How often must I test agricultural water that is subject to the requirements of § 112.44?
21 C.F.R. § 112.46
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) There is no requirement to test any agricultural water that is subject to the requirements of § 112.44 when:
(1) You receive water from a Public Water System, as defined under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulations, 40 CFR part 141, that furnishes water that meets the microbial requirements under those regulations or under the regulations of a State (as defined in 40 CFR 141.2) approved to administer the SDWA public water supply program, and you have Public Water System results or certificates of compliance that demonstrate that the water meets that requirement;
(2) You receive water from a public water supply that furnishes water that meets the microbial quality requirement described in § 112.44(a), and you have public water system results or certificates of compliance that demonstrate that the water meets that requirement; or
(3) You treat water in accordance with the requirements of § 112.43.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (a) of this section, you must take the following steps for each source of water used for purposes that are subject to the requirements of § 112.44(b):
(1) Conduct an initial survey to develop a microbial water quality profile of the agricultural water source.
(i) The initial survey must be conducted:
(A) For an untreated surface water source, by taking a minimum total of 20 samples of agricultural water (or an alternative testing frequency that you establish and use, in accordance with § 112.49) over a minimum period of 2 years, but not greater than 4 years.
(B) For an untreated ground water source, by taking a minimum total of four samples of agricultural water during the growing season or over a period of 1 year.
(ii) The samples of agricultural water must be representative of your use of the water and must be collected as close in time as practicable to, but prior to, harvest. The microbial water quality profile initially consists of the geometric mean (GM) and the statistical threshold value (STV) of generic Escherichia coli (E. coli) (colony forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliter (mL)) calculated using this data set. You must determine the appropriate way(s) in which the water may be used based on your microbial water quality profile in accordance with § 112.45(b).
(iii) You must update the microbial water quality profile annually as required under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, and otherwise required under paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
(2) Conduct an annual survey to update the microbial water quality profile of your agricultural water.
(i) After the initial survey described in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, you must test the water annually to update your existing microbial water quality profile to confirm that the way(s) in which the water is used continues to be appropriate. You must analyze:
(A) For an untreated surface water source, a minimum number of five samples per year (or an alternative testing frequency that you establish and use, in accordance with § 112.49).
(B) For an untreated ground water source, a minimum of one sample per year.
(ii) The samples of agricultural water must be representative of your use of the water and must be collected as close in time as practicable to, but prior to, harvest.
(iii) To update the microbial water quality profile, you must calculate revised GM and STV values using your current annual survey data, combined with your most recent initial or annual survey data from within the previous 4 years, to make up a rolling data set of:
(A) At least 20 samples for untreated surface water sources; and
(B) At least 4 samples for untreated ground water sources.
(iv) You must modify your water use, as appropriate, based on the revised GM and STV values in your updated microbial water quality profile in accordance with § 112.45(b).
(3) If you have determined or have reason to believe that your microbial water quality profile no longer represents the quality of your water (for example, if there are significant changes in adjacent land use that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the quality of your water source), you must develop a new microbial water quality profile reflective of the time period at which you believe your microbial water quality profile changed.
(i) To develop a new microbial water quality profile, you must calculate new GM and STV values using your current annual survey data (if taken after the time of the change), combined with new data, to make up a data set of:
(A) At least 20 samples for untreated surface water sources; and
(B) At least 4 samples for untreated ground water sources.
(ii) You must modify your water use based on the new GM and STV values in your new microbial water quality profile in accordance with § 112.45(b).
(c) If you use untreated ground water for the purposes that are subject to the requirements of § 112.44(a), you must initially test the microbial quality of each source of the untreated ground water at least four times during the growing season or over a period of 1 year, using a minimum total of four samples collected to be representative of the intended use(s). Based on these results, you must determine whether the water can be used for that purpose, in accordance with § 112.45(a). If your four initial sample results meet the microbial quality criteria of § 112.44(a), you may test once annually thereafter, using a minimum of one sample collected to be representative of the intended use(s). You must resume testing at least four times per growing season or year if any annual test fails to meet the microbial quality criteria in § 112.44(a).
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-21.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026