Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 50 - Environmental health › Subchapter 05 - Water Quality › Part 1 - Public Drinking Water (216-RICR-50-05-1) › Section 216-RICR-50-05-1.2 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Wherever used in these regulations the
				  following terms shall be construed as follows:
1. "Abandoned well" means a well or borehole
				  that has gone dry, is contaminated, or no longer serves a useful
				  purpose.
2. "Act" means R.I. Gen.
				  Laws §46-13.
3. "Action level"
				  means the concentration of lead or copper in water specified in §1.7.1(C)
				  of this Part, which determines, in some cases, the treatment requirements
				  contained in §
											1.7   of this Part that a water
				  system is required to complete.
4.
				  "Administrative contact" means the entity that the legal water system owner
				  designates to be the primary point of contact regarding the public water
				  system.
5. "Administrative penalty"
				  or "Penalty" means a monetary sum assessed by the Director pursuant to this
				  Part in response to a violation of, or a failure to comply with, R.I. Gen.
				  Chapter §46-13 or any rule, regulation, license, permit or order adopted
				  pursuant to the Director's authority thereunder.
6. "Backflow" means flow of used or
				  non-potable water, or other substances from any domestic, industrial, or
				  institutional piping system back into the public water system. The reverse
				  pressure gradient that leads to backflow is caused by either back-siphonage or
				  backpressure.
7. "Backflow
				  preventer" means a mechanical device designed to prevent backflow through water
				  pipes.
8. "Backpressure" means
				  backflow caused by connection of a public water system to a non-potable system
				  which is operating under a higher pressure than the public water system. The
				  cause of the higher pressure includes, but is not limited to, a pump, boiler,
				  elevation difference, or air or steam pressure.
9. "Back-siphonage" means backflow caused by
				  negative or sub-atmospheric pressure in a portion of a public water
				  system.
10. "Bag filters" means
				  pressure-driven separation devices that remove particulate matter larger than
				  one (1) micrometer using an engineered porous filtration media. They are
				  typically constructed of a non-rigid, fabric filtration media housed in a
				  pressure vessel in which the direction of flow is from the inside of the bag to
				  outside.
11. "Bank filtration"
				  means a water treatment process that uses a well to recover surface water that
				  has naturally infiltrated into groundwater through a river bed or bank(s).
				  Infiltration is typically enhanced by the hydraulic gradient imposed by a
				  nearby pumping water supply or other well(s).
12. "Best available technology" means the
				  best technology, treatment techniques, or other means which the EPA
				  Administrator finds, after examination for efficacy under field conditions and
				  not solely under laboratory conditions, are available for a specific
				  contaminant or category of contaminants.
13. "Cartridge filters" means pressure-driven
				  separation devices that remove particulate matter larger than one (1)
				  micrometer using an engineered porous filtration media. They are typically
				  constructed as rigid or semi-rigid, self-supporting filter elements housed in
				  pressure vessels in which flow is from the outside of the cartridge to the
				  inside.
14. "Certified laboratory"
				  means an analytical laboratory licensed by R.I. Gen. Laws §23-16.2, to
				  perform biological, microbiological, chemical or radiochemical examination of
				  potable water or a laboratory exempt from this law as provided for in R.I. Gen.
				  Laws §
											23-16.2-3 but which shall be certified by the State Certification official in accordance
				  with 40 C.F.R. § 142.10b.
15.
				  "Change of use" means a different or expanded activity at an existing PWS which
				  significantly uses more or less water, or changes the duration of consumption
				  between transient and non- transient, than previously approved through
				  application or documented historical use.
16. "Clean compliance history" for purposes
				  of §1.16.4 of this Part, means a record of no MCL violations under
				  §1.16.4 of this Part; no monitoring violations under §1.16.4 of this
				  Part; and no coliform treatment technique trigger exceedances or treatment
				  technique violations under §1.16.4 of this Part.
17. "Coagulation" means a process using
				  coagulant chemicals and mixing by which colloidal and suspended materials are
				  destabilized and agglomerated into flocs.
18. "Combined distribution system" means the
				  interconnected distribution system consisting of the distribution systems of
				  wholesale systems and of the consecutive systems that receive finished
				  water.
19. "Community water system"
				  means a public water system which serves at least fifteen (15) service
				  connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least
				  twenty-five (25) year-round residents.
20. "Compliance cycle" means the nine-year
				  calendar year cycle during which PWSs must monitor as required by this Part.
				  Each compliance cycle consists of three-year compliance periods. The first
				  calendar year cycle begins January 1, 1993 and ends December 31, 2001; the
				  second begins January 1, 2002 and ends December 31, 2010; the third begins
				  January 1, 2011 and ends December 31, 2019.
