Final Ground Water Rule 

Summary 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the final Ground Water Rule (GWR) in 

October 2006 to reduce the risk of exposure to fecal contamination that may be present in public water 

systems that use ground water sources. EPA proposed the GWR on May 10, 2000 (65 Federal Register

30194). The rule establishes a risk-targeted strategy to identify ground water systems that are at high 

risk for fecal contamination. The GWR also specifies when corrective action (which may include 

disinfection) is required to protect consumers who receive water from ground water systems from 

bacteria and viruses. 

Background 

The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act required EPA to develop regulations that 

require disinfection of ground water systems “as necessary” to protect the public health (section 

1412(b)(8)). 

Ground water occurrence studies and recent outbreak data show that pathogenic viruses and bacteria 

can occur in public water systems that use ground water and that people may become ill due to 

exposure to contaminated ground water. 

Most cases of waterborne disease are characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., diarrhea, 

vomiting, etc.) that are frequently self-limiting in healthy individuals and rarely require medical 

treatment. However, these same symptoms are much more serious and can be fatal for persons in 

sensitive subpopulations (such as young children, the elderly, and persons with compromised immune 

systems). 

Viral and bacterial pathogens are present in human and animal feces, which can, in turn, contaminate 

drinking water. Fecal contamination can reach ground water sources, including drinking water wells, 

from failed septic systems, leaking sewer lines, and by passing through the soil and large cracks in the 

ground. Fecal contamination from the surface may also get into a drinking water well along its casing or 

through cracks if the well is not properly constructed, protected, or maintained. 

EPA does not believe all ground water systems are fecally contaminated; data indicate that only a small 

percentage of ground water systems are fecally contaminated. However, the severity of health impacts 

and the number of people potentially exposed to microbial pathogens in ground water indicate that a 

regulatory response is warranted. 

About this Regulation

The GWR applies to more than 147, 000 public water systems that use ground water (as of 2003). The 

rule also applies to any system that mixes surface and ground water if the ground water is added 

directly to the distribution system and provided to consumers without treatment equivalent to surface 

water treatment. In total, these systems provide drinking water to more than 100 million consumers. 
Final Requirements: The rule addresses risks through a risk-targeting approach that relies on four 

major components: 

 

1. Periodic sanitary surveys of ground water systems that require the evaluation of eight critical 

elements and the identification of significant deficiencies (e.g., a well located near a leaking 

septic system). States must complete the initial survey by December 31, 2012 for most 

community water systems (CWSs) and by December 31, 2014 for CWSs with outstanding 

performance and for all non-community water systems. 

2. Source water monitoring to test for the presence of E. coli, enterococci, or coliphage in the 

sample. There are two monitoring provisions: 

-Triggered monitoring for systems that do not already provide treatment that achieves at 

least 99.99 percent (4-log) inactivation or removal of viruses and that have a total coliformpositive routine sample under Total Coliform Rule sampling in the distribution system. 

-Assessment monitoring- As a complement to triggered monitoring, a State has the option 

to require systems, at any time, to conduct source water assessment monitoring to help 

identify high risk systems. 

3. Corrective actions required for any system with a significant deficiency or source water fecal 

contamination. The system must implement one or more of the following correction action 

options: 

 -correct all significant deficiencies, 

-eliminate the source of contamination, 

-provide an alternate source of water, or 

-provide treatment which reliably achieves 99.99 percent (4-log) inactivation or removal of 

viruses. 

4. Compliance monitoring to ensure that treatment technology installed to treat drinking water 

reliably achieves at least 99.99 percent (4-log) inactivation or removal of viruses. 

Environmental and Public Health Benefits

The GWR will reduce public health risk from contaminated ground water drinking water sources, 

especially in high-risk or high-priority systems. The GWR is estimated to reduce the average number 

of waterborne viral (rotovirus and echovirus) illnesses by nearly 42,000 illnesses each year from the 

current baseline estimate of approximately 185,000 (a 23 percent reduction in total illnesses). In 

addition, nonquantified benefits from the rule resulting in illness reduction from other viruses and 

bacteria are expected to be significant. 

Cost of the Regulation

The GWR will result in increased costs to public water systems and States. The mean annualized 

present value national compliance costs of the final GWR are estimated to be approximately $62 

million (using three percent discount rate). Public water systems will bear the majority of costs. The 

annual household costs for community water systems (including those that do not add treatment) range 

from $0.21 to $16.54. Annual household costs for the subset of systems that undertake corrective 

actions range from $0.45 to $52.38, with 90 percent having household cost increases of no more than 

$3.20. 

How to Get Additional Information

For general information on the GWR, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline, at (800) 426-

4791. The Safe Drinking Water Hotline is open Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays, 

from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time. For copies of the Federal Register notice of the final regulation, 

visit the EPA Safewater Web site, http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/gwr.

Office of Water (4607M) EPA 815-F-06-003 October 2006 www.epa.gov/safewater