Chemical Monitoring Waivers

The sampling waiver program can save public water suppliers up to several hundred dollars per sampling location per year in sampling costs! Community and non-transient non-community water suppliers are required under the Safe Drinking Water Act to test annually for both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and synthetic organic compounds (SOCs). Water suppliers will sample less often for VOCs and SOCs if they obtain sampling waivers. Waivers are granted based on source protection criteria. As of March 2007, 76 percent of the eligible water systems in New Hampshire had been granted sampling waivers. There is no cost to apply, the application process is not difficult, and help is available.

To qualify for waivers, a water supplier must put into effect a four-step source protection program.

1. Delineate the area to be protected. For groundwater sources, the area is called a wellhead protection area. The wellhead protection area is the land area from which groundwater may flow to the well. If you have a bedrock well, your wellhead protection area may simply be a circle drawn around the well with the size of the circle dependant upon the maximum daily volume withdrawn from the well. For non-bedrock or overburden wells, existing hydrogeologic information may be used to delineate the wellhead protection area. The wellhead protection area for new bedrock and overburden wells may be more accurately delineated on a current hydrogeologic assessment approved by DES. For surface water sources, the protection area consists of the portion of the watershed within 4,000 feet upgradient of the intake. All existing surface water sources already have delineated protection areas. DES provides a map to all waiver applicants that will show any existing protection area delineations for your source(s).
   
   
2. Inventory potential contamination sources (PCSs). PCSs are facilities that use or handle greater than household quantities of regulated substances (see a list of common PCSs on reverse). To apply for waivers, you must list all PCSs within the source protection area. The map provided by the DES will assist you with this task.
   
   
3. List land usage in the sanitary radius. The sanitary radius is the land immediately around a well. It ranges from 75 feet to 400 feet depending upon the type of water system and the maximum daily volume. Land usage in the sanitary radius is critical to a well’s protection due to its proximity. To apply for waivers, you must list man-made items in the sanitary radius. This step does not apply to surface sources.
   
   
4. Manage PCSs and other activities that may contribute to contamination of groundwater in your protection area. Management activities required for the waiver program depend on the size of the water system and the number of PCSs. All public water suppliers must educate (by means of informational flyers and form letter) residents and businesses within the source protection area. Large public water systems must also develop a program to visit all PCSs at least once every three years. Large systems with a significant number of PCSs must obtain legal authority to enforce state rule Env-Wq 421 that applies to the storage and handling of hazardous substances by PCSs.

How the Waiver Process Works

• First, the water supplier calls DES at (603) 271-2862 to request an application. The completed application is returned to DES for review.
  
  
• If a VOC waiver is granted, required VOC sampling is reduced from annually to as little as once every three years, depending on source protection criteria. Approximately 35 percent of systems receive a VOC waiver.
  
  
• If a SOC waiver is granted, required SOC sampling is reduced from annually to as little as once every six years. The length of the SOC waiver is either three or six years depending on source protection criteria. Approximately 99 percent of systems receive a SOC waiver.
  
  
• A water system must submit a complete and accurate waiver application and be in compliance with the DES, Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau to be eligible for the sampling waiver program.
  
  
• All sampling waivers must be renewed every three years, regardless of waiver duration.

If you have any questions about the sampling waiver program, please call DES at (603)-271-2862.

For Additional Information

Please contact the Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau at (603) 271-2513 or dwgbinfo@des.state.nh.us or visit our website at www.des.nh.gov/dwgb. All of the bureau’s fact sheets are on-line at www.des.nh.gov/dwg.htm.

Note: This fact sheet is accurate as of January 2008. Statutory or regulatory changes, or the availability of additional information after this date may render this information inaccurate or incomplete.