21. "Compliance period" means a three-year
				  calendar year period within a compliance cycle. Each compliance cycle has three
				  (3), three-year compliance periods. Within the first compliance cycle, the
				  first compliance period runs from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1995; the
				  second from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998; and the third from January 1,
				  1999 to December 31, 2001.
22.
				  "Comprehensive performance evaluation (CPE)" means a thorough review and
				  analysis of a treatment plant's performance-based capabilities and associated
				  administrative, operation and maintenance practices. It is conducted to
				  identify factors that may be adversely impacting a plant's capability to
				  achieve compliance and emphasizes approaches that can be implemented without
				  significant capital improvements. For purposes of compliance with §
											1.5   of this Part, the
				  comprehensive performance evaluation must consist of at least the following
				  components: Assessment of plant performance; evaluation of major unit
				  processes; identification and prioritization of performance limiting factors;
				  assessment of the applicability of comprehensive technical assistance; and
				  preparation of a CPE report.
23.
				  "Confluent growth" means a continuous bacterial growth covering the entire
				  filtration area of a membrane filter, or a portion thereof, in which bacterial
				  colonies are not discrete.
24.
				  "Connection" means the water service line connecting a structure to the water
				  distribution line. In the absence of data on the number of service connections,
				  the population served divided by 2.5 shall be used as the default value.
a. The following are excluded from the
				  "connection" component of the PWS definition:
(1) A connection to a system that delivers
				  water through constructed conveyances other than pipes is excluded from
				  consideration as a "connection" under three (3) circumstances:
(AA) Where the water is used exclusively for
				  purposes other than residential uses (consisting of drinking, bathing, and
				  cooking, or other similar uses);
(BB) Where the Director determines that
				  alternative water to achieve the equivalent level of public health protection
				  provided by the applicable national primary drinking water regulations is
				  provided for drinking and cooking;
(CC) Where the Director determines that the
				  water provided for drinking, cooking, and bathing is treated (centrally or by
				  point of entry) by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the user to achieve
				  the equivalent level of protection provided by the applicable national primary
				  drinking water regulations.
(i) If the
				  application of one (1) or more of these exclusions reduces the "connections" of
				  a system providing water for human consumption (through construction
				  conveyances other than pipes) to fewer than fifteen (15) service connections
				  that serve fewer than twenty- five (25) individuals, the supplier's water
				  system is not a public water system.
(ii) However, if the supplier's remaining
				  connections number fifteen (15) or more, or if its remaining connections [even
				  if they number fewer than fifteen (15)] regularly serve at least twenty-five
				  (25) individuals, then the system is a public water system although the
				  excluded connections are not considered part of the public water system for as
				  long as the exclusions apply and the system complies with any conditions
				  governing their applicability.
b. An irrigation district in existence prior
				  to May 18, 1994 that provides primarily agricultural service through a piped
				  water system with only incidental residential or similar use shall not be
				  considered to be a public water system if the system or the residential or
				  similar users of the system comply with §§
												1.2(A)(1)(AA) and
				  (BB)   of this Part.
25. "Consecutive system" means a public water
				  system that receives some or all of its finished water from one or more
				  wholesale systems. Delivery may be through a direct connection or through the
				  distribution system of one or more consecutive systems.
26. "Contaminant" means any physical,
				  chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water.
27. "Conventional filtration treatment" means
				  a series of processes including coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and
				  filtration resulting in substantial particulate removal.
28. "Corrosion inhibitor" means a substance
				  capable of reducing the corrosivity of water toward metal plumbing materials,
				  especially lead and copper, by forming a protective film on the interior
				  surface of those materials.
29.
				  "Cross-connection" means an actual or potential connection between any parts of
				  a public water system and any source of contamination or pollution.
30. "CT" or "CTcalc" means the product of
				  "residual disinfectant concentration" C in mg/L determined before or at the
				  first customer, and the corresponding disinfectant contact time (T) in minutes,
				  i.e., "C" x "T". "CT99.9" is the CT value required for 99.9 percent (3-log)
				  inactivation of Giardia lamblia cysts. CT99.9 for a variety of disinfectants
				  and conditions appear in Tables 1.1-1.6, 2.1, and 3.1 of §1.5.8 of this
				  Part CTcalc/CT99.9, is the inactivation ratio. The sum of the inactivation
				  ratios, or total inactivation ratio shown as the sum of (CTcalc)/(CT99.9), is
				  calculated by adding together the inactivation ratio for each disinfection
				  sequence. A total inactivation ratio equal to or greater than 1.0 is assumed to
				  provide a 3-log inactivation of Giardia lamblia cysts.
