W. Va. Code R. § 64-3-3 - [Effective 7/1/2025] Definitions

3.1. "Bottled water" means all water which is sealed in bottles, packages, or other containers and offered for sale for human consumption, including bottled mineral water.

3.2. "Bottled water distributor" means a person who buys and sells bottled water on a wholesale basis.

3.3. "Bureau" means the Bureau for Public Health in the Department of Health.

3.4. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health or his or her designee.

3.5. "Conjunctive delineation" means the integrated delineation of the ground water contribution area and the surface water contribution area for a public water system.

3.6. "Demonstration of Capability (DOC)" means before analyzing compliance samples, an analytical team shall demonstrate acceptable precision, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for the method to be used, as described in the referenced document in subdivision 13.2.1. of this rule.

3.7. "Department" means the West Virginia Department of Health.

3.8. "Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)" means the basic unit of an ordered grouping of watersheds and sub-watersheds that make up the entire drainage network of the United States. This drainage network was developed by the United States Geological Survey. Each watershed is assigned a unique identification code based on its location and relationship with surrounding watersheds. The hydrologic unit identification code is a number consisting of between two to 17 digits depending on factors specific to each watershed. In West Virginia, most major river basins have been assigned one or more eight-digit hydrologic unit codes. Each of these eight-digit hydrologic units has been further divided into smaller watersheds identified by 11-, 14-, and 17-digit hydrologic unit codes.

3.9. "Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO)" means an interstate water pollution control agency that was established as a provision of and to implement the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Compact, signed in 1948 by the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

3.10. "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, syndicate, company, firm, trust, corporation, government corporation, institution, department, division, bureau, agency, federal agency, or any other entity recognized by law.

3.11. "Potential Source of Significant Contamination (PSSC)" means a facility or activity that stores, uses, or produces substances or compounds with potential for significant contaminating impact if released into the source water of a public water supply.

3.12. "Proficiency Testing Sample (PT)" means a sample provided to the laboratory for the purpose of demonstrating that the laboratory can successfully analyze the sample within specified acceptance limits specified in this rule. The qualitative composition, quantitative composition, or both, of the reference material is unknown to the laboratory at the time of analysis.

3.13. "Public groundwater supply source" means a primary source of water supply for a public water system which is directly drawn from a well, underground stream, underground reservoir, underground mine, or other primary source of water supplies which is found underneath the surface of the state.

3.14. "Public surface water supply source" means a primary source of water supply for a public water system which is directly drawn from rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, impoundments, or other primary sources of water supplies which are found on the surface of the state.

3.15. "Public surface water-influenced groundwater supply source" means a source of water supply for a public water system which is directly drawn from an underground well, underground river or stream, underground reservoir, or underground mine, and the quantity and quality of the water in that underground supply source is heavily influenced, directly or indirectly, by the quantity and quality of surface water in the immediate area.

3.16. "Public Water System" means a public water system is:

3.16.1. Any water supply or system which regularly supplies or offers to supply water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if serving at least an average of 25 individuals per day for at least 60 days per year, or which has at least 15 service connections, and shall include:

3.16.1.a. Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under the control of the owner or operator of the system and used primarily in connection with the system; and

3.16.1.b. Any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with the system.

3.16.2 A public water system does not include a system which meets all of the following conditions:

3.16.2.a. Consists only of distribution and storage facilities and does not have any collection and treatment facilities;

3.16.2.b. Obtains all of its water from, but is not owned or operated by, a public water system that otherwise meets the definition;

3.16.2.c. Does not sell water to any person; and

3.16.2.d. Is not a carrier conveying passengers in interstate commerce.

3.17. "Public Water Utility" means a public water system which is regulated by the West Virginia Public Service Commission pursuant to the provisions of W. Va. Code § 24-1-1 et seq.

3.18. "Sanitary Survey" means an on-site review of the water source, facilities, equipment, operation, and maintenance of a public water system for the purpose of evaluating the adequacy of the source, facilities, equipment, operation, and maintenance for producing and distributing safe drinking water, as described in the federal regulations adopted in this rule.

3.19. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Health.

3.20. "Unaccounted for water" means the water introduced into the distribution system less all metered usage and all known non-metered usage which can be estimated with reasonable accuracy.

3.21. "Watershed" means an area of land from which surface water drains into a common outlet, such as a river, lake, or wetland.

3.22. "Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA)" means the surface and subsurface area surrounding a water well or wellfield, supplying a public water system, through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach such water well or wellfield.

3.23. "Zone of Critical Concern (ZCC)" means the area for a public surface water supply that is comprised of a corridor along streams within a watershed that warrants more detailed scrutiny due to its proximity to the surface water intake and the intake's susceptibility to potential contaminants within that corridor. The zone of critical concern is determined using a mathematical model that accounts for stream flows, gradient, and area topography. The length of the zone of critical concern is based on a five-hour time-of-travel of water in the streams to the water intake, plus an additional one-fourth mile below the water intake. The width of the zone of critical concern is 1,000 feet measured horizontally from each bank of the principal stream and 500 feet measured horizontally from each bank of the tributaries draining into the principal stream.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 64-3-3