MYERSTOWN WATER AUTHORITY
Public Water Supply ID Number
7380025
Annual Drinking Water Quality Report -- June,
2011
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The
Myerstown Water Authority is pleased to present to you this year's Annual
Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the
quality drinking water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant
goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We
want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water
treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring
the quality of your water. Our water is drawn from three (3) drilled deep wells
located in the Stracks Dam Well field located northwest of the Borough of
Myerstown in Jackson Township. We are pleased to report that our drinking water
meets all federal and state requirements. If you have any questions about this
report or concerning your water utility, please contact John S. Brown, III of
the Myerstown Water Authority at (717) 866-9301. We want our valued customers
to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please
attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings. They are held on the second
Thursday of each month at 7:30 P.M. at the Myerstown Water Authority Water
Treatment Facility located at 601 Stracks Dam Road, Myerstown, PA 17067. The
Myerstown Water Authority routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking
water according to Federal and State laws. The following table shows the
results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2010. All
drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to
contain at least small amounts of some constituents. It's important to remember
that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health
risk.
In the following table you will find many terms and abbreviations
you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we've
provided the following definitions:
Non-Detects (ND) - laboratory
analysis indicates that the contaminant is not present at a detectable level.
Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part per
million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single 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 a single penny in
$10,000,000.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) - a measure of the
radioactivity in water Turbidity - a measure of the clarity of the water.
Turbidity is monitored to determine the effectiveness of our filtration
system.
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) - a measure of the clarity
of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average
person.
Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant which, if
exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must
follow.
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 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 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.
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.
Treatment Technique
(TT) -a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in
drinking water.
|
| TEST RESULTS |
| Microbiological
Contaminants |
| Contaminant (Unit of measurement) |
Violation Y/N |
Level
Detected |
Range |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source of Contamination |
| 1. Turbidity (ntu) |
N
|
0.053 |
(a) |
n/a |
TT |
Soil runoff |
| Inorganic
Contaminants |
| Contaminant (Unit of measurement) |
Violation Y/N |
Level
Detected |
Range |
MCLG |
MCL
|
Likely Source of Contamination |
| 2. Copper (ppm) |
N
|
0.51(b) |
0.07-0.53
(b) |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
Corosion of household plumbing systems
Erosion of natural deposits, leaching from wood
preservatives
|
| 3. Lead (ppb) |
N
|
4(b) |
0-6(b) |
0 |
AL=15 |
Corosion of household plumbing systems;
Erosion of natural deposits |
4. Nitrate
(as nitrogen)
(ppm) |
N
|
4.4 |
4.1-4.4 |
10 |
10 |
Run off from fertilizer use;
Leaching from septic tanks;
Sewage;
Erosion of natural
deposits |
| Disinfection
Byproducts, Byproduct Precursors & Disinfectant Residuals |
| Contaminant (Unit of measurement) |
Violation Y/N |
Level
Detected |
Range |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source of Contamination |
| 5. Haloacetic Acids (HAA) (ppb) |
N |
3.2 |
3.2-3.2 |
n/a |
60 |
Byproduct of drinking water disinfection |
| 6. TTHMs [Total Trihalomethanes] (ppb) |
N |
18.6 |
4.5-18.6 |
n/a |
80 |
Byproduct of drinking water disinfection |
| 7. Chlorine (ppm) |
N
|
1.07(c) |
0.7-1.2 |
MRDLG =
4 |
MRDL =
4 |
Water additive used to control microbes |
| Footnotes: |
| (a) |
The lowest monthly percentage of samples
meeting the turbidity limits specified in 141.73. "In 2010, 100% of samples met
the turbidity limits." |
| (b) |
0 of 20 samples analyzed was above the
action level of .015 for lead and 0 of 20 samples analyzed were above the
action level of 1.3 for copper. For Copper and Lead, Level Detected value is
90th percentile result. |
| (c) |
For Chlorine, Level Detected value is
highest average result in 2010. |
|
|
Nitrate in
drinking water at levels above 10 ppm is a health risk for infants of less than
six months of age. High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby
syndrome. Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of
rainfall or agricultural activity. If you are caring for an infant you should
ask advice from your health care provider.
Infants and young children are typically more
vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is
possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in the
community as a result of materials used in your home's plumbing. If you are
concerned about elevated lead levels in your home's water, you may wish to have
your water tested and flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using
your tap water. Additional information is available from the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA's) Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
1-800-426-4791.
What does this mean?
As
you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We're proud that your
drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. We have
learned through our monitoring and testing that some constituents have been
detected. All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination
by constituents that are naturally occurring or man made. Those constituents
can be microbes, organic or inorganic chemicals, or radioactive materials. All
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 the water poses a health risk. In order to assure
that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which hunt the
amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food
& Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in
bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health. More
information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by
calling the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. Sources of
drinking water (both tap and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams,
ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the land surface or
through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals (and in some
cases radioactive material) and can pick up substances resulting from the
presence of animals or human activity. 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 storm water run-off, industrial
or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or
farming. |
| 3. |
Herbicides and pesticides, which may come from a
variety of sources such as agriculture, storm water run-off or residential
uses. |
| 4. |
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, storm water run-off or septic
systems. |
| 5. |
Radioactive contaminants which can be naturally
occurring or can be the result of oil and gas production or mining
activities |
MCUs are set at
very stringent levels for health effects. To understand the possible health
effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink
2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a
one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.
In
our continuing efforts to maintain a safe and dependable water supply it may be
necessary to make improvements in your water system. The costs of these
improvements may be reflected in the rate structure. Periodic rate adjustments
may be necessary in order to address these improvements.
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).
In 2002 the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection completed a Source Water Assessment for the Myerstown
Water Authority to evaluate potential threats to the raw water sources used by
the Authority. A copy of the Source Water Assessment Report is available for
review from the Authority or the Department of Environmental Protection's South
Central Regional Office, Records Management Unit (717-705-4732). A summary
report of the assessment is available on the PADEP website at
www.dep.state.pa.us (directLDSTK
"source water").
It is
recommended that you have your hot water heater flushed on an annual
basis.
The Myerstown Water Authority is planning to cease
the addition of fluoride chemical to your drinking water.
Please call our office if you have questions.
(717)
866-9301
We at the Myerstown Water Authority work around the clock to
provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all our customers help us
protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of
life and our children's future. |
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