31. "Cyanobacteria" means photosynthesizing
				  bacteria, also called blue-green algae, which naturally occur in marine and
				  freshwater ecosystems, and may produce cyanotoxins which at sufficiently high
				  concentrations may pose a risk to public health.
32. "Cyanotoxin" means a toxin (such as
				  microcystins) produced by cyanobacteria, which include liver toxins, nerve
				  toxins, and skin toxins.
33.
				  "Cyanotoxin maximum contaminant level" means the concentration of a cyanotoxin
				  which, if exceeded, will require additional monitoring, and potentially other
				  actions as described in this Part.
34. "Decommissioned well" means an abandoned
				  well that has been completely filled with sealant from the original depth to
				  the surface, in accordance with this Part, so that it is no longer a conduit to
				  the aquifer.
35. "Department" means
				  the Rhode Island Department of Health.
36. "Detected" or "Detection" means an
				  analytical result that is equal to or greater than the reporting limit for the
				  analytical method being used, or the minimum detection limit included in this
				  Part for the particular analyte, whichever is greater.
37. "Diatomaceous earth filtration" means a
				  process resulting in substantial particulate removal in which:
a. A precoat cake of diatomaceous earth
				  filter media is deposited on a support membrane (septum); and
b. While the water is filtered by passing
				  through the cake on the septum, additional filter media known as body feed is
				  continuously added to the feed water to maintain the permeability of the filter
				  cake.
38. "Direct
				  filtration" means a series of processes including coagulation and filtration
				  but excluding sedimentation resulting in substantial particulate
				  removal.
39. "Director" means the
				  Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health or his duly authorized
				  agent.
40. "Disinfectant" means any
				  oxidant, including but not limited to chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chloramines,
				  and ozone added to water in any part of the treatment or distribution process,
				  that is intended to kill or inactivate pathogenic microorganisms.
41. "Disinfectant contact time" ("T" in CT
				  calculations) means the time in minutes that it takes for water to move from
				  the point of disinfectant application or the previous point of disinfectant
				  residual measurement to a point before or at the point where residual
				  disinfectant concentration ("C") is measured. Disinfectant contact time in
				  pipelines must be calculated based on "plug flow" by dividing the internal
				  volume of the pipe by the maximum hourly flow rate through that pipe.
				  Disinfectant contact time within mixing basins and storage reservoirs must be
				  determined by tracer studies or an equivalent demonstration.
42. "Disinfection" means a process which
				  inactivates pathogenic organisms in water by chemical oxidants or equivalent
				  agents.
43. "Disinfection profile"
				  means a summary of daily Giardia lamblia inactivation through the treatment
				  plant. The procedure for developing a disinfection profile is contained in
				  §
											1.5.
44. "Distribution sampling points" means
				  representative points in the distribution system.
45. "Domestic or other non-distribution
				  system plumbing problem" means a coliform contamination problem in a PWS with
				  more than one (1) service connection that is limited to the specific service
				  connection from which the coliform-positive sample was taken.
46. "Dose equivalent" means the absorbed dose
				  from ionizing radiation expressed in terms of Rads multiplied by such a factor
				  as account for differences in biological effectiveness due to the type of
				  radiation and its distribution in the body as specified by the International
				  Commission on Radiological Units and Measurements (ICRU).
47. "Dual sample set" means a set of two
				  samples collected at the same time and same location, with one sample analyzed
				  for TTHM and the other sample analyzed for HAA5. Dual sample sets are collected
				  for the purposes of conducting an IDSE under §1.7.9 of this Part and
				  determining compliance with the TTHM and HAA5 MCLs under §1.7.10 of this
				  Part.
48. "Effective corrosion
				  inhibitor residual" for the purpose of §
											1.6   of this Part, means a
				  concentration sufficient to form a passivating film on the interior walls of a
				  pipe.
49. "Effective operation"
				  means a public water system's ability to meet an average daily demand while
				  providing sufficient volume and pressure for fire protection, where applicable,
				  while meeting drinking water standards.
50. "Enhanced coagulation" means the addition
				  of sufficient coagulant for improved removal of disinfection byproduct
				  precursors by conventional filtration treatment.
51. "Enhanced softening" means the improved
				  removal of disinfection byproduct precursors by precipitative
				  softening.
52. "Filter profile"
				  means a graphical representation of individual filter performance, based on
				  continuous turbidity measurements or total particle counts versus time for an
				  entire filter run, from startup to backwash inclusively, that includes an
				  assessment of filter performance while another filter is being
				  backwashed.
