2009
Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
Town of
INTRODUCTION
This Annual Drinking Water Quality
Report for calendar year 2009 is designed to inform you about your drinking
water quality. Our goal is to provide
you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water, and we want you to
understand the efforts we make to protect your water supply. The quality of your drinking water must meet
state and federal requirements administered by the Virginia Department of
Health (VDH).
If you have
questions about this report, want additional information about any aspect of
your drinking water or want to know how to participate in decisions that may
affect the quality of your drinking water, please contact:
|
Town of Mr. Robert
Hanson, Public Works Director 434-432-9515 |
The times and
location of regularly scheduled council meetings are as follows:
2nd Monday of each month at
GENERAL INFORMATION
The
sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers,
lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the
surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring
minerals and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or
from human activity. Contaminants in
source water may be naturally occurring substances or may come from septic
systems, discharges from domestic or industrial wastewater treatment
facilities, agricultural and farming activities, urban stormwater runoff,
residential uses, and many other types of activities. Contaminants that may be present in source
water include: (1) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which
may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock
operations, and wildlife. (2) Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals,
which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff,
industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining,
or farming. (3) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of
sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses. (4)
Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic
chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum
production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and
septic systems. (5) Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring
or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. In order to
ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit
the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water
systems. Food and Drug Administration
regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for public health.
Water from
surface sources is treated to make it drinkable while groundwater may or may
not have any treatment.
All drinking
water, including bottled drinking water, may reasonably be expected to contain
at least small amounts of some contaminants.
The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water
poses a health risk. More information
can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking
Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
Some people
may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general
population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing
chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS
or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly
at risk from infections. These people
should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to
lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium
and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
The
source of your drinking water is surface water from Cherrystone Creek.
Treatment
of the raw water consists of chemical addition, coagulation, flocculation,
settling, filtration, fluoridation, chlorination and corrosion control. All of these processes work together to
remove the physical, chemical, and biological contaminants to make the water
safe for drinking.
A source water
assessment for the Town of
Contaminants
in your drinking water are routinely monitored according to federal and state
regulations. The table below shows the
results of this monitoring for the period of January 1st through
Non-detects (ND) - lab analysis indicates that the
contaminant is not present, based on the limits of the analytical equipment
used.
Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part
per million corresponds to one minute in two years or one penny in $10,000.
Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter - one part
per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or one penny in
$10,000,000.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/l) - picocuries
per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) -
nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the cloudiness of water. Turbidity
in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
Action Level (
Treatment Technique (TT) - a required process intended to
reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) - the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which
there is no known or expected risk to health.
MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - the highest
level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as
feasible using the best available treatment technology.
Maximum
Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG) - the level of a drinking
water disinfectant below which
there is no
known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs
do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to
control
microbial contaminants.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDL) -
the
highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of
a disinfectant is necessary for control microbial contaminants.
Not Applicable (NA)
WATER QUALITY RESULTS
We
routinely monitor for various contaminants in the water supply to meet all
regulatory requirements. The table below lists only those contaminants that had
some level of detection. Many other
contaminants have been analyzed but were not present or were below the detection
limits of the lab equipment.
|
Contaminant
/ Unit of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Level
Found / Range |
Violation |
Date
of Sample |
Typical
Source of Contamination |
