2010 CCR Water Report

Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

For The Borough of Grove City Water System

2010

PWSID # 6430040

Este informe contiene informacion muy importante sobre su agua de beber.Traduzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien. (This report contains very important information about your drinking water. Translate it, or speak to someone who understands it.)

WATER SYSTEM INFORMATION:

This report shows our water quality and what it means.  If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact the Water Treatment Plant Superintendent at 724-458-9440 or The Borough Manager, Borough Of Grove City, 123 West Main Street, P.O. Box 110, Grove City, Pa. 16127 or call 724-458-7060.  We want you to be informed about your water supply. If you want to learn more please attend our regularly scheduled council meetings the third Monday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Borough building.  We’re pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Water Quality Report.  This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day.  Our constant goal is to provide you with a 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.

SOURCES OF WATER:

Our water source is three ground water wells. The wells draw from the Homewood sandstone, the upper and lower Connoquessing sandstone and the Burgoon sandstone formations. A Source Water Assessment of our source was completed in 2004 by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP).  The Assessment has found that our source is potentially most susceptible to former and active industrial sites, previous coal mining, and leaks in underground storage tanks. Overall, our source has little risk of significant contamination.  Summary reports of the Assessment are available by writing to The Borough Manager, P.O. Box 110 Grove City Pa. 16127 and will be available on the PADEP website at www.dep.state.pa.us (Keyword: “DEP source water”).  Complete reports were distributed to municipalities, water suppliers, local planning agencies and PADEP offices. Copies of the complete report are available for review at the PA DEP Meadville Regional Office, Records Management Unit at 814-332-6942.

IMMUNO-COMPROMISED PERSONS:

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).

MONITOURING YOUR WATER:

We routinely monitor for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws. The following table inserts show the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31 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 is from prior years in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The date has been noted on the sampling results table.

DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS:

In this 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:

Action Level (AL) – 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 the 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 disinfect to control microbial contaminants.

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Treatment Technique (TT) - A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Mrem/year = millirems per year. (A measure of radiation absorbed by the body)

pCi/L = picocuries per liter. (A measure of radioactivity)

ppb = parts per billion, or micrograms per liter. (ug/L)

ppm = parts per million, or milligrams per liter. ( mg/L)

ppq = parts per quadrillion, or picograms per liter.

Ppt = parts per trillion, or nanograms per liter.

See Chart Insert:

VIOLATIONS: None

EDUCATIONAL 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, 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:

-Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come form sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife

-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.

-Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses.

-Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts or industrial process and petroleum production and mining activities.

-Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

Environmental Protection Agency / Food And Drug Agency

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. FDA regulations establish limits 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 the water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION:

Lead: 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 Borough of Grove City Water Treatment Plant 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; you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure can be found at the Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead

Nitrate: Nitrate in drinking water at levels above 10 ppm is a health risk for infants of less than 6 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 for advice from your health care provider.

Protect Our Water Source:

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your family with clean, quality water this year. We at the Borough of Grove City 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.

Contaminant	Action Level (AL)	MCLG	90th Percentile Value	Units	# of Sites Above AL of Total Sites	Violation Of TT Y/N	Sources of Contamination
Lead  2007	15	0	0.000	ppb	0	No	Corrosion of household plumbing
Copper 2007	1.3	1.3	0.805	ppm	0	No	Corrosion of household plumbing
Contaminant	MCL in CCR units	MCLG	Highest Level Detected	Range of Detects	Units	Violation Y/N	Sources of Contamination
Alpha Emitters Year 2005	15	0	0.5171	0-0.517	pCi/l	No	Erosion of natural deposits
Nitrate Year 2009	10	10	0.25	0-0.25	ppm	No	Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks; sewage; erosion of natural deposits
Chemical Contaminant	MCL in CCR units	MCLG	Highest Level Detected	Range of Detects	Units	Violation Y/N	Sources of Contamination
TTHM’s Trihalomethanes Haloacetic Acid Year 2009	80 60	n/a n/a	6.8 1.2	5.8-6.8 1.2-1.2	ppb ppb	No No	By- product of drinking water chlorination
Distribution	MCL in CCR units	MCLG	Highest Level Detected	Range of Detects	Units	Violation Y/N	Sources of Contamination
Chlorine 2009	4	4	0.94	0.65 0.94	ppm	No	Water additive used to control microbes