53. "Filtration" means
				  a process for removing particulate matter from water by passage through porous
				  media.
54. "Finished water" means
				  water that is introduced into the distribution system of a public water system
				  and is intended for distribution and consumption without further treatment,
				  except as treatment necessary to maintain water quality in the distribution
				  system (e.g., booster disinfection, addition of corrosion control
				  chemicals).
55. "Finished water
				  sampling point" means each entry point to the distribution system which is
				  representative of the water intended for distribution and consumption without
				  further treatment, except as necessary to maintain water quality in the
				  distribution system (e.g. booster disinfection, addition of corrosion control
				  chemicals).
56. "First draw sample"
				  means a one-liter sample of tap water, collected in accordance with
				  §1.7.7(B)(2) of this Part, that has been standing in plumbing pipes at
				  least six (6) hours and is collected without flushing the tap.
57. "Flocculation" means a process to enhance
				  agglomeration or collection of smaller floc particles into larger, more easily
				  settleable particles through gentle stirring by hydraulic or mechanical
				  means.
58. "Flowing stream" means a
				  course of running water flowing in a definite channel.
59. "GAC10" means granular activated carbon
				  filter beds with an empty-bed contact time of 10 minutes based on average daily
				  flow and a carbon reactivation frequency of every one hundred eighty (180)
				  days, except that the reactivation frequency for GAC10 used as a best available
				  technology for compliance with §1.8.1 of this Part MCLs under
				  §1.8.1(C) of this Part shall be one hundred twenty (120) days.
60. "GAC20" means granular activated carbon
				  filter beds with an empty-bed contact time of twenty (20) minutes based on
				  average daily flow and a carbon reactivation frequency of every two hundred
				  forty (240) days.
61. "Gross alpha
				  particle activity" means the total radioactivity due to alpha particle emission
				  as determined from measurements on a dry sample.
62. "Gross beta particle activity" means the
				  total radioactivity due to beta particle emission as determined from
				  measurements on a dry sample.
63.
				  "Groundwater under the direct influence of surface water" means any water
				  beneath the surface of the ground with:
a.
				  Significant occurrence of insects or other macroorganisms, algae, or
				  large-diameter pathogens such as Giardia lamblia or Cryptosporidium; or
b. Significant and relatively
				  rapid shifts in water characteristics such as turbidity, temperature,
				  conductivity, or pH which closely correlate to climatological or surface water
				  conditions.
c. Direct influence
				  must be determined for individual sources in accordance with criteria
				  established by the Director. The Director's determination of direct influence
				  may be based on site-specific measurements of water quality and/or
				  documentation of well construction characteristics and geology with field
				  evaluation.
64.
				  "Haloacetic acids (five) (HAA5)" means the sum of the concentrations in
				  milligrams per liter of the haloacetic acid compounds (monochloroacetic acid,
				  dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid and
				  dibromoacetic acid), rounded to two (2) significant figures after
				  addition.
65. "Halogen" means one
				  of the chemical elements chlorine, bromine, or iodine.
66. "Initial compliance period" means the
				  first full three-year compliance period which begins at least eighteen (18)
				  months after promulgation, except for dichloromethane, 1,2,4 trichlorobenzene,
				  1,1,2- trichloroethane, benzo[a]pyrene, dalapon, di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate,
				  di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, dinoseb, diquat, endothall, endrin, glyphosate,
				  hexachlorbenzene, hexachlorocyclopentadiene, oxamyl(Vydate), picloram,
				  simazine, 2,3,7,8-TCDD (Dioxin), antimony, beryllium, cyanide, nickel, and
				  thallium, initial compliance period means January 1993-December 1995 for
				  systems with 150 or more service connections and January 1996-December 1998 for
				  systems having fewer than 150 service connections.
67. "Inner protective radius" means the land
				  within two hundred (200) feet of drilled (bedrock), driven, or dug wells, or
				  within four hundred (400) feet of stratified drift wells, to be reserved for
				  the protection of the water quality of the well and free of potential sources
				  of contamination, except as approved by the Director.
68. "Lake/reservoir" means a natural or
				  manmade basin or hollow on the Earth's surface in which water collects or is
				  stored that may or may not have a current or single direction of
				  flow.
69. "Large water system" for
				  the purpose of §
											1.7   of this Part, means a
				  public water system that serves more than fifty thousand (50,000)
				  persons.
70. "Lead service line"
				  means a service line made of lead which connects the water main to the building
				  inlet and any lead pigtail, gooseneck or other fitting which is connected to
				  such lead line.
