Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 50 - Environmental health › Subchapter 05 - Water Quality › Part 2 - Private Drinking Water Systems (216-RICR-50-05-2) › Section 216-RICR-50-05-2.2 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Wherever used in these rules and
				  regulations the following terms shall be defined as follows:
1. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws §§
											23-1-5.2 and
				   23-1-5.3.
2. "Action level" means detection of a
				  constituent in drinking water which concentration equals or exceeds fifty
				  percent (50%) of the HA, MCL, or SMCL (as defined below) and indicates need for
				  further action such as increased monitoring.
3. "Certified laboratory" means an analytical
				  laboratory licensed by the Department under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-16.2, to
				  perform biological, microbiological, chemical or radiochemical examination of
				  potable water; or 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.
4.
				  "Commercial/mixed use private water supply system" means a private supply
				  system that serves a structure(s) consisting of one or more commercial spaces
				  and/or more than four (4) family dwelling units that has been occupied as a
				  dwelling and is under control of a single entity(s).
5. "Constituent" means a chemical or
				  elemental component found in private well water.
6. "Department" means the Rhode Island
				  Department of Health.
7. "Director"
				  means the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health.
8. "End-user" means that person or persons
				  using the water for consumption or other purposes requiring potable
				  water.
9. "Exceedance" means a
				  concentration of a constituent that is greater than a standard or recommended
				  upper limit (e.g., MCL) for that constituent.
10. "First draw" means a one-liter sample of
				  tap water, collected from a cold-water source. Water for each sample shall have
				  stood motionless in the plumbing system for at least six (6) hours and shall be
				  collected without flushing the tap.
11. "Global positioning system location" or
				  "GPS location" means specific geographic locations as determined by satellite
				  signals. GPS locations shall be reported in the appropriate coordinate system
				  (RI State Plane Feet) or in Latitude/Longitude in decimal degrees.
12. "Health advisory level" or "HA" means
				  that level recognized by the state for which corrective action should be
				  performed.
13. "Individual private
				  water supply system" means a system that supplies a single or duplex
				  residential unit.
14. "Interpreter"
				  means an individual who has the education/experience necessary to interpret
				  results of water quality analyses and is licensed to do so by the State of
				  Rhode Island.
15. "Maximum
				  contaminant level" or "MCL" means the maximum level allowable for a specific
				  drinking water constituent.
16.
				  "Multi-family residential systems" means systems that supply three (3) or more
				  units.
17. "Non-potable" means a
				  determination made through analysis that constituents that pose a health risk
				  are present in levels exceeding existing standards.
18. "Notification" means the formal
				  communication between the Department and the local public water supply agency
				  and chief executive officer of the community if a private well shows
				  contamination that threatens the local public water supply.
19. "Parameter", as used herein, includes,
				  but is not limited to, a constituent, contaminant, substance, organic chemical,
				  metal, analyte, attribute, or other measurable physical property that can be
				  analyzed for in drinking water.
20.
				  "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, or any
				  other legal entity or group of individuals who has/have decision-making
				  responsibilities for one (1) or more end-users.
21. "pH" means a measurement of the acidity
				  (hydrogen ion concentration) in water. Measurement ranges from 0 (acidic) - 14
				  (basic) with 7 being neutral.
22.
				  "Point-of-entry treatment" means water treatment that serves the entire house
				  by treating water and reducing contaminants as it enters the
				  structure.
23. "Point-of-use
				  treatment" means water treatment that serves only a single tap and reduces
				  contaminants at the discharge point only.
24. "Potable" means fit or suitable to
				  drink.
25. "Potability" means the
				  determination that water is potable and is safe for consumption.
26. "Private-drinking-water system" means a
				  system that extracts groundwater from a well or well field (wells on one (1) or
				  more properties), provides potable water for human consumption, and does not
				  meet the requirements to be classified as a public water system. These systems
				  also include commercial - mixed use, multi-family residential, single/duplex
				  residential, and individual private systems.
27. "Private well" means a water well that
				  can serve as a private drinking water system.
28. "Private well field" means a collection
				  of private wells that serve a private drinking water system.
29. "Private well water testing report form"
				  means a standardized form for the reporting of certified laboratory results to
				  be disseminated to the well owner or client to determine if the water is
				  potable.
30. "Public notification"
				  means a general notice relayed by the appropriate agency reporting well test
				  detections of constituents (that could increase health risks to adjoining
				  neighboring real estate owners) and recommending cautionary testing for
				  parameters of concern.
31. "Public
				  water system" means a system for the provision to the public of water for human
				  consumption through pipes or constructed conveyances; if such a 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.
32. "Recommended limit" means the optimal
				  range of upper and/or lower limits for various constituents, such as pH, Iron,
				  or Manganese.
33. "Residence" means
				  the location where a person is a domestic end-user of the water prior to
				  entering the wastewater flow system.
34. "Residential building" means a structure
				  consisting of one (1) or more residences that has an existing certificate of
				  occupancy, but shall not include any structure newly constructed that is
				  awaiting a certificate of occupancy.
35. "Sampler" means an individual who has
				  education/experience necessary to acquire drinking water samples for laboratory
				  analysis by following appropriate methods that may be found in New England
				  States' Common Sample Collection && Preservation Manual for Drinking
				  Water.
36. "Secondary maximum
				  contamination level" or "SMCL" means the acceptable level allowable for
				  aesthetic purposes.
37. "Service
				  connection" means the point in a water distribution system where water is
				  diverted from a communal flow line to a specific end user or residential unit.
				  Service connections may or may not be metered.
38. "Shared well" means a common well or well
				  field that provides drinking water to more than one (1) residential unit,
				  commercial enterprise, or any combination thereof.
39. "Single/duplex residential rental system"
				  means a private system that serves a single or duplex residential rental
				  property.
40. "Standard" means a
				  water quality standard as defined herein.
41. "Transfer" means a change in property
				  title resulting in a change in the end consumers of the water. It does not
				  include foreclosures or modification of property titles as a result of divorce
				  or other situation where the same parties will continue to have use of the
				  water for consumption.
42. "Water
				  quality standard or drinking water standard" means a standard that applies to a
				  constituent required for testing pursuant to these rules and regulations.
43. "Wastewater flow system" means
				  the system of collection, treatment, and discharge of water post end-user.
44. "Water well" means any hole or
				  excavation that is constructed for the purpose of removal of water using
				  standards set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-13.2.
45. "Water-well permit" means written
				  approval given by the local building official to permit the construction of a
				  drinking water well at a given location for testing as a potable source of
				  water, to replace an existing source, or prior to issuing a building permit for
				  new construction.
46. "Well record"
				  means the required submission of detailed information on the construction and
				  hydro-geologic settings and properties of a new or improved well to the Rhode
				  Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), in accordance with R.I.
				  Gen. Laws Chapter 46-13.2.