|
Microbiological Contaminants |
||||||
|
Turbidity NTU |
NA |
TT=
Max 1 NTU |
Maximum
- 0.19 |
No |
Continuous
& Every 2 hours in lab |
Soil runoff |
|
TT=95%
of monthly samples must be <0.3 NTU |
Lowest
monthly percentage of samples
<0.3 - 100% |
|||||
|
Total
Coliform Bacteria |
0 |
Presence of
coliform bacteria in no more than 1 sample per month |
1 sample
total coliform present during each of 9/2009 & 10/2009 |
No |
Routinely
collect 2 per month |
Naturally
present in the environment |
|
Inorganic Contaminants |
||||||
|
Fluoride ppm |
4 |
4 |
Highest:
1.9 Range:
ND to 1.9 |
No |
Daily |
Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive which promotes
strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories |
|
Nitrate ppm |
10 |
10 |
<0.05 |
No |
April
2009 |
Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks,
sewage; Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Lead and Copper |
||||||
|
Contaminant
/ Unit of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Level
Found / Range |
Violation |
Date
of Sample |
Typical
Source of Contamination |
|
Copper ppm |
|
|
0.086 (90thpercent) Of 20 samples collected, none
exceeded the |
No |
June-Sept 2009 |
Corrosion
of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Lead ppb |
|
|
14 (90thpercentile) Of 20 samples collected, two
exceeded the |
No |
June-Sept 2009 |
Corrosion
of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Organic Contaminants |
|||||||
|
Contaminant/Unit
of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Level
Found |
Violation |
Date
of Sample |
Typical
Source of Contamination |
|
|
HAA5s (Total Haloacetic
Acids) ppb |
N/A |
60 (as running 4 quarter ave) |
Highest Range: 17 58 |
No |
Quarterly 2009 |
By-product of drinking water
disinfection |
|
|
TTHMs (Total
Trihalomethanes) ppb |
N/A |
80 (as running 4 quarter ave) |
Highest Range: 16 91 |
No |
Quarterly 2009 |
By-product of drinking water
disinfection |
|
|
Total
Organic Carbon (TOCs) ppm |
N/A |
TT-
% removed during treatment; meets when
removal ratio ≥
1.0 |
Lowest
4 quarter ave removal ratio- 1.26 Range
of monthly removal- 1.1 - 1.8 |
N/A |
Monthly |
Naturally occurring in the environment |
|
|
Chlorine-ppm |
MRDLG=4 |
MRDL=4 |
Highest
Quarterly Average-1.1 mg/L Range: 0.2 - 1.7
|
No |
Monthly
at two sites |
Water additive used to control
microbes |
|
|
Radiological Contaminants |
|||||||
|
Contaminant
/ Unit of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Level
Found |
Violation |
Date
of Sample |
Typical
Source of Contamination |
|
|
Combined Radium pCi/L |
0 |
5 |
1.2 |
No |
March
2008 |
Erosion
of natural deposits |
|
|
Alpha Emitters pCi/L |
0 |
15 |
0.2 |
No |
March
2008 |
Erosion
of natural deposits |
|
|
Beta Emitters pCi/L |
0 |
50 |
1.8 |
No |
March
2008 |
Decay
of natural and man-made deposits |
|
The results in the table are from testing done in 2008
through 2009. The state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than
once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change
frequently. Some of our data, though
representative, is more than one year old. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
sets MCLs at very stringent levels. In
developing the standards, EPA assumes that the average adult drinks 2 liters of
water each day throughout a 70-year life span.
EPA generally sets MCLs at levels that will result in no adverse health
effects for some contaminants or a one-in-ten-thousand to one-in-one-million
chance of having the described health effect for other contaminants.
INFORMATION ABOUT LEAD IN DRINKING WATER
If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious
health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from
materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The Town
of
CRYPTOSPORIDIUM
Cryptosporidium
is a microscopic parasite that lives in the intestine of infected animals and
humans. If ingested, Cryptosporidium may
cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and other gastrointestinal
symptoms. People or animals become
infected by swallowing the egg-like oocysts (pronounced oh-uh-sist) of Cryptosporidium
parvum. This can happen when people consume drinking water or food
contaminated with fecal matter containing the oocysts. People can also become infected after
handling objects contaminated with fecal matter, or after coming into contact with
stools of people or animals that are infected.
Persons can also be infected by ingesting contaminated water while using
recreational waters such as streams, rivers, and lakes. Most healthy individuals can overcome the
disease within a few weeks. However,
immuno-compromised people are at greater risk of developing life-threatening
illness. The EPA Long Term 2 Enhanced
Surface Water Treatment Rule requires the Town to test the raw water for
Cryptosporidium and we are happy to report no
organisms have been detected in
monitoring thus far. The finished water
is not required to be tested.
OTHER DRINKING WATER CONSTITUENTS
In the compliance samples collected
during April 2009, the sodium content was determined to be 13.1 ppm, which is
below the maximum recommended level of 20 ppm by EPA. The recommended level was established for
those individuals on a sodium-restricted diet.
If you have any concerns about the sodium level in your drinking water,
you may wish to consult with your physician.
Aluminum was also detected at a concentration of 0.072 ppm, which is
within the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level range of 0.05 0.2 ppm. This limit is established to minimize
potential aesthetic (color) affects associated with aluminum when above the
recommended limit. The manganese concentration
was determined to be <0.01 ppm which is below the Secondary Maximum
Contaminant Level of 0.05 ppm. Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral in many
surface and ground water sources and in soils that may erode into these waters. This mineral is not considered a health
concern; however, its presence above the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level
can result in aesthetic problems affecting the clarity and taste of the water
as well as staining of plumbing fixtures.