71. "Legionella"
				  means a genus of bacteria, some species of which have caused a type of
				  pneumonia called Legionnaires Disease.
72. "Level 1 assessment" means an evaluation
				  to identify the possible presence of sanitary defects, defects in distribution
				  system coliform monitoring practices, and (when possible) the likely reason
				  that the system triggered the assessment. It is conducted by the system
				  operator or owner. Minimum elements include review and identification of
				  atypical events that could affect distributed water quality or indicate that
				  distributed water quality was impaired; changes in distribution system
				  maintenance and operation that could affect distributed water quality
				  (including water storage); source and treatment considerations that bear on
				  distributed water quality, where appropriate (e.g. whether a groundwater system
				  is disinfected); existing water quality monitoring data; and inadequacies in
				  sample sites, sampling protocol, and sample processing. The system must conduct
				  the assessment consistent with any State directives that tailor specific
				  assessment elements with respect to the size and type of the system and the
				  size, type, and characteristics of the distribution system.
73. "Level 2 assessment" means an evaluation
				  to identify the possible presence of sanitary defects, defects in distribution
				  system coliform monitoring practices, and (when possible) the likely reason
				  that the system triggered the assessment. A Level 2 assessment provides a more
				  detailed examination of the system (including the system's monitoring and
				  operational practices) than does a Level 1 assessment through the use of more
				  comprehensive investigation and review of available information, additional
				  internal and external resources, and other relevant practices. It is conducted
				  by an individual approved by the State, which may include the system operator.
				  Minimum elements include review and identification of atypical events that
				  could affect distributed water quality or indicate that the distributed water
				  quality was impaired; changes in distribution system maintenance and operation
				  that could affect distributed water quality (including water storage); source
				  and treatment considerations that bear on distributed water quality, where
				  appropriate (e.g. whether a groundwater system is disinfected); existing water
				  quality monitoring data; and inadequacies in sample sites, sampling protocol,
				  and sample processing. The system must conduct the assessment consistent with
				  any State directives that tailor specific assessment elements with respect to
				  the size and type of the system and the size, type, and characteristics of the
				  distribution system. The system must comply with any expedited actions or
				  additional actions required by the State in the case of an E. coli MCL
				  violation.
74. "License" means
				  approval as specified in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											46-13-2.1.
75. "Locational running annual average
				  (LRAA)" means the average of sample analytical results for samples taken at a
				  particular monitoring location during the previous four calendar
				  quarters.
76. "Manmade beta
				  particle and photon emitters" means all radionuclides emitting beta particles
				  and/or photons listed in Maximum Permissible Body Burdens and Maximum
				  Permissible Concentrations of Radionuclides in Air or Water for Occupational
				  Exposure, NBS Handbook 69, except the daughter products of thorium-232,
				  uranium-235 and uranium-238.
77.
				  "Maximum contaminant level" means the maximum permissible level of a
				  contaminant in water which is delivered to any user of a public water
				  system.
78. "Maximum contaminant
				  level goal (MCLG)" means the maximum level of a contaminant in drinking water
				  at which no known or anticipated adverse effect on the health of persons would
				  occur, and which allows an adequate margin of safety. Maximum contaminant level
				  goals are non-enforceable health goals.
79. "Maximum residual disinfectant level
				  (MRDL)" means a level of a disinfectant added for water treatment that may not
				  be exceeded at the consumer's tap without an unacceptable possibility of
				  adverse health effects. For chlorine and chloramines, a PWS is in compliance
				  with the MRDL when the running annual average of monthly averages of samples
				  taken in the distribution system, computed quarterly, is less than or equal to
				  the MRDL. For chlorine dioxide, a PWS is in compliance with the MRDL when daily
				  samples are taken at the entrance to the distribution system and no two (2)
				  consecutive daily samples exceed the MRDL. MRDLs are enforceable in the same
				  manner as maximum contaminant levels under Section 1412 of the Safe Drinking
				  Water Act. There is convincing evidence that the addition of a disinfectant is
				  necessary for control of waterborne microbial contaminants. Notwithstanding the
				  MRDLs listed in §1.8.2(A) of this Part, operators may increase residual
				  disinfectant levels of chlorine or chloramines (but not chlorine dioxide) in
				  the distribution system to a level and for a time necessary to protect public
				  health to address specific microbiological contamination problems caused by
				  circumstances such as distribution line breaks, storm runoff events, source
				  water contamination, or cross-connections.
80. "Maximum residual disinfectant level goal
				  (MRDLG)" means the maximum level of a disinfectant added for water treatment at
				  which no known or anticipated adverse effect on the health of persons would
				  occur, and which allows an adequate margin of safety. MRDLGs are
				  non-enforceable health goals and do not reflect the benefit of the addition of
				  the chemical for control of waterborne microbial contaminants.
