SAFE DRINKING WATER: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: MASTER PRIORITY LIST

Notice Read the Following: Pursuant to A.R.S. § 49-358, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (Department) has developed a water system compliance assistance program to assist public water systems in complying with state and federal laws, rules and regulations regarding safe drinking water. Currently there are 1,533 PWSs in operation in Arizona. Of this universe of water systems, 959 are classified as “community” or “non-transient, non-community” with 93% of those serving 10,000 or fewer persons. Historically, these small-and medium-sized public water systems have accrued the vast majority of Arizona’s reported drinking water violations (e.g., contaminant exceedance violations, no certified operator, missed monitoring). The compliance assistance program works to ensure that public water systems possess the technical, managerial and financial capabilities to operate in accordance with all the drinking water rules and regulation and identifies smaller public water systems needing technical assistance which is provided by the Department or by a third party consultants.

Draft Master Priority List: Public water systems are identified for technical assistance on the basis of the Master Priority List (MPL) which is updated annually in March. The criteria used to determine the need for assistance include the criteria used in determining the technical, managerial and financial (TMF) capacity of existing PWSs. Additional criteria include the water systems score on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Enforcement Targeting Tool, system classification type, population served, and violation history. Technical assistance contracts are typically awarded to conduct a TMF capacity assessment of the water system and/or an evaluation of compliance options. As funding allows, the Department will award technical assistance to the PWSs with the highest MPL ranking. The Water Infrastructure Financing Authority (WIFA) also uses the MPL to identify possible candidates for additional technical assistance and/or financial assistance (e.g., low interest loans, planning grants) through that program.

Pursuant to A.A.C. R18-4-803(D), the Department is publishing the draft 2016 Master Priority List and will hold a public meeting to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the Master Priority List. With this publication, a 30-day public review and written comment period begins. The draft MPL can be viewed at: https://azdeq.gov/environ/water/dw/index.html#capdev