Understanding Drinking Water in Your Watershed

Transcription

1 Understanding Drinking Water in Your Watershed

2 Precipitation The Source of All Drinking Water! Long-term trend toward more annual precipitation Cause = larger storms Result = more runoff

3 Pennsylvania Annual Water Budget

4 And, groundwater moves!

5 Infiltration! 20 Infiltration (inches/hour) Forest Old Logging Road Lawn Pavement

6 The Importance of Groundwater 80 trillion gallons of fresh groundwater o 30 times more than surface water! We withdraw about 1 billion gallons of groundwater each day! About half of Pe sylva ia s population get at least part of their drinking water directly from groundwater The Geology of Pennsylvania s Groundwater, 1999, PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources

7 Overall Water Use in PA (All values in MGD, Source: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005)

8 Home Water Use Dishwasher 1% Leaks 14% Toilet 28% Faucet 16% Shower/Bath 19% Washer 22%

9 Public community Drinking Water Supplies Various levels ~10 million Pennsylvania residents Regulated (U.S. EPA, PA DEP) Must provide safe water to customers Must provide a report of water quality annually Private Wells, springs, cisterns ~3 million residents Unregulated except for some local ordinances

10 Pennsylvania Drinking Water Facts Population = 12.7 million o Ranked 6 th in nation Type of water supplies o 9,100 public water supplies (4 th in nation) o ~1,000,000 private water supplies (2 nd in nation) Population served o Public supplies = 10.7 M 86% use surface water, 14% use groundwater o Private supplies = 2.0 M 98% use groundwater

11 # of homes served by private water systems Avg. Change in homes served by Private Water System Information County private water systems per year % of all homes served by public water % of all homes served by private water system Allegheny Beaver Bucks Butler Chester 42,075 58, Elk Fayette Fulton Lancaster Lehigh McKean Mercer Monroe Montgomery Northampton Potter Tioga Venango Washington York

12 Characteristics of Private Water Systems County % drilled wells % hand-dug wells % springs or cisterns Allegheny Beaver Bucks Butler Chester Elk Fayette Fulton Lancaster Lehigh McKean Mercer Monroe Montgomery Northampton Potter Tioga Venango Washington York

13 A Typical Public Water Supply Pump house Coagulant Coagulation tank Chlorination Filtration Sand Gravel Carbon Chlorination Orthophosphate Fluoride Clear well Water tower To homes

14 Wellhead Protection Zones for Public Water Supplies Where is the water that needs protection? Zone I Ft Zone II Capture Zone Zone III Zone II + Zone III = Area of Contribution Red = sources of potential contamination

15 Water Testing Public water suppliers conduct routine testing to ensure safe drinking water Consumers receive annual water quality summary reports Most common issues: Lead Hard water Chlorine

16 Drinking Water Standards Depend on use of water o Drinking water most stringent o Recreational standards, aquatic life, etc. o Recommendations (livestock, irrigation, etc.) Primary MCL health based o Lead, E. coli, arsenic, nitrate, benzene, etc. Secondary RMCL aesthetic o Iron, manganese, chloride, TDS, etc. Required for public water supplies, not for private supplies

17 Water Quality Units Most water quality measurements are in milligram per liter (mg/l) or part per million (ppm) Some smaller concentrations (organics, pesticides, etc.) are in micrograms per liter (µg/l) or part per billion (ppb) Some parameters have special units o Bacteria (colonies per 100 milliliters) o ph (no units) o Hardness (grains per gallon) o Radon (picocuries per liter)

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20 Lead An Important Issue for Public and Private Drinking Water Supplies Most often from corrosion of lead in metal fixtures, solder or pipes Most likely in homes with plumbing installed before 1990 or in older community water supplies Various federal and state regulations have been passed to remove lead fro plu bi g starti g i the s Common symptoms o Pinhole leaks in metal plumbing o Blue green stains (copper) o Lead has no symptoms (testing is critical) solder Lead causes many serious health effects From - Centers for Disease Control, Sources of Lead,

21 Private Water Supplies Water Wells drilled Over one million homes and farms 45% never properly tested Access to groundwater but not ownership No statewide regulations but some local ordinances Wells Springs Cisterns

22 Water Well Construction Fewer than 20% of home and farm wells in PA have this sanitary construction above ground sanitary well cap 4 sloping ground casing to bedrock 2 grout seal 3 bedrock

23 Managing a Private Water Supply 1. Management of private water wells is the VOLUNTARY responsibility of each homeowner 2. Understand where you water comes from and what can contaminate it 3. Make sure your water supply is properly constructed 4. Have the water supply inspected by a professional 5. Keep polluting activities away from your water supply 6. Get your water tested routinely Majority have at least one aesthetic water quality problem (corrosive, hardness, iron, manganese, etc.) 40% fail at least one health-based standard (bacteria, lead, arsenic, nitrate, etc.) 7. Once a problem is identified through testing, explore treatment or other alternatives to remove the contaminant

24 Test Your Water! Why test? Many pollutants have no obvious symptoms Many water supplies have never been properly tested Use PA DEP accredited laboratories! Test BEFORE new activities for legal protection using chainof-custody Test recommendations Annual test for bacteria (every 14 months) Every three years for ph, TDS, pollutants associated with activities within sight Compare test results to drinking water standards

25 Penn State Water Testing Agricultural Analytical Services Lab Several water test programs (drinking water, livestock, irrigation, pond/lake, GAP) Kits available through Extension offices or lab Extension educators provide assistance with interpretation

26 Aesthetic Water Quality Issues Percent Failing Standard

27 Health-Based Water Quality Issues 40 Percent Failing Standard

28 Buying Water Treatment Devices Public water supplies o Water softeners o Carbon filters (removing chlorine) o Reverse osmosis lead, etc. Private water supplies Tips o Point-of-Entry treatment (whole house) = disinfection, softeners, acid neutralizers, anion exchange, oxidizing filters, sediment filters o Point-of-Use treatment (faucet) reverse osmosis, distillation, carbon filters o Rely on test results from accredited labs o Look for NSF certifications for specific contaminants o Seek reputable companies, references (shop around)

29 Definition: What About Bottled Water? o Approved source that meets standards, sealed in a sanitary container o Calorie free, sugar free (added flavors must comprise <1% of final product weight) o May contain natural or added carbonation 75% wells and springs, 25% public water supplies Federal, state and industry regulation o PA has a very strict bottled water law Water quality is generally no better or worse than public water supplies

30 Roadside Springs in Pennsylvania Surface water? Extensive infrastructure Beautiful stonework Very inviting

31 Frequency of Roadside spring use Survey of 1,034 residents Every few years, 12% Never, 70% Yearly, 6% Few months, 4% Monthly, 5% Weekly, 3%

32 Summary of Results 35 roadside springs, 2013 Percent Failing Standard

33 Save money! Water Conservation Smart for Public AND Private Drinking Water Sources Energy savings (from heating water) Water savings (for those that pay for water) Conserve for later use Reduce the load on your septic/sewer system How to conserve? Change habits Water saving devices

34 Penn State Cooperative Extension Resources