LEAD AND COPPER RULE

Water quality standards covered under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and amendments thereto, as set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule is a set of treatment technique requirements which apply to all community and non-transient non-community water systems (see Public Water Supply Systems). Treatment techniques rather than Minimum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) were established for lead and copper because the occurrence of these contaminants in a drinking water supply is usually the result of corrosion in plumbing materials within both the household plumbing and the distribution system. The rule requires all systems which do not meet the specified lead and copper action levels at the tap to optimize corrosion control treatment in an effort to minimize the levels of these contaminants. The action level is 0.015 mg/l (milligrams per liter) for lead and 1.3 mg/l for copper measured at the 90th percentile. See 90th Percentile.