ELAP Provides Sewer Spill Sampling and Lab Guidance

Wastewater News

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According to State Water Board ELAP staff members the decision to require accreditation in specific field of accreditations (FOAs) is determined by the WDR program and ELAP can provide some general guidance.

The reason that ELAP has two distinct FOA tables for microbiological methods is because some Water Board programs specifically require the use of methods approved in Table IA (wastewater/sludge) or Table IH (ambient water) in 40 CFR 136.3 for their programs.

The microbiological methods listed in FOA Table 107 and FOA Table 126 (corresponding to Tables IA and IH, respectively, in 40 CFR 136.3) are mostly the same methods except for a few of the enzyme-substrate methods like Colilert/Colilert 18, and the method procedures and method performance are largely unaltered or unaffected by analyzing the two different matrices required in the Sanitary Sewer Systems General Order.

Therefore, ELAP staff recommends the following guidance:

“For the storm drain sample, the laboratory must be accredited in a field of accreditation (FOA) that appears in FOA Table 107. For the surface water samples, the laboratory must be accredited in an FOA from either FOA Table 107 or FOA Table 126.”

Please contact the ELAP office if you have any questions.