81. "Maximum Total Trihalomethane Potential
				  (MTP)" means the maximum concentration of total trihalomethanes produced in a
				  given water containing a disinfectant residual after seven (7) days at a
				  temperature of 25 degrees C or above.
82. "Medium-size water system" for the
				  purpose of §
											1.7   of this Part only, means
				  a water system that serves greater than three thousand three hundred (3,300)
				  and less than or equal to fifty thousand (50,000) persons.
83. "Membrane filtration" means a pressure or
				  vacuum driven separation process in which particulate matter larger than one
				  (1) micrometer is rejected by an engineered barrier, primarily through a
				  size-exclusion mechanism, and which has a measurable removal efficiency of a
				  target organism that can be verified through the application of a direct
				  integrity test. This definition includes the common membrane technologies of
				  microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse
				  osmosis.
84. "Microcystins" means
				  total microcystins; the combination of all the variants of a cyanotoxin
				  microcystin, which is produced by a number of cyanobacteria.
85. "Near the first service connection" means
				  at one (1) of the twenty percent (20%) of all service connections in the entire
				  system that are nearest the water supply treatment facility, as measured by
				  water transport time within the distribution system.
86. "Non-community water system" means a
				  public water system that is not a community water system. A non-community water
				  system is either a "transient non-community water system (TNC)" or a "non-
				  transient non-community water system (NTNC).
87. "Noncompliance", "Nonconformance",
				  "Failure to comply" and "Violation" each mean any act or failure to act which
				  constitutes or results in or from:
a. Engaging
				  in any activity prohibited by, or not in compliance with the Act or any rule,
				  regulation, permit, approval, or order adopted pursuant to the Director's
				  authority thereunder;
b. Engaging
				  in any business or other activity without a necessary permit, or approval that
				  is required by law or regulation;
c. The failure to perform, or the failure to
				  perform in a timely fashion, anything required by the Act, by a rule,
				  regulation, permit, approval, or order adopted pursuant to the Director's
				  authority.
88.
				  "Non-transient non-community water system (NTNC)" means a non-community water
				  system that regularly services at least twenty-five (25) of the same persons
				  over six (6) months per year.
89.
				  "Operator" means an individual employed at a water treatment facility or
				  transmission and distribution system whose routine job duties involve
				  performing operational activities or making decisions regarding the daily
				  operational activities of a public water treatment facility and/or transmission
				  and distribution system, that may directly impact the quality and/or quantity
				  of drinking water. "Operator" does not apply to an official exercising only
				  general administrative supervision or engineering design duties, such as the
				  city engineer or elected water commissioner, or clerical or administrative
				  workers involved only in activities such as customer relations, billing,
				  payroll, timekeeping, etc. The term "operator", as used in this Part, does not
				  apply to individuals whose only responsibility is to install and/or read
				  meters.
90. "Optimal corrosion
				  control treatment" for the purpose of §
											1.7   of this Part, means the
				  corrosion control treatment that minimizes the lead and copper concentrations
				  at users' taps while insuring that the treatment does not cause the water
				  system to violate any other regulations of this Part.
91. "Order" means the whole or a part of a
				  final disposition by the Department, whether affirmative, negative, injunctive,
				  consent or declaratory in form, other than rulemaking but including notices of
				  violation, compliance orders, permits, and approvals issued pursuant to the
				  Director's authority.
92. "Owner of
				  a public water system" means any individual, corporation, partnership, public
				  utility, nonprofit organization, trust, unincorporated association, federal,
				  state, county, or local government, or any agency or subdivision thereof, or
				  any combination of the foregoing, owning any public water system, distribution
				  system, and/or water treatment plant. In addition, the owner of the land on
				  which the well is located, where said well is the source for a public water
				  system, is the owner of a public water system. A person or entity who leases
				  the land on which a well is located is not the owner of the public water
				  system.
93. "Performance evaluation
				  sample" means a reference sample provided to a laboratory for the purpose of
				  demonstrating that the laboratory can successfully analyze the sample within
				  limits of performance specified by the Director. The true value of the
				  concentration of the reference material is unknown to the laboratory at the
				  time of the analysis.
94. "Permit"
				  means an authorization, or equivalent control document issued by the Director
				  to implement the requirements of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-13.
95. "Person" means an individual,
				  partnership, association, or corporation, or any town or city or any agency
				  thereof, or the state or any agency thereof, or any other legal
				  entity.
