The systems are those that have not met the new consumer confidence reporting requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. A Consumer Confidence Report is a brief annual report to a system's customers. It summarizes water quality information the drinking water system has been required by law to collect. The report includes information on the source water, a list of all contaminants detected in the water, all violations of the drinking water regulations, educational material on Cryptosporidium, and, if necessary, information on radon, lead, arsenic and nitrate. The governor of Missouri has waived mandatory mailing for all systems serving fewer than 10,000 customers, but the waiver does not relieve systems of the requirement to prepare and make available a copy of the CCR for their customers.
Small systems can choose other ways to distribute their reports.
Newspaper publication is an option for systems serving fewer than 10,000 customers, and those serving 500 or fewer may provide a notice of availability or post the report in a conspicuous location. All of the Missouri treatment plants that received administrative orders serve populations of less than 10,000. The MDNR encouraged systems serving fewer than 10,000 to consider mailing them. Region 7 Administrator Dennis Grams, in Kansas City, Kansas, said most reports will fit on a few sheets of paper. Grams praised MDNR for its work to help ensure that other Missouri systems completed and mailed the required water quality reports.