We publish our newsletter every other month. To receive the next issue in your inbox, join the ODW Newsletter email list.
ODW Now November 2026
Source Water Protection
Protect Your Source with Funding and Free Technical Assistance
Is your drinking water source at risk from contamination, declining supply, or other emerging threats? The Source Water Protection Local Assistance Program offers funding and free technical assistance to help you identify risks and protect your source!
We support projects that help water systems understand potential threats, protect water quality, and maintain reliable supplies. Examples include:
- Modeling Groundwater or Wellhead Protection Areas 331-813 (PDF): Understand how groundwater moves, map protection areas, and identify potential sources of contamination.
- Watershed Protection Project Funding 331-814 (PDF): Protect and improve the quality and quantity of water flowing into surface water intakes.
- Regional Source Water Protection Project Funding 331-812 (PDF): Work with neighboring systems and parters to address shared water quality or supply challenges.
Funding for Source Water Protection Projects
We offer up to $250,000 per project through reimbursement-based funding contracts. Applications are accepted year-round. Eligible applicants include non-profit Group A systems, local governments, tribes, or other entities working with a Group A system. Learn more in our Source Water Protection Local Assistance Program Guidelines 331-552 (PDF).
Free Technical Assistance for Groundwater Projects
Not sure where to start or don’t have a consultant? We offer free technical assistance through contracted hydrogeologic consulting firms to help your system plan and carry out groundwater protection projects. Projects may include hydrogeologic evaluations, aquifer characterization, and groundwater modeling. Priority is given to projects that model wellhead protection areas and address regional needs. Email Chelsea Cannard for more information.
Reach Out to Us!
Whether you need funding for a larger project or expert guidance on where to begin, we’re here to help you protect your drinking water source. Email us at sourcewaterprotection@doh.wa.gov.
Rule Update: Public Water Supplies, Group A and Group B
We are reviewing Chapter 246-290 WAC Group A Public Water Supplies (Group A Rule) and chapter 246-291 WAC Group B Public Water Systems (Group B Rule) for editorial updates.
The State Board of Health gave us rulemaking authority to revise the Group A and Group B rules. This update makes necessary editorial and technical improvements while ensuring that the rules comply with the Code Reviser’s 2025 Bill Drafting Guide and Washington Administrative Code Instructions on Style. The goal is to enhance the clarity of the regulations and ensure they meet modern standards for plain language and effective rule drafting, without altering the original intent of the rules.
We plan to file the CR-102 Proposed Rulemaking by December 1, 2026. We will open the public comment period through December 2026, with a public hearing planned for January 6, 2027. The CR-102 filing includes a strike-out underlined version of the language so you can review the proposed changes.
- Certain titles are no longer bolded.
- Removed the use of parenthesis in favor of commas.
- Proper use of the words “must/shall,” “if,” “when,” “may,” and “where.”
- Moved exceptions to a requirement to the start of the requirement section so it is immediately clear if that requirement applies to the reader.
- Removed the use of “and/or.”
- Used easy to read lists where lengthy paragraphs existed.
- Updated numbers. Except for measured quantities and the first word of a sentence, counting numbers from zero to nine are in words and all other numbers are expressed with Arabic numerals.
- Removed physical street addresses.
- Removed unused definitions or defined the word within a chapter if it only applies to one chapter.
- Corrected federal and state citations where recent rule updates have changed statute numbering.
We will review and consider all public comments before filing the CR-103 in late December 2026 or in early January 2027.
UW Climate Impacts Group PNW Water Year 2026 Survey
Happy 2027 Water Year! The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and the Washington State Climate Office, in collaboration with the NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System and other regional partners, are asking for your participation in helping us document weather and climate impacts of the 2026 water year (October 1, 2025-September 30, 2026) for the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho). This anonymous survey asks about impacts and response actions that were implemented during the 2026 water year by sector due to either abnormally dry or abnormally wet conditions. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete and will be open through Friday, December 11. Your responses are vital for informing the PNW Water Year Impacts Assessment and we greatly appreciate your contributions!
Adjusting Workflow: How DWINSA Efforts Impact Us All
You may have recently heard the term “DWINSA”—Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment—or Needs Assessment. If EPA selected your drinking water system for participation, then you’ve likely heard about it in much greater detail. For water systems around the state, there are both long and near-term impacts we want you to know about.
Future Funding
First, DWINSA efforts made by water systems and ODW staff directly impact Washington’s funding percentage of the overall congressional appropriation for the nationwide Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The more we communicate Washington's infrastructure need to EPA, the higher percentage of federal funding will be provided to Washington State.
This pot of money is the largest source of funding for both ODW operations and the DWSRF loans and grant programs for water systems. Visit our Needs Assessment—Drinking Water webpage to learn how this money is used for activities ranging from supporting local health and subsidizing sanitary survey costs to funding our data systems and treatment optimization programs.
The bottom line is that our ability to be responsive to the regulated community is directly impacted by this effort and the results it produces.
