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  1. Water
  2. Fundamental water quality

Fundamental water quality

Features>Water>30. Fundamental water quality

30. Fundamental water quality

Untreated water can harbor dangerous pathogens and other contaminants. While there are many ways to measure water quality, testing for all potential contaminants can be cumbersome and expensive. However, especially in locations where access to potable water is limited, simple criteria can be applied to indicate an acceptable level of water safety and quality without performing excessive testing.

To assess water safety under a variety of circumstances, this feature requires performance tests for total coliform bacteria and turbidity: two measures that serve as an indicator for the possible presence of many other harmful contaminants.

Part 1: Sediment

All water being delivered to the project area except water not designated for human contact meets the following requirements:

a.50 Turbidity of the water sample is less than 0.3 NTU.
Part 1: Organic Pollutants

Water from all kitchen faucets and drinking fountains, if present, meets the following requirements:

a.45 Styrene less than 0.0005 mg/L.
b.44 Benzene less than 0.001 mg/L.
c.44 Ethylbenzene less than 0.3 mg/L.
d.54 Polychlorinated biphenyls less than 0.0005 mg/L.
e.54 Vinyl chloride less than 0.002 mg/L.
f.44 Toluene less than 0.15 mg/L.
g.53 Xylenes (total: m, p and o) less than 0.5 mg/L.
h.54 Tetrachloroethylene less than 0.005 mg/L.
Immune
Urinary
Digestive
Nervous

Applicability Matrix

Core & Shell Tenant Improvement New Construction
Part 1: Sediment P P P
Part 1: Organic Pollutants P P P
Commercial Kitchen Schools Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
Part 1: Sediment P P P P P
Part 1: Organic Pollutants P P P P P

Verification Methods Matrix

Letters of Assurance Annotated Documents On-Site Checks
PART 1 (Performance)
Sediment 		Performance Test
PART 1 (Performance)
Organic Pollutants 		Performance Test

50

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. EPA 816-B-13-002. Published May 2009. Washington, D.C.
30.1.a

The US EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations notes that for systems that use conventional or direct filtration, "samples for turbidity must be less than or equal to 0.3 NTU in at least 95 percent of the samples in any month".
54

Office of Water. 2012 Edition of the Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories. Washington D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 2012: 2, 3, 5-11.
30.2.a

The EPA 2012 Edition of the Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories set a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for Total Coliforms at 0.
Features>Water>30. Fundamental water quality