Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program

To protect the United States drinking water supply from potentially harmful contamination, Congress in 1974 passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA includes a requirement that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implements a Laboratory Certification Program. States with primacy are given principal enforcement responsibility to ensure that public and private laboratories that test drinking water for compliance purpose are meeting and maintaining the requirements for certification.

Public and private laboratories certified in the State are inspected triennially by a team of Certification Officers, each experienced in their respective discipline. Additionally, laboratories must maintain satisfactory participation in proficiency testing water studies each year. The water studies validate the laboratories ability to successfully process and analyze a sample following an EPA approved methodology.

West Virginia Certified Drinking Water Laboratories