Tight Deadlines
Unfortunately, current efforts to complete the DWINSA survey may impact our timeliness of response from engineering and planning staff. The DWINSA survey occurs every four years and takes an intense effort by the systems and staff involved. It is important to ensure the data submitted to EPA is accurate and captures to the greatest extent possible the needs of our state.
If you haven’t experienced a DWINSA survey, imagine a several-stage sanitary survey mixed with a water system plan review, but focused on the infrastructure information, replacement, and capital projects forecasted out over the next 20 years.
Additionally, this year EPA delayed the survey launch date, which reduced the time to complete the survey by 50 percent. By the time you read this article, there will be fewer than four months of the abridged six-month timeline remaining. To achieve this enormous task, we allocated as much staff time as possible. As a result, there may be delays with our responses to engineering and planning submittals as staff complete DWINSA work.
Thank You!
For those systems directly participating in DWINSA, thank you for your effort and responsiveness as we work to document the state’s infrastructure need over the next 20 years.
For the systems impacted indirectly, thank you for your patience as we try to balance these competing needs. With everyone doing their part, we can maximize the funding for both infrastructure and staff to support drinking water in Washington over the next four years and beyond.
Drinking Water Advisory Group (DWAG) December 7, 2026, Meeting
We hold all our meetings through Microsoft Teams video, so you can join our meeting with your computer, laptop, tablet, or phone from wherever you are. You can find the Teams links and meeting agenda on our DWAG Meeting webpage. After the meeting we post any handouts or presentations and, within a month, we post the meeting notes.
Do you want to receive advance notice of meetings and their agendas? Join our advisory group email list.
Do you have questions or topics you want to discuss? Email John Freitag or DWInfo@doh.wa.gov.
Receiverships Explained
Receivership is a legal mechanism that ODW may use when a public water system fails to provide safe and reliable water. We use a variety of tools to maintain regulatory compliance. These include informal actions such as phone calls, letters, site visits and technical assistance, and formal enforcement actions such as issuing orders and penalties. Learn more on our Receivership webpage.
In most cases, by the time formal enforcement action occurs, the water system has exhausted all reasonable justification for not meeting requirements. As a last resort, if the system fails to respond, the court may appoint a receiver to operate the water system. A receiver can be appointed to temporarily take responsibility for operating the water system while a sustainable long-term solution is developed.
A key consideration for receivership determination is a water system’s technical, managerial, and financial capacity. These areas include the infrastructure, knowledge, qualified personnel, management practices, and financial resources needed to operate and maintain a system and meet drinking water requirements. For smaller water systems, maintaining these resources can be especially challenging. The costs, expertise, and responsibilities involved in operating a water system do not necessarily become smaller just because the system serves fewer customers. In some cases, becoming part of a larger organization may provide a more practical and sustainable way forward.
Owners do not have to wait for us to pursue receivership before exploring options. An owner who is ready for a change in ownership or management can work with us, local governments, or other water systems to explore a transfer, consolidation, or other long-term solution.
In many cases, finding a larger or more capable water system to take over operation may be the simplest path to greater stability. We help owners and local governments identify potential options and navigate the transition. If a solution cannot be reached voluntarily, receivership provides a mechanism for moving that process forward, using court ordered management of the system by a potential receiver, usually assigned to the respective county utility or government entity.
Under RCW 43.70.195, a receiver works with ODW and local government to assess the system’s ability to operate in compliance with health and safety standards and recommend options for its future operation. These options may include:
- Returning the system to its owner under appropriate conditions,
- Transferring ownership or management, or
- Consolidating the system with another capable water system.
The law also requires development of a plan for the system’s future that considers reasonable and feasible alternatives. The goal is not simply to place a system into receivership, but to use the process to identify a stable, sustainable arrangement for the system and the customers it serves.
As of October 2026, eight public water systems are in receivership or in the process of entering receivership. These cases include systems where a change in ownership or management can provide a path toward more sustainable operation. Ultimately, receivership is a last resort tool for helping water systems move from a challenging situation toward a more stable future, and ensuring customers continue to have access to safe and reliable drinking water when other compliance efforts cannot be achieved.
2027 Drinking Water Week Awards
Drinking Water Week will be here before you know it. Next year it’s May 2-8. The nomination form is open now until February 15, 2027. If you know someone in the drinking water industry who has done an outstanding job, overcome a challenge, or is retiring after a long career, tell us their story and nominate them for an award! If you’re proud of what your water system has accomplished in the last year—submit a nomination form and tell us what they’ve done.
Read about past winners to get an idea of others’ award-winning accomplishments on our Drinking Water Week page.
Fill out a nomination form today!
Joint Review Procedures Update
The Department of Health along with the Department of Ecology updated the Joint Review Procedures for Planning and Engineering Documents.
We received feedback from our partners and DOH and Ecology staff that we incorporated into the new version. This is intended to be a living document that we update and improve based on user input.
Clarification
- If a water system response to Ecology’s comments requires changes to the planning/engineering document, then the water system will make those changes and resubmit their document for subsequent review (go back to step 1 in the diagram).
