A
Adjusted Status
A water system that:
- Adds fluoride to raise the natural concentration up to the optimal level for the prevention of cavities
- May have its own water source
- May purchase non-fluoridated water from another system, then adds fluoride
- Is fluoridated
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B
C
Chemical Type
The source of chemical for the fluoride, e.g. NaF, Natural, Parent, etc. A chemical type does not apply if the fluoridation status is Multi-Source.
Child Water System
A Water system that purchases water from another system (parent).
Community Water System (CWS)
A public water system (PWS) that supplies water to the same population year-round.
Consecutive Status
A water system has a Consecutive status if it purchases water from another system. A consecutive system is considered a “Child” since it purchases water from the parent.
A Consecutive water system:
- Purchases water from another system
- Does not adjust the fluoride concentration
- May be fluoridated or non-fluoridated depending on the source
Note: If a Consecutive water system in SDWIS purchases non-fluoridated water, and then adds fluoride to adjust to optimum, it should be Adjusted in WFRS, not Consecutive.
Consumer Confidence Report (CCR)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires public water systems to provide an annual report to customers summarizing that quality of the water in that water system.
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D
Dampen Factor
When the total of all state reported CWS populations exceeds the Census population for that state, a dampen factor is applied so that the total PWS population does not exceed the census population.
Defluoridated Status
A water system is considered Defluoridated if:
- The finished water fluoride concentration delivered to consumers is reduced either by a treatment process which removes fluoride from the water, OR
- Water with high fluoride is blended with waters with a low fluoride concentration
In WFRS a Defluoridated water system:
-
Does not purchase water from another system
- Has a high natural fluoride concentration
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E
EPA ID
Each water system has a unique EPA PWS ID number consisting of a 2-digit alpha State code and 7 digit number. For example, CA 1234567. The system table in WFRS/MWF uses this unique number and links all of the other tables and system attributes based upon this number. This allows data exchange between SDWIS and WFRS/MWF.
EPA ID Number vs. Data Owner
If a Reservation crosses state boundaries, the tribe is the Owner, since the water systems within the reservation are under its jurisdiction – not of the states.
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F
Fluoridated Water Systems
A system that delivers or is supposed to deliver optimally fluoridated water to its consumers, regardless of whether or not the system adds fluoride.
A system can deliver optimally fluoridated water if it does not add fluoride by being Natural, Consecutive, or Defluoridated.
Fluoride Concentration
The amount of fluoride in the water as reported by the PWS (typically in mg/L).
Fluoridation Status
The designation of a water system as Adjusted, Consecutive, Defluoridated, Multi-source, Natural, Non-adjusted, or Variable.
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G
Ground Source
The water source for a PWS that is a well, spring, or other subsurface extraction of water.
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H
I
J
K
L
M
Mixed Source
The water source for a PWS that is a combination of either ground, surface, or parent sources.
Multi-Source Status
A Multi-Source water system:
- Has different sources of supply
- The sources may have any of the following fluoridation statuses: Adjusted, Consecutive, Defluoridated, Natural, Non-Adjusted, Variable
- May be fluoridated or non-fluoridated depending on the source
- Small sources (less than 10% of total) do not need tracking as they typically do not affect overall water quality
My Water's Fluoride (MWF)
My Waters Fluoride (MWF) provides general information on fluoridated water systems. Please be aware that the MWF site does not contain real-time information.
Information is provided by states on a voluntary basis and may not be reported annually. As a result MWF is not inclusive of all states and communities.
Merchant Wholesale System
A PWS that produces drinking water but does not sell water to the public. That water is sold to a “child” PWS on a wholesale basis and the “child” PWS sells to the public (customers).
Note: A water system can have zero (0) population if it is a merchant wholesale system.
Monthly Fluoride Levels
The fluoride concentration as reported by the PWS averaged over one month.
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N
Natural Status
A fluoridated water system that has a natural fluoride concentration above the minimum control range. If an owner sets the fluoride concentration to Natural in WFRS, it will be considered optimally fluoridated.
Non-Adjusted Status
A Non-Adjusted system:
- Does not purchase water from another system
- Has a natural fluoride concentration below the minimum control range
- Does not adjust the fluoride concentration
- Is Non-fluoridated
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O
Optimal Fluoridation
Optimal fluoridation is the US Dept of Health and Human Services recommendation of 0.7 mg/L.
Owner (Data Owner)
A state or tribal entity. Each PWS is assigned to an Owner. States and Native American Tribes can both be Owners of a PWS but only one can have Ownership.
EPA ID Number vs. Data Owner
If a Reservation crosses state boundaries, the tribe is the Owner, since the water systems within the reservation are under its jurisdiction – not of the states.
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P
Parent
A system that supplies another system (child) with water.
Point
A source of water for a water system.
Points are not valid for the following fluoride status:
An Adjusted water system must track fluoride for at least one point.
Population Served
Population served by a water system. The Population Served for all counties must equal the total population served when added up. A water system can have zero (0) population if it is a merchant wholesale system.
Primary County
The primary county served by a water system. You must indicate the primary county served by a water system and the population served in each county. A secondary county can be added to that water system.
Public Water System (PWS)
A water system that serves 25 or more persons in a day for at least 2 months of the year, or has 15 or more connections. Each water system has a unique EPA PWS ID.
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Q
R
Region
States may define regions for management oversight of PWS. This is often a designation by the Office of the State Drinking Water Administrator.
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S
SDWIS
The Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) contains information about public water systems and their violations of EPA's drinking water regulations, as reported to EPA by the states. These regulations establish maximum contaminant levels, treatment techniques, and monitoring and reporting requirements to ensure that water systems provide safe water to their customers. CDC provides the WFRS platform upon which the state maintains their program management information as EPA provides SDWIS State for state efforts.
Secondary County
If a water system serves population in more than one county, one county must be designated the primary served, and the other as the secondary county. You must enter the population served in each county.
Split Samples
Most state regulatory agencies require verification of reported laboratory testing to ensure data quality. A split sample involves the PWS laboratory and the State reference laboratory both testing and comparing the results.
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T
Total Population Served
Population served for all the counties in a water system.
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U
User
A person granted access privileges to WFRS. A user can be state, territory, or tribal, and can have full read/write, or read only access.
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V
Variable Systemss
A variable water system:
- Does not purchase water from another system
-
Has multiple wells with different fluoride concentrations
Note: Different wells with variable concentrations may result in zones of influence for each well in the distribution system having different neighborhood fluoride concentrations
- Has Fluoride concentration of the water delivered to consumers that varies throughout the year
- Does not fit into one of the other water system categories
- Is Non-fluoridated as default, but can be assigned a partial fluoridated status
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W
Water Source
Surface water (streams, rivers, and lakes) or ground water (aquifer) can serve as sources of drinking water. Source water provides water for public drinking water supplies and private water wells. WFRS/MWF characterizes a water source as surface, ground, mixed, or parent.
Water System
A public water system.
Each water system has a unique EPA PWS ID.
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X
Y
Z
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