Laboratory Certification

The Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program is managed through a cooperative effort between the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and the Office of Research and Development. Laboratories analyzing drinking water compliance samples must be certified by U.S. EPA or the State. Certified laboratories must analyze performance evaluation samples, use approved methods and States also require periodic on-site audits. You may call your State Certification Officer to get a list of certified water testing labs in your state. Questions may be directed to the Safe Drinking Water Hotline.

The Labcert Bulletin is published periodically by the Technical Support Center of OGWDW. It contains information of interest to drinking water laboratories and drinking water laboratory certification officers. The current issue contains articles on NEMI, recent promulgation of drinking water methods, chlorite sampling and monitoring requirements, cyanide methods, EPA Method 300.0 vs. 300.1and Micro PT Q&A.

March 2003 Bulletin
January 2002 Bulletin
March 2001 Bulletin
January 2000 Bulletin
November 1999 Bulletin
April 1999 Bulletin

The Manual for Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water describes the implementation of the Drinking Water Laboratory Certification program, including the procedures a laboratory must follow and the criteria a laboratory must meet to be certified to analyze drinking water compliance samples.

Errata sheets have been developed for the Manual for Certification of Labs to add clarity to sections concerning microbiology, chemistry and radiochemistry.

Related Links:

National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) - Contains the NELAC standards, lists NELAC accrediting authorities and accredited laboratories, and has information about past and future NELAC meetings.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) - Contains a directory of NIST accredited drinking water proficiency testing (PT) laboratories. Testing is divided into four major areas: inorganic chemical analysis; organic chemical analysis; biological and microbiological testing; and readiological testing and analysis.

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