CWA Analytical Methods

EPA publishes laboratory analytical methods that are used by industries and municipalities to analyze the chemical, physical and biological components of wastewater and other environmental samples that are required by regulations under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Most of these methods are published as regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 40 Part 136. Legal authority….

EPA's Office of Science and Technology manages the CWA methods program, working with EPA Regions, states, and stakeholders.

Approved Methods	Approved general-purpose methods Approved industry-specific methods Recent regulatory activity Questions and answers
Alternate Test Procedures and Method Flexibility	Alternate Test Procedure Program Part 136.6 Flexibility to Modify Methods Questions and answers
Other EPA Methods	Wastewater methods not contained in EPA regulations
Special Topics	Oil & Grease Measurements Cyanide Measurements Hexavalent Chromium ("Chromium 6") Measurements Detection and Quantitation Federal Advisory Committe PPCPs Methods Fact Sheet Mercury Measurements Effluent Limitation Guidelines Questions and Answers
Matrix Effects	Solutions to Analytical Chemistry Problems with Clean Water Act Methods (PDF) (458 K, 62 pp., About PDF) is a revision of the "Pumpkin Book".
FEM	The Forum on Environmental Measurements (FEM) is a standing committee of senior EPA managers established to promote consistency and consensus within the Agency on measurement issues
Current Activities	Addition of Sterols and Hormones to analytical scope of Method 1694 Holding Time Study for Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products, Sterols and Hormones Adding updated information on the use of short GC column and temperature-programmed injector in PBDE method 1614 Preparing a protocol with which to validate rapid methods for pathogens using qPCR technology Completing a report on false positive and negative rates for fecal coliforms (EPA Methods 1680 and 1681) in biosolids Completing a report on the validation of enterococci (EPA Methods 1106.1 and 1600) and E. coli (EPA Methods 1103.1 and 1603) in CSO matrices

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