New Legislation: Customers Must Be Informed Of Water Contamination Within 24 Hours

Because of a law passed at the end of last year, public water utilities will now have to inform customers within 24 hours if contaminated water is flowing into their homes. This new requirement comes as a response to the Flint, MI, water crisis and shortens the notification period from 60 days.

Governing reported that the law, “comes after utilities and state environmental regulators failed to alert residents to high lead levels in drinking water in Ohio and Michigan.” Both states have already passed laws that requires a faster response.

The changes made will add lead to a list of contaminants that already includes E. coli, waterborne diseases, and high levels of nitrates. Dan Hartnett, director of legislative affairs at the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, explained that the notification process for alerting customers to high levels of lead should already be in place for those other contaminants, per Governing.

“The more difficult part, [Hartnett] says, will be figuring out when the 24-hour notification period starts,” reported Governing. “So it’s unclear whether utilities should alert the public based on the first set of test results it receives during periodic monitoring, or whether the water system should wait until all of the results are in.”

The U.S. EPA will clear the issue up within the next few months.

In January, legislation requiring Michigan communities to be informed at a faster pace than the residents of Flint had been was signed by Governor Rick Snyder.

The bill signing was the first policy change that was signed into state law as a result of the Flint water crisis, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"This bill is an important first step," Snyder said. "This is about dealing with the tragic crisis we've suffered through."