How do I submit a Lead and Copper Sampling Plan?

Owned by Adrienne Schafer
Last updated: Jul 16, 2024 by Basaran, Kristen (EGLE)
4 min read

Before filling out the sampling plan you will have to already know your sampling sites. Keep in mind that the sampling plan must contain the highest tier sites available in your distribution system. This means you must prioritize sampling at Tier 1 sites first, then Tier 2, then Tier 3, then Other.

Be prepared to provide the sampling address or other identifier, service line material, interior plumbing material, and structure type.

  1. On the left main navigation bar under Dashboard, click Create Activity.

  2. Create a new activity.

    1. Click the dropdown for Category and select Lead and Copper.

    2. Click the dropdown for Activity Type and select Lead and Copper Sample Site Plan.

    3. Input the community water supply that you work for, either by searching for the water supply by name or by the last 5 digits of the Public Water Supply ID (PWSID, previously called WSSN, Example: 04312).

  3. On the bottom right, click Create. Doing so will bring you to a new screen with an overview of the sample site plan submission.

  4. On the left, under the section labeled Tasks, there will be a task that says Fill out form. Click Start Form.

  5. At the top of the form, you will find some basic information about the water supply. If any of that information is incorrect, please contact your District Analyst.

  6. Under that section you will see a section labeled Sample Site Requirements. Note that your sample site plan must contain enough sites to conduct standard monitoring. If you are uncertain how many sites that is for your supply, that number is listed below under Standard Number of Sites Required.

  7. The next section is where you will add the sample sites. On the right side, click + Add Sample Site.

If a Lead and Copper Sampling Site plan was previously submitted within MiEHDWIS, sample sites on the new plan will populate from the previous year's Lead and Copper Sampling Plan, and will be editable.

  1. You will now fill in the information for your sample sites one at a time. Note that the default Facility ID (Site Code) will be DIST and should only be changed if your supply has multiple distribution systems.

    1. Each line with a red asterisk is a required line that must be filled out before you can add the site.

    2. Pay attention to the section labeled Other Location Identifier. This line is used for sites whose location cannot be accurately captured with just the street address. A common example would be adding an apartment number.

    3. Once you enter in the service line material, interior plumbing material, and structure type, the form will automatically determine the tier.

Yes, ‘New' Sample Site status is only new in the context of creating a new form within MiEHDWIS. It doesn't mean that the sites haven’t been sampled before. We expect that every site first reported in the MiEHDWIS form will be submitted to EGLE as New, and that's ok. We can cross-reference the older paper form.

If the service line contains lead and other materials, please just select lead as the Service Line Material.

LC service line.png

In the case of Lead service lines, you can select either /or material, as neither will change the Tier (Tier 1).  In the case of non-lead service lines, the material chosen does affect the calculated Tier.  (We are still working on eventually being able to select more than 1 option.) 

The copper installation date does not matter for Tier 1 lead service line sites.  For non-lead service line sites only, the copper installation date decides whether sites are Tier 3 sites.

Choose ‘Unknown’ for the Interior Plumbing Material field (see screenshot below).
‘Unknown’ is a permitted answer only for sites with a lead service line, and in the case of lead + other materials.

interior plumbing material.png

  1. After you have entered all the information for a site, click Save. If you still need more sites, then click + Add Sample Site again to enter another site. Repeat this process until you have the required number of sites.

  2. Once you have entered the required number of sites, click Submit on the bottom left.

  3. Once you click Submit, you are not done yet. The certifier for your supply must click Review Form and then certify. Once this is complete, you have officially submitted the sampling plan.

While filling out the form, you can choose to export the sample sites to Microsoft Excel by scrolling down to the Sample Sites section and clicking Export.

After submitting the form to EGLE, you can download a PDF version of the form by going to the Attachments section and clicking the download button.