HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Quality Report 2008 Water Quality Report for 2008
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requires each
water purveyor in the state to provide its customers with an annual water
quality report. Georgetown Utility Systems (GUS) is dedicated to
providing high quality drinking water. Last year we conducted more than
600 water quality tests and never exceeded the safe drinking water
standards established by the EPA.
Our water comes from the Edwards Aquifer and Lake Georgetown.
Generally, customers living to the west of IH-35 are served by water from
Lake Georgetown with a hardness of 200 mg/L (11-12 grains/gal). This
hardness level is low in the “hard” range. All other areas are served by the
Edwards Aquifer with a hardness of 300 mg/L (17-18 grains/gal), and is
considered to be “hard”. If you have any questions about this report or any
other details about your water utility, please contact us at 512-930-3558.
Public participation Opportunities
If you are interested in learning more about your water utility, attend either
a City Council meeting scheduled for the second and fourth Tuesdays of
every month starting at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers at 101 E. 7th
St or attend a Georgetown Utility Systems Advisory Board meeting
normally scheduled for the third Tuesday of every month starting at 2:00
PM in the Georgetown Municipal Complex at 300 Industrial Ave.
Conservation rates in effect
As part of the City’s Water Conservation Plan, the City enters the first
phase of its Drought Contingency Plan, Voluntary Conservation, on May 1
of each year. The City also enacts the Residential Conservation Water Rates
on billings from June 1 through October 31. The increase in cost during this
period is meant to provide incentive to conserve during the peak demand
period. Any additional revenue is used to finance the construction of water
capacity projects to serve the peak demand.
The most effective method for conserving water is to control use of water
for landscape irrigation. Use of water for irrigation causes the peak
demand in the summer that puts a strain on the system and eventually
requires the installation of expensive treatment facilities. For best results,
irrigate no more than three times per week between the hours of 7 p.m. and
10 a.m. Watering during the late evening and early morning hours also
minimizes the water lost to evaporation. The three times per week
schedule is provided on our website located at www.georgetown.org.
Water Conservation Pilot Program
GUS conducted a water conservation pilot program during the summer of
2008. The purpose of the program was to assess the impact of water use
feedback and a new irrigation schedule on customer irrigation use. The
City is in the process of adopting a three times per week irrigation schedule
based upon customer address. Also under development is a usage
feedback system using email to notify customers when certain thresholds
are reached. The system will be available during the summer of 2009.
Protect your drinking water
The use of drinking water in many industrial processes requires the use of
a functioning and properly-tested backflow prevention device. These
devices prevent the inadvertent introduction of hazardous materials into
the drinking water system by preventing flow of the material in the reverse
direction. Each device must be tested at least annually with the test results
reported to GUS. Please call 930-3558 for further information.
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.
Sources 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 that may be present in source water before we treat it
include:
• Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may
come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural
livestock operations, and wildlife.
• Turbidity, which has no health effects, can interfere with
disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth.
Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing
organisms
• Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, can be naturally
occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or
domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining
or farming.
• Pesticides & herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources
such as agriculture and residential use.
• Radioactive contaminants, which are naturally occurring.
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile
organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes
and petroleum production, and also can come from gas stations,
urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
The TCEQ completed an assessment of our source water and results
indicate that some of our sources are susceptible to certain
contaminants. The sampling requirements for our water system are
based on this susceptibility and previous sample data. Any detection
of these potential contaminants will be found in the Water Quality
Report. For more information on the Source Water Assessment and
protection efforts, please contact us.
Special population advisory
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking
water such as immuno-compromised 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 from their health care providers.
EPA/Center for Disease Control guidelines on how to reduce the risk
of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are
available at: Safe Drinking Water Hotline: 1-800-426-4791.
Water quality monitoring
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes
regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water
provided by public water systems. We treat our water according to the
EPA regulations. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish
limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same
protection for public health.
Water quality data
The table in this report lists all the drinking water contaminants we
detected during tests conducted from January 1 through December 31,
2008, unless otherwise noted. The state requires us to monitor for
certain contaminants less than once per year because the
concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary
significantly from year to year. Therefore, some of the data, though
representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.
Este informe incluye informacion importante sobre el agua potable.
Si tiene preguntas o comentarios sobre este informe en espanol, favor
de llamar at tel. (512) 930-3558 – para hablar con una persona bilingue
en espanol.
Terms & Abbreviations
AL: Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
MCL: Maximum Contaminant Level - the “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is 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.
MCLG: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal - the “Goal” (MCLG) is 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.
N/A: not applicable NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Units – measure of the clarity of water
ND: not-detectable – laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.
ppm: parts per million or milligrams per liter ppb: parts per billion or micrograms per liter
TT: Treatment Technique – a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Microbiological Contaminants
Constituent MCL MCLG Highest
Measurement
Lowest Monthly % of
samples meeting limits
Violation
(Y or N)
Typical Source of
Contamination
Total Coliform N/A N/A 0 100 N Naturally present in the environment.
Fecal Coliform N/A N/A ND 100 N Human and animal fecal waste
Total Organic Carbon N/A N/A 3.41 100 N Naturally present in the environment
Turbidity (NTU) TT 0.3 .40 100 N Soil runoff
Inorganic Contaminants
Constituent MCL MCLG
Average
Level
Range of
Detection
Sample
Date
Violation
(Y or N)
Typical Source of
Contamination
Barium (ppm)
2 2 0.043 0.043 - 0.043 2004 N Discharge of drilling wastes;
Discharge from metal refineries;
Erosion of natural deposits
Fluoride (ppm)
4 4 0.83 0.12 – 0.83 2005-08 N Erosion of natural deposits; water
additive which promotes strong teeth;
Discharge from fertilizer and
aluminum factories
Nitrate (ppm)
10 10 2.52 0.24 - 3.45 2005-08
N Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching
from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of
natural deposits
Nickel (ppb) 100 100 2.9 1.0 - 2.9 2004-08 N Erosion of natural deposits
Chromium (ppb) 100 100 1.7 1.7 – 1.7 2004 N Discharge from steel and pulp mills;
Erosion of natural deposits
Lead and Copper
Constituent
Action
Level
90th
Percentile
Sites exceeding
Action Level
Violation
(Y or N) Typical Source of Contamination
Copper (ppm) 1.3 0.447 0 N Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural
deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives
Lead (ppb) 15 5.3 1 N Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural
deposits
Disinfection and Disinfection By-Products
Constituent MCL MCLG
Average of All
Sampling Points
Range of Detected
Levels
Sample
Date Typical Source of Contamination
Chloramines 4.0 4.0 2.5 0.2-3.5 2008 Primary Disinfection for surface water
Chlorine 4.0 4.0 1.8 0.6-3.6 2008 Primary Disinfection for ground water
HAA5 Haloacedic Acids
(ppb)
60 0 11.7 1.1-30.1 2008 By-product of drinking water chlorination
THM Trihalomethanes
(ppb)
80 0 25.9 8.2-40.9 2008 By-product of drinking water chlorination
Unregulated Contaminants
Constituent
Average of All
Sampling Points
Range of
Detected Levels Sample Date Typical Source of Contamination
Chloroform (ppb) 5.5 1.1-13 2008
Bromoform (ppb) 1.37 0 – 3.3 2008
Bromodichloromethane
(ppb)
5.3 0.8-11 2008
Dibromochloromethane
(ppb)
4.3 1.6-6.8 2008
Perchlorate (ppb) N/D N/D 2008
Unregulated contaminants monitoring helps EPA to
determine where certain contaminants occur and whether it
needs to regulate those contaminants
This water quality report was prepared Georgetown Utility Systems and OMI, Inc.