96. "Phytoplankton" means
				  free-floating photosynthesizing microscopic organisms that inhabit almost all
				  bodies of water, and include cyanobacteria, diatoms, green algae, and
				  dinoflagellates.
97. "Picocurie
				  (pCi)" means a unit of radioactivity equal to 2.22 nuclear transformations per
				  minute.
98. "Plant intake" means
				  the works or structures at the head of a conduit through which water is
				  diverted from a source (e.g., river or lake) into the treatment
				  plant.
99. "Point of disinfectant
				  application" means the point where the disinfectant is applied and water
				  downstream of that point is not subject to recontamination by surface water
				  runoff.
100. "Point-of-entry
				  treatment device (POE)" means a treatment device applied to the drinking water
				  entering a house or building for the purpose of reducing contaminants in the
				  drinking water distributed throughout the house or building.
101. "Point-of-use treatment device (POU)"
				  means a treatment device applied to a single tap used for the purpose of
				  reducing contaminants in drinking water.
102. "Presedimentation" means a preliminary
				  treatment process used to remove gravel, sand, and other particulate material
				  from the source water through settling before the water enters the primary
				  clarification and filtration processes in a treatment plant.
103. "Public water system (PWS)" means a
				  system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through
				  pipes or other constructed conveyances, if such system has at least fifteen
				  (15) service connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five (25)
				  individuals daily at least sixty (60) days out of the year. Such term includes:
a. Any collection, treatment, storage, and
				  distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used
				  primarily in connection with such system, and
b. Any collection or pretreatment storage
				  facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with
				  such system.
104. "Rad"
				  means a unit of absorbed dose equal to 100 ergs per gram in any medium. (100
				  rad = 1 gray)
105. "Raw water
				  sampling point" means each source of water in use prior to any treatment, or
				  another sampling point acceptable to the Director.
106. "Reconstructed water source" means an
				  existing water source structure (well, intake, dam, etc.) that has been
				  physically modified enough to have the potential to change the water quality or
				  quantity supplying the water system. Well reconstruction includes, but is not
				  limited to, deepening the well, installing a liner, installing or replacing a
				  screen with one of different diameter or length, installing a pitless adapter,
				  extending the casing, or hydrofracturing a well. Well reconstruction does not
				  include the construction of a new well in the vicinity of an existing well.
				  Replacing a component with one of identical composition is considered an
				  in-kind replacement, not reconstruction.
107. "Rem" means the unit of dose equivalent
				  from ionizing radiation to the total body or any internal organ or organ
				  system. (100 rem = 1 sievert)
108.
				  "Repeat compliance period" means any subsequent compliance period after the
				  initial compliance period.
109.
				  "Requirement" means any provision of the Act, or any rule, regulation, permit,
				  approval, or order adopted pursuant to the Director's authority.
110. "Residual disinfectant concentration"
				  ("C" in CT calculations) means the concentration of disinfectant measured in
				  mg/1 in a representative sample of water.
111. "RTCR" Revised Total Coliform Rule,  40 C.F.R. 141  Subpart Y (effective April 1, 2016).
112. "Sanitary defect" means a defect that
				  could provide a pathway of entry for microbial contamination into the
				  distribution system or that is indicative of a failure or imminent failure in a
				  barrier that is already in place.
113. "Sanitary survey" means an on-site
				  review of the water source (identifying sources of contamination by using the
				  results of source water assessments where available), facilities, equipment,
				  operation, maintenance, and monitoring compliance of a PWS for the purpose of
				  evaluating the adequacy of such source, facilities, equipment, operation, and
				  maintenance for producing and distributing safe drinking water.
114. "Saxitoxin" means total saxitoxin; the
				  combination of all of the variants of the cyanotoxin saxitoxin.
115. "Seasonal system" means a non-community
				  water system that is not operated as a public water system on a year-round
				  basis and starts up and shuts down at the beginning and end of each operating
				  season.
116. "Sedimentation" means
				  a process for removal of solids before filtration by gravity or
				  separation.
117. "Service line
				  sample" means a one-liter sample of water, collected in accordance with
				  §1.7.7(B)(3) of this Part, that has been standing for at least six (6)
				  hours in a service line.
118.
				  "Significant deficiency" means defects in design, operation, or maintenance, or
				  a failure or malfunction of the sources, treatment, storage, or distribution
				  system that the Director determines to be causing, or have potential for
				  causing, the introduction of contamination into the water delivered to
				  consumers.
119. "Single family
				  structure" for the purpose of §
											1.7   of this Part only, means
				  a building constructed as a single-family residence that is currently used as
				  either a residence or a place of business.
