Home > How to Certify
Safe Drinking Water is Being Provided
How to Certify Safe Drinking Water
is Being Provided
All applicants, regardless of building use, must certify
that the center provides safe drinking water before the DCF Office
of Licensing will approve an application to operate a child care
center.
If a Child Care Facility is connected to a community water
system, the Child Care Facility shall provide such documentation,
including the name of the community water system, and either a
copy of a recent water bill indicating service to the applicants
address, or a letter from the public community water system certifying
the service to the address in question.
Identifying your Public Water System
To determine the name of the public water system serving a residence
or child care vicinity, please visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/swap/creport.htm.
Use the drop down menus at the bottom of this web page to search
by, county, municipality, and/or Public Works Identification number
(PWID).
If the Child Care Facility is not connected to a community
water system, the Child Care Facility shall demonstrate they provide
potable water which meets the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs)
established for nontransient noncommunity water systems, including
radiological contaminants, by following the instructions in the
remainder of this document. We strongly recommend you contact
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau
of Safe Drinking Water at (609) 292-5550 prior to sampling.
Once analyses are completed, results should be submitted to the
Bureau of Safe Drinking Water for determination of compliance
with N.J.S.A. 10:122-5.2
Sampling Procedures and Parameters
Sampling shall be conducted within three years prior to the date
of application submission, except nitrates and coliform, for which
the sampling shall have been conducted within 90 days prior to
the date of application.
All analysis shall be conducted by a laboratory certified for
appropriate drinking water parameters by the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection's Office of Quality Assurance. A list
of certified laboratories can be obtained by phoning (609) 292-3950
or accessing http://www.nj.gov/dep/oqa/certlabs.htm.
Analytical methods and QA/QC protocols should be those used for
compliance by community and nontransient noncommunity water systems
as specified in the Federal and State Safe Drinking Water Act
Regulations.
Sampling for all contaminants shall be of raw water, collected
prior to any treatment. If treatment exists on the well to address
a particular contaminant, the water shall also be tested after
treatment for that contaminant.
Analysis must be for the following parameters:
Nitrate
Coliform
If total coliform bacteria are detected, a test must also
be conducted for fecal coliform or E. coli
Volatile organic compounds including all for which federal
or New Jersey Maximum Contaminant Levels exist
The following inorganic compounds: antimony, arsenic, barium,
beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cyanide, fluoride, mercury,
selenium, thallium
The following radiological contaminants: gross alpha particle
activity, radium 226, radium 228, and uranium. It may not
be necessary to analyze the sample for radium 226 and uranium
if the concentrations of gross alpha particle activity and
radium 228 are sufficiently low. In addition, it may be acceptable
to only conduct one round of sampling for radiological contaminants
instead of with each renewal. Contact the Bureau
of Safe Drinking Water at (609) 292-5550 for further information.
The following synthetic organic compounds: dibromochloropropane
(DBCP), ethylene dibromide (EDB) and 1,2,3-Trichloropropane. It may be sufficient to
conduct one round of sampling for these synthetic organic
compounds instead of with each renewal. Analysis for these
compounds must be conducted using USEPA Method 504.1. Contact
the Bureau
of Safe Drinking Water at (609) 292-5550 for further information.
The following secondary contaminants: Chloride, hardness
(as CaCO3), iron, manganese, sodium, sulfate, total dissolved
solids, zinc, pH
Lead and copper. The location and number of samples for
lead and copper shall be conducted as if Child Care Facility
were a nontransient noncommunity water system
If the water supplied to the building is currently regulated
as a noncommunity water system under the Federal and State Safe
Drinking Water Act Regulations, the noncommunity water system
name and unique PWSID (Public Water System Identification Number)
should be provided.
