, and fire protection systems, etc.

  37. Air-Gap Separation: is a physical break between the water supply line and a receiving vessel, and must provide a separation of at least double the diameter of the supply pipe, measured vertically from the flood rim of the receiving vessel to the supply pipe, but in no case shall this separation be less than one inch.

  38. Inactive Backflow Prevention Assemblies: A backflow prevention assembly that is installed on a pipeline or connection that is no longer in use, as counted at the end of the calendar year 2014.

  39. Cross-Connection: is an unprotected actual or potential connection between a potable water system used to supply water for drinking purposes and any source or system containing unapproved water or a substance that is not or cannot be approved as safe, wholesome and potable. By-pass arrangements, jumper connections, removable sections, swivel or changeover devices, or other devices through which backflow could occur, shall be considered to be cross-connections.

    SECTION 10. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORT.

  40. Consumer Confidence Report (CCR): Each community and nontransient noncommunity water system is required to complete a CCR on an annual basis. The CCR is to provide, as a minimum, specific information on concentration of microbiological contaminants, minerals, physical agents, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, and radioactivity that are present in the water supply. A template and further guidance for the preparation of the CCR can be found at the following DDW website: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/CCR.shtml

    SECTION 11. OPERATOR CERTIFICATION.

  41. Chief Operator: The person who has overall responsibility for the day-to-day, hands-on, operation of a water treatment facility or the person who has overall responsibility for the day-to-day, hands-on, operation of a distribution system.

  42. Your Highest Treatment System Classification.

    This shows the classification of your treatment facility with the highest classification (T1, T2, T3, T4, or T5). However, you may see the following instead:

    • Treatment or Distribution Operator – your treatment facility or facilities may be operated by either a certified treatment or distribution operator
    • Classification is Unavailable – the classification of your treatment facility or facilities has not been entered into the Division’s SDWIS database
    • No facilities subject to the Certified Treatment Plant Operator requirements – either you do not have any treatment facilities or these treatment facilities are not subject to the certified treatment plant operator requirements.

      If you believe that your highest treatment facility classification is in error, please notify your local regulatory agency immediately.


  43. Your Distribution System Classification.

    This shows the classification of your distribution system (D1, D2, D3, D4, or D5). However, you may see the following instead:

    • Distribution Operator Not Required – your water system is a transient non-community water system and as such is not subject to the certified distribution system operator requirements
    • Classification is Unavailable – the classification of your distribution system has not been entered into the Division’s SDWIS database

      If you believe that your highest treatment facility classification is in error, please notify your local regulatory agency immediately.


  44. Tips to Complete the Operator Certification Tables

    • If you do not have any certified operators to report, put “NONE” in each column of the first row.

      Name Grade of
      Operator      		 Chief or Shift1 (C/S) Operator
      Number      		 Expiration Date
      NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE
      - - - - -


    • Use the following format and rules to complete the State certified Water Treatment Plant Operators table:

      Name Grade of
      Operator      		 Chief or Shift1 (C/S) Operator
      Number      		 Expiration Date
      First Last T1, T2, T3, T4, or T5 only. C or S only (lowercase ok); leave blank if neither. 4 or 5 digits MM/DD/YYYY
      - - - - -
      1Use “C” for Chief Operator and “S” for Shift Operator. If neither, leave blank.

    • Use the following format and rules to complete the State certified Water Distribution System Operators table:

      Name Grade of
      Operator      		 Chief or Shift1 (C/S) Operator
      Number      		 Expiration Date
      First Last T1, T2, T3, T4, or T5 only. C or S only (lowercase ok); leave blank if neither. 4 or 5 digits MM/DD/YYYY
      - - - - -
      1Use “C” for Chief Operator and “S” for Shift Operator. If neither, leave blank.



    SECTION 14. SYSTEM PROBLEMS

  45. Water Outages: Unplanned events in which the water system is depressurized and customers are out of water for any reason including water main breaks. Scheduled water outages during main replacement need not be reported. A system may be depressurized due to a well or pump failure or wildfire damage to a reservoir resulting in the reservoir being emptied.