Division of Drinking and Ground Waters

Guiding Principles

• Develop and support innovative, practical and effective solutions
• Exercise sound, professional judgement in decision-making
• Actively use our mission, vision and guiding principles in our decision-making
• Continually strive to improve the quality of our work
• Recognize quality work in each other and our customers
• Provide consistent, timely service to internal and external customers
• Treat each other and our customers with courtesy and respect
• Practice basic principles of positive human interaction, cooperation, teamwork and honesty
• Encourage employee pride, self-improvement and self-motivation
• Utilize all of the training and tools available to effectively perform our job duties
• Actively participate in the Agency's strategic management process
• Integrate and promote pollution prevention activities
• Support and promote environmental education for the public

About the Drinking Water Program

The Division of Drinking and Ground Water's (DDAGW) Drinking Water Program manages the federally delegated drinking water program and implements both state and federal Safe Drinking Water statutes and rules adopted under these laws. To carry out the program, DDAGW:  

• Develops rules which match U.S. EPA regulations and are at least as stringent as the federal rules;
• Conducts inspections of water treatment plants, storage and distribution systems to ensure proper construction and operation;
• Informs Public Water Systems (PWSs) of their monitoring and reporting requirements under the law;
• Tracks systems' compliance with rules by reviewing their self-monitoring reports and the analytical results of their water sampling;
• Takes appropriate enforcement action for failure to comply with Ohio's safe drinking water laws and regulations;
• Collects and tracks data regarding various activities and reports appropriately to the federal government.

 Drinking Water Staff also:

• Inspect and certify laboratories to ensure proper analysis of drinking water samples;
• Review plans for new or modified PWSs, provides technical assistance to PWSs to help them operate properly and achieve and maintain compliance;
• Evaluate water plants to determine which classification of certified operator is required to properly operate the plant;
• Administer the water and wastewater operator certification program;
• Respond to emergencies, such as chemical spills or floods which either threaten a source of water or causes a treatment plant to be out of operation;
• Respond to and investigate complaints of contaminated drinking water or water borne disease.

About the Ground Water Program

The Division of Drinking and Ground Water's (DDAGW) Ground Water Program:  

• Oversees implementation of the Ohio Ground Water Protection and Management Strategy, which serves as a guide to all state programs with ground water related responsibilities to help ensure coordinated and comprehensive protection and management of the state's ground water resources;
• Manages and promotes participation in Ohio's Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) Program, which helps to ensure the present and future availability of safe drinking water for public water system consumers;
• Manages the state's Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program, which regulates the types and amounts of waste that can be injected into underground geologic formations;
• Monitors through sampling and analysis the quality of ground water found in the various geologic regions around Ohio;
• Conducts specialized monitoring studies to identify ground water contamination problems, determines cause and effect relationships and recommends strategies for preventing contamination;
• Works with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water to identify, quantify and remediate the adverse impacts on ground water caused by non-point source activities, such as feed lot operations and agricultural applications of fertilizer and pesticides;
• Administers the State Coordinating Committee on Ground Water to enhance coordination among state agencies.

In addition to the above mentioned direct activities, the Division's Ground Water Program acts as a consultant to other divisions in the Agency on all matters relating to ground water. This work is carried out under memorandums of understanding, which spell out what work will be done by each party and the amount of funding that the contracting division will provide the Ground Water Program. The contracting divisions are:

• Environmental Response and Revitalization (DERR)
• Materials and Waste Management (DMWM) 

Additionally, technical assistance is provided to other agency and state programs (e.g., the Division of Surface Water, the Drinking Water Program, the Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations [BUSTR]), industry, public officials and the general public on various ground water programs, ground water quality, hydrogeology and other related information.

Source Water Assessment and Protection

• Also known as "Wellhead Protection" and "Drinking Water Source Protection," the Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) Program assists public water suppliers with protecting sources of drinking water (streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and aquifers) from contamination.

Public Drinking Water Supply Beneficial Use

• The collaboration between the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act works to ensure public water systems produce safe drinking water using only conventional treatment, resulting in reduced financial cost to communities and minimized risk to human health.

Enforcement

• To learn more about enforcement actions taken by the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Rules, click here.

Ground Water Support to Ohio EPA Programs

• Provides technical assistance to the public, regulated community, other governmental entities and other Ohio EPA Divisions concerning ground water related issues

Technical Guidance Manual for Hydrogeologic Investigations and Ground Water Monitoring (TGM)

• Identifies technical considerations for performing hydrogeologic investigations and ground water monitoring at potential or known ground water pollution sources

Ground Water Quality Characterization Program

• Characterizes ambient ground water quality conditions, identifies ground water contamination, and recommends strategies for preventing contamination

Laboratory Certification

• Locate a certified laboratory and get guidance about how to become a certified laboratory including resources and reporting

Operator Certification

• Certifies water and wastewater system operators to ensure public water and wastewater systems are operated by properly trained and qualified individuals

Division of Drinking and Ground Waters (DDAGW) Programs

The largest section of DDAGW is involved with overseeing public water systems.

Public Water Systems

• A comprehensive list of information pertaining to public water system operating and compliance

Capability Assurance

• Ensures public water systems have the technical, managerial and financial capability to ensure long term compliance with all public drinking water regulations

Enforcement - Public Water Systems

• Actions taken against public water systems for violations of Safe Drinking Water Rules

Engineering and Plan Approval

• Plan reviews and guidance for drinking water facilities, backflow prevention and cross-connection control

Financial Assistance

• Coordinates several programs that offer below market rate loans to eligible public water systems to fund improvements to eliminate public health threats and ensure compliance with federal and state drinking water laws and regulations

License to Operate (LTO)

• In Ohio, public water systems (PWSs) are required to obtain a license to operate (LTO) from Ohio EPA. The LTO indicates the PWS is approved by the Agency to supply drinking water to the public and must be prominently displayed at the facility. PWS are required to renew their license every year.

Security and Emergency Preparedness

• Tools and resources to help water systems prepare for, respond to and recover from emergency events 

Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting 

• Includes public water system monitoring and guidance, monitoring schedules and how to report water quality results to the Ohio EPA (electronic data reporting)

Rules

• Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rules administered by the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters are located on the Rules page.

Policies and Guidance

• Currently effective policy and guidance documents related to the safe drinking water program are included on the Rules page.

Security and Emergency Preparedness

• A quick and effective response to emergency events is critical for protection of public health and the environment

Underground Injection Control (UIC)

• The UIC program is responsible for the regulation of Class I, IV and V injection wells, and for assuring that their operation does not contaminate underground sources of drinking water.