- The water system needs to respond separately to any comments or requests for more information from us.
Increased Communication
- Ecology will clearly indicate if an appealable action will be taken.
- Added text boxes for important points and best practices.
- Updated flow chart/process diagram.
Please contact John Freitag if you have any questions or feedback.
Did you hit snooze on PFAS requirements? Here's What's Next...
We are nearing the end of the initial monitoring period for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They have been on the Water Quality Monitoring Schedule (WQMS) since 2023. In our emails about the WQMS coming back online, we discussed how PFAS regulations have changed and what is needed to meet initial monitoring.
EPA calls the next phase of PFAS monitoring "compliance monitoring," which starts April 26, 2027. You can read more on our PFAS in Drinking Water webpage.
Did you already meet initial monitoring requirements with either scenario below?
Two samples five to seven months apart—for ground water sources for systems serving 10,000 people or less;
—OR—
Four quarterly samples that are each two to four months apart from the other samples in each adjacent quarter—as required for larger systems (serving more than 10,000 people) and all surface water and GWI sources.
Do you know if your sources qualify for the one-time option for reduced triennial monitoring, or if you might be scheduled for quarterly monitoring next?
Expected Changes
Here’s what to expect starting April 26, 2027. Monitoring will be based on how you met your initial monitoring requirements, or did NOT meet your requirements, and if all your results are below half the MCL.
The table below shows some numbers that might help you. For monitoring, the trigger column is important.
Triennial Monitoring Requirements
To qualify for the one-time option for triennial monitoring, your source must have:
- All reported results below the trigger values, including the non-detect results,
- Met both the correct number, and spacing/timing of samples,
- Results in Sentry by April 26, 2027.
Because the first three-year period is shortened by the end of initial monitoring, you must collect all compliance monitoring samples beginning April 26, 2027. Three-year schedules on the WQMS will show a compliance interval from May 2027 to December 2029.
Quarterly Monitoring Requirements
If you had a source with detections equal to or above the trigger, then you will start compliance monitoring with a year of quarterly samples. The first quarter will also be shortened, with all samples collected on or after April 26, 2027. The first quarter's sampling schedule will run from May through June 2027.
Some systems without detections are also required to sample quarterly for a year because they did not meet:
- Correct number of samples,
- Correct timing for those sample, or,
- Non-detect results were reported for PFOS or PFOA as less than 4.0 ng/L.
For example, if you needed two samples five to seven months apart, and you took samples in January 2022, April 2022, and December 2025, you will be scheduled for quarterly because your results are too closely spaced, even if they are non-detect.
After the first year of quarterly monitoring, sources with all results below 80 percent of the MCL will get to reduce their monitoring to annual instead of quarterly for the next three years. For sources without detections equal to or above the trigger, you may reduce to triennial after three years of annual monitoring.
You can view your results on our Sentry internet to see what results have been received for your sources.
Updated Population Estimate Resources
Check out our updated publication How to Estimate Water System Population 331-791 (PDF). We heard you when you expressed difficulty making these estimates. We updated our tools and resources to help you identify the minimum level of monitoring currently required under federal law.
Updated guidance includes:
- Web App Quick Start Guide.
- How the Monitoring Population is Calculated.
- Residential, Visitor, and Commuter estimates resources.
Are you a Community water system with more than 100 non-residential connections? Check out our Web App for updated population estimates!
Web App Features
- Current Reported Population on the WFI.
- Current Monitoring Population.
- Residential Population Estimates.
- Visitor Population Resources.
- Commuter Population Resources.
- Service Area Map Info.
Updated Data
- 2025 Census Bureau Block Data. Table P1 Total Population. Highly accurate, water system specific estimates for residential population. Updated every year.
- 2025 State of Washington Tourism Visitor Estimates. County specific and applied to non-residential connections. Reliable county wide visitor totals. Updated every year.
- 2023 OnTheMap Commuter Estimates. Block level estimates of the number of workers traveling into the water system to work. Highly accurate, water system specific estimates of commuters. Updated every year.
Systems with Less than 100 Non-Residential Connections
Reach out to wfi@doh.wa.gov, we can help you build a map and apply the residential and commuter estimates to a variety of different sized systems.
Planning Staff Updates
Our Planning Team welcomes Anna Caudill as a new Regional Planner. We also revised some county contacts.
Crystal Nuno, Pierce, Snohomish.
Krista Chavez, King, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom.
Meredith Jones, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston, and Wahkiakum.
Jamie Clark, Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Whitman.
Ben Majors, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Walla Walla, and Yakima.
Anna Caudill, Clallam, Island, Jefferson, and Kitsap.
Water System Planning webpage.
If you're unable to print the newsletter, please contact our office closest to you and a staff member will print and mail you a copy.
Sign up for future issues of ODW Now.
Archived Issues of ODW Now
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
Archived Issues of Water Tap
2020
2019
2018
2017
H2Ops Newsletter Webpage
Note: The documents on this page were published on the dates specified. The internet links and other resources cited in the document were current as of those dates.