HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 City of Georgetown Water Quality ReportGeorgetown Utility Systems
2015 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
Consumer Confidence Report
This information is provided to you by: Georgetown Utility Systems
300 Industrial Ave., Georgetown, Texas 78626, Tel. (512) 930-3640, Fax (512) 930-3534
Irrigation Schedule and Rate Information
The City of Georgetown has adopted a year round, three-day
irrigation schedule as the standard watering schedule for
automatic irrigation systems and hose-end sprinklers. City
water customers follow the adopted irrigation schedule which
is based on the last digit of your address number. Odd
addresses may water Tuesday and/or Thursday and/or
Saturday. Even addresses may water Wednesday and/or Friday and/or Sunday. Watering with a hand-held hose or
bucket can be done on any day. Violations of these restrictions may result in fines. The current, standard water rates
are based on increasing usage blocks, with the first 0 to 10,000 gallons priced at $1.75 per 1,000 gallons. At 11,000
gallons of water use in a month, the rate increases to $2.40 per 1,000 gallons, and continues to increase with additional
usage. For a detailed description of water rates and tiers, please visit https://gus.georgetown.org/customercare/rates/.
AquaMessenger
Call the Customer Care Center to see if AquaMessenger is available within your area. The program provides automatic
email usage alerts when monthly usage exceeds a customer pre-set level. Sign up online at
records.georgetown.org/Forms/Aqua-Alerts or call the Customer Care Center at (512) 930-3640.
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 material in the reverse direction. Each device must be tested at least annually with the test
results reported to Georgetown Utility Systems. Please visit the website at gus.georgetown.org for further information.
Special Population Advisory
You may be more vulnerable than the general
population to certain microbial contaminants, such as
Cryptosporidium, in drinking water. Infants, some
elderly or immunocompromised persons such as those
undergoing chemotherapy for cancer; those who have
undergone organ transplants; those who are
undergoing treatment with steroids; and people with
HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders can be
particularly at risk from infections. You should seek
advice about drinking water from your physician or
health care provider. Additional guidelines on
appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by
Cryptosporidium are available from the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.
Our Drinking Water Meets or Exceeds All
Federal (EPA) Drinking Water Requirements
This report is a summary of the quality of the water we
provide our customers. The analysis was made by using the
data from the most recent U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) required tests and is presented in the
following pages. We hope this information helps you
become more knowledgeable about what is in your drinking
water. Should you have questions or need additional copies
of this report, please call the Customer Care Center at (512)
930-3640. The report is also available on our website at
www.gus.georgetown.org
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Where Do We Get Our Drinking Water?
Our water comes from both surface water and ground
water sources. Surface water is primarily supplied by
Lake Georgetown, and ground water is served by the
Edwards Aquifer. Additionally, the City of Georgetown
received water from the City of Round Rock for two days
to augment our water supply while equipment was offline
for repair. If you have any questions about this report or
any other details about your water utility, please contact
Customer Care at 512-930-3640.
Public Participation Opportunities
Learn more about your water utility on the City of
Georgetown website www.gus.georgetown.org, Facebook
page www.facebook.com/CityofGeorgetown, or by
attending an Advisory Board or City Council meeting. See
www.georgetown.org/councils-boards-agendas for more
details.
En Español
Este informe incluye información importante
sobre el agua potable. Si tiene preguntas o
comentarios sobre éste informe en español, favor de
llamar al tel. (512) 930-3640 para hablar con una
persona bilingüe en español.
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.
Georgetown Utility Systems 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 lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to two 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 (800) 426-4791 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
All Drinking Water May Contain Contaminants
The TCEQ completed an assessment of your source water and results indicate that some of your sources are
susceptible to certain contaminants. The sampling requirements for your water system are based on this susceptibility
and previous sample data. Any detections of these contaminants may be found in this Consumer Confident Report. For
more information on source water assessments and protection efforts at our system, contact Customer Care at 512-
930-3640.
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 before treatment include: microbes, inorganic
contaminants, pesticides, herbicides, radioactive contaminants, and organic chemical contaminants.
In order 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. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for
contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.
Contaminants may be found in drinking water that may cause taste, color, or odor problems. These types of problems
are not necessarily causes for health concerns. For more information on taste, odor, or color of drinking water, please
contact the system's business office.
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 EPA's Safe Drinking Water
Hotline at (800) 426-4791.
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 storm water 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, urban storm water runoff
and residential use.
Radioactive contaminants, which are naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining
activities.
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 storm water runoff, and
septic systems.
About The Following Pages
The pages that follow list all of the federally regulated or monitored contaminants which have been found in your drinking
water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires water systems to test up to 97 constituents.
Water Quality Data
The table in this report lists all the drinking water contaminants we detected during tests conducted from the previous
calendar year, 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.
Definitions
Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
Action Level Goal (ALG): The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. ALGs allow for a
margin of safety.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): The highest permissible level of a contaminant in drinking water. MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s 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 health risk.
MCLG’s allow for a margin of safety.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL): The highest level of 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 contamination. Treatment Technique (TT): A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Abbreviations
MFL - million fibers per liter (a measure of asbestos) ppt - parts per trillion, or nanograms per liter
N/A - not applicable ppb - parts per billion, or micrograms per liter (ug/l)
NTU - Nephelometric Turbidity Units pCi/L - picocuries per liter (a measure of radioactivity)
ppq - parts per quadrillion, or picograms per liter ppm - parts per million, or milligrams per liter (mg/l)
Microbiological Contaminants For 2015
Constituent MCL
Highest % of positive samples Units Violation (Y or N) Typical Source of Contamination
Total Coliform Presence in 5% or more of the Monthly Samples.
2.4% presence N Naturally present in the environment
Fecal Coliform Routine