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AWWA WQTC65774
- Class Action Lawsuits: An Unintended Consequence of the Total Coliform Rule
- Conference Proceeding by American Water Works Association, 11/01/2007
- Publisher: AWWA
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Finalized in 1989, the Total Coliform Rule (TCR) was designed to protect publichealth against microbial contamination in finished drinking water through the detection of totalcoliforms and fecal coliforms or E. coli in routine monitoring. While total coliform bacteria are notpathogens, they were thought to be indicators of potential contamination of the water supplythrough inadequate disinfection or breach of the system. The TCR is up for revision and oneaspect that needs amending is the requirement that total coliform positive samples, with noevidence of fecal coliform or E. coli, trigger an MCL violation and public notification. When a utility or the health department suspects an unsafewater situation, a boil water advisory is issued and the public is alerted immediately; a TCRviolation does not rise to this level. Four class action lawsuits for TCR violations have been filedand are proceeding through the state court system in Louisiana. Two of these lawsuits arediscussed in greater detail in this paper; one has been decided, a second is pending trial, and two have notmoved beyond the filing step.Two of the water districts involved, Ward II Water in Baton Rouge and Water District 5 in LakeCharles, had monthly MCL violations based on >1 TC positive sample because they collect <40samples/month. Repeat samples were negative for TC and there is no indication in eithersystem that the TC positive was anything other than a random event. There was no reportedincrease in gastrointestinal disease, school or work absenteeism, emergency room or doctorvisits, or other factors associated with a waterborne disease outbreak. Plaintiffs' lawyerspublished ads in newspapers and went door-to-door to gather >3000 individuals in each lawsuitclaiming health effects based on the public notification language. While the plaintiffs' claimsseem weak, defending these lawsuits has been very expensive for these small systems. The two cases that have proceeded to court are: Schumate et al vs Ward II Water District(W2W), and Edwards and Abney vs Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and District No. 5 Ward 3(CPPJ). Both are class action lawsuits with ~3000 plaintiffs. This paper summarizes these two cases.
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