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Message: [QUOTE="DirtMechanic, post: 169798, member: 5568"] I stand corrected again. "In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law requires EPA to determine the level of contaminants in drinking water at which no adverse health effects are likely to occur. These non-enforceable health goals, based solely on possible health risks and exposure over a lifetime with an adequate margin of safety, are called maximum contaminant level goals (MCLG). Contaminants are any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substances or matter in water. The MCLG for copper is 1.3 mg/L or 1.3 ppm. EPA has set this level of protection based on the best available science to prevent potential health problems. For most contaminants, EPA sets an enforceable regulation called a maximum contaminant level (MCL) based on the MCLG. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible, considering cost, benefits and the ability of public water systems to detect and remove contaminants using suitable treatment technologies. However, because copper contamination of drinking water often results from corrosion of the plumbing materials belonging to water system customers, EPA established a treatment technique rather than an MCL for copper. A treatment technique is an enforceable procedure or level of technological performance which water systems must follow to ensure control of a contaminant. The treatment technique regulation for copper (referred to as the Lead and Copper rule) requires water systems to control the corrosivity of the water. The regulation also requires systems to collect tap samples from sites served by the system that are more likely to have plumbing materials containing lead. If more than 10 percent of tap water samples exceed the copper action level of 1.3 milligrams per Liter (mg/L), water systems must take additonal steps to reduce corrosiveness. EPA promulgated the Lead and Copper Rule in 1991, and revised the regulation in 2000 and in 2007. States may set a more stringent regulation for copper in drinking water than EPA." [/QUOTE]

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