120. "Slow sand filtration" means a process
				  involving passage of raw water through a bed of sand at low velocity (generally
				  less than 0.4 m/h or 1 gal./ft2/h resulting in substantial particulate removal
				  by physical and biological mechanisms.
121. "Small water system" for the purpose of
				  §
											1.7   of
				  this Part only, means a water system that serves three thousand three hundred
				  (3,300) persons or fewer.
122.
				  "Special irrigation district" means an irrigation district in existence prior
				  to May 18, 1994 that provides primarily agricultural service through a piped
				  water system with only incidental residential or similar use where the system
				  or the residential or similar users of the system if the Director determines
				  that:
a. Alternative water to achieve the
				  equivalent level of public health protection provided by the applicable
				  national primary drinking water regulation is provided for residential or
				  similar uses for drinking and cooking; or
b. The water provided for residential or
				  similar uses for drinking, cooking, and bathing is centrally treated or treated
				  at the point of entry by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the user to
				  achieve the equivalent level of protection provided by the applicable national
				  primary drinking water regulations.
123. "Special Monitoring Evaluation" means
				  the procedure for performing special monitoring evaluations during sanitary
				  surveys for groundwater systems serving one thousand (1,000) or fewer people to
				  determine whether systems are on an appropriate monitoring schedule.
124. "Standard sample" means the aliquot of
				  finished drinking water that is examined for the presence of coliform
				  bacteria.
125. "Subpart H systems"
				  means PWSs using surface water or groundwater under the direct influence of
				  surface water as a source that are subject to the requirements of §
											1.6   of this Part. These
				  systems are also called Section
				   1.6   (§
											1.6) systems.
126. "Surface water" means all water which is
				  open to the atmosphere and subject to surface runoff.
127. "SUVA" means Specific Ultraviolet
				  Absorption at two hundred fifty-four (254) nanometers (nm), an indicator of the
				  humic content of water. It is a calculated parameter obtained by dividing a
				  sample's ultraviolet absorption at a wavelength of 254 nm (UV 254) (in m-1) by
				  its concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (in mg/L).
128. "System with a single service
				  connection" means a public water system which supplies drinking water to
				  consumers via a single service line.
129. "Too numerous to count" means that the
				  total number of bacterial colonies exceeds two hundred (200) on a 47-mm
				  diameter membrane filter used for coliform detection.
130. "Total Organic Carbon (TOC)" means total
				  organic carbon in mg/L measured using heat, oxygen, ultraviolet irradiation,
				  chemical oxidants, or combinations of these oxidants that convert organic
				  carbon to carbon dioxide, rounded to two (2) significant figures.
131. "Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)" means the
				  sum of the concentration in milligrams per liter of the trihalomethane
				  compounds (trichloromethane [chloroform], dibromochloromethane,
				  bromodichloromethane and tribromomethane [bromoform]), rounded to two
				  significant figures.
132.
				  "Transient non-community water system (TNC)" means a non-community water system
				  that does not regularly serve at least twenty-five (25) of the same persons
				  over six (6) months per year.
133.
				  "Trihalomethane (THM)" means one of the family of organic compounds, named as
				  derivatives of methane, wherein three of the four hydrogen atoms in methane are
				  each substituted by a halogen atom in the molecular structure.
134. "Two-stage lime softening" means a
				  process in which chemical addition and hardness precipitation occur in each of
				  two distinct unit clarification processes in series prior to
				  filtration.
135. "Uncovered
				  finished water storage facility" means a tank, reservoir, or other facility
				  used to store water that will undergo no further treatment to reduce microbial
				  pathogens except residual disinfection and is directly open to the
				  atmosphere.
136. "Virus" means a
				  virus of fecal origin which is infectious to humans by waterborne
				  transmission.
137. "Waterborne
				  disease outbreak" means the significant occurrence of acute infectious illness,
				  epidemiologically associated with the ingestion of water from a public water
				  system which is deficient in treatment, as determined by the appropriate local
				  or State agency.
138. "Water
				  purveyor" means any person who owns or operates a public water system. This
				  person may also be designated in some US EPA documents as a "supplier of
				  water."
139. "Week" means a period
				  of seven days beginning with Sunday and ending with Saturday.
140. "Weekly" means once during the period of
				  seven days beginning with Sunday and ending with Saturday.
141. "Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA)" means
				  the land area contributing water to a public drinking water supply
				  well.
142. "Wholesale system" means
				  a public water system that treats source water as necessary to produce finished
				  water and then delivers some or all of that finished water to another public
				  water system. Delivery may be through a direct connection or through the
				  distribution system of one or more consecutive systems.