Southwood Community s Public Water Supply. Consumer Confidence Report 2015

Transcription

1 Southwood Community s Public Water Supply Consumer Confidence Report 2015 Southwood Public Water Supply King Road / County Road 995 Ashland, Ohio

2 Section 1: Title Southwood Community Public Water Supply (PWS) Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) For 2015 Section 2: Introduction Your Southwood Public Water System has prepared the following report to provide information to you, the consumer, on the quality of your drinking water. Included this report is general health information, water quality test results, how to participate in decisions concerning your drinking water and water system contacts. The EPA requires this 2015 Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to be distributed to all consumers of the water system by July 1, was a routine year for Southwood s Public Water Supply. All required EPA sampling was done specified time and all samples were the parameters set by the EPA. Maintenance done in 2015: Both the high service 2 discharge pipes were replaced. (They were leaking causing excessive high service pump runtimes and electric cost.) A check valve that was leaking was also replaced on High Service pump #2 A contactor (motor starter) was replaced on Well #2 (old one stopped working age related) New control relay had to be installed in the control panel (old one sticking causing pumps to not come on when called for) New well probes was installed on the controls for the high service pumps (old ones corroded) New gravel drive was installed going to the water plant Problems encountered in 2015: In April a contractor was working on home site improvements and failed to contact the operator of the impending hookup of the addition lines. The hookup caused confusion and overwhelmed the system causing a boil alert. A six inch water valve also was found not working and was repaired in Section 3: Source Water Information The Southwood PWS receives its drinking water from an underground aquifer by wells #1 & #2. Note: A Vulnerability Assessment Report was prepared for your water system by Ohio EPA. The Susceptibility Paragraph on the last page of that report is to be included in your CCR every year.

3 Section 4: What are sources of contamination to drinking water? 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 naturallyoccurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: (A) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife; (B) Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming; (C) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses; (D) Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban Strom water runoff, and septic systems; (E) Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturallyoccurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, USEPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health. Drinking water, including bottled 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 about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Federal Environmental Protection Agency s Safe Drinking Water Hotline ( ). Section 5: Who needs to take special precautions? Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immunocompromised 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

4 particularly at risk from infection. 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 microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline ( ). Section 6: About your drinking water. The EPA requires regular sampling to ensure drinking water safety. Southwood PWS conducted sampling for bacteria; inorganics, lead & copper, VOC s and THM s during Samples were collected for a total of four different contaminants most of which were not detected or in the Southwood PWS water supply. The Ohio EPA requires us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Section 7: Monitoring & Reporting Violations & Enforcement Actions We are pleased to announce there were no monitoring or reporting violations for the year Section 8: Table of Required EPA Testing for Contaminants Listed below is information on contaminants that were tested in Southwood s PWS drinking water in If you would like a more detailed copy of sampling analyte please contact your water system operator. TABLE OF REQUIRED EPA SAMPLING FOR CONTAMINANTS Contaminants (Units) Results Units Violation Sample Year Inorganics Cyanide, Fluoride, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, Selenium, Thallium and mercury THM s Monochoroacetic acid, Trichloracetic acid, Haloacetic acid Nitrate SOC s - Synthetic Organic chemicals VOC s Volatile Organic chemicals.70 Ug/l & Mg/l No 2015 Typical Source of Contaminants Ug/l No 2015 Disinfection byproducts Mg/l No 2015 Ug/l No 2015 Ug/l No 2015 Section 9: Turbidity monitoring - not required per monitoring requirements Section 10: Violations No report required no violations in 2015 An inorganic compound is a compound that is not organic Nitrate is a compound that is formed naturally when nitrogen combines with oxygen or ozone. Nitrogen is essential for all living things, but high levels of nitrate in drinking water can be dangerous to health, especially for infants and pregnant women. SOC s come from agricultural runoff, commercial and industrial sources VOC s are carbon-containing compounds that evaporate easily from water into air at normal room temperatures.

5 Section 11: Nitrate Educational Information Include the following paragraph if the nitrate level is greater than 5.0 ppm but less than 10 ppm. (03/13/15 Nitrate.70 mg/l) paragraph not needed. Section 12: Arsenic Educational Information: Southwood did test for Arsenic in 2015 results were: Arsenic <3.0 ug/l or.003 ppm. The maximum level of inorganic arsenic permitted in U.S. drinking water is 10 parts per billion (ppb). This standard was set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Some states, such as New Jersey, have more stringent drinking water standards for arsenic less than 10 ppb. There are no arsenic water standards for private wells. Because arsenic is tasteless, colorless, and odorless, testing is needed for detection. Approximately 7 percent of wells in the U.S. are thought to have arsenic levels above the current EPA standard of 10 ppb. Arsenic levels in the U.S. tend to be higher in rural communities in the Southwest, Midwest, and Northeast. The levels of arsenic in countries like Bangladesh have been measured at over 3,000 ppb. Scientists, pediatricians, and public health advocates are increasingly concerned about the more subtle and long-range health effects of low-level exposures to humans, especially for infants and children exposed to arsenic in water and some foods, such as rice-based products, during sensitive windows of development. Section 13: Lead Educational Information Southwood did test for Lead & Copper in 2015; all samples came proposed EPA monitoring. 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. Southwood PWS is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at or at Section 14: Cryptosporidium Information. Not applicable Section 15: Radon Southwood was not required to monitor for radon in the finished water during 2015, samples came in Section 16: Ground Water Rule Not applicable no significant deficiencies Section 17: License to Operate (LTO) Status Information - In 2015 Southwood had an unconditioned license to operate your water system. Section18: Public Notice NA Section 19: Public Participation Information We encourage tours of the water treatment plant contact your operator of record to schedule a tour. How do I participate in decisions concerning my drinking water?

6 Public participation and comments are encouraged. For more information on your drinking water contact: Tim Parks, Operator of Record at or visit website ( and fill out comment inquiry. Section 20: Definitions of some terms contained this report. 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 contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology. Parts per Million (ppm) or Milligrams per Liter (mg/l) are units of measure for concentration of a contaminant. A part per million corresponds to one second in a little over 11.5 days. Parts per Billion (ppb) or Micrograms per Liter (μg/l) are units of measure for concentration of a contaminant. A part per billion corresponds to one second in 31.7 years. Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG): The level of 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 (MRDL): The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants. Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. NA: Not applicable Treatment Technique (TT): A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water. The < symbol: A symbol which means less than. Picocuries per liter (pci/l): A common measure of radioactivity. A copy of this report will also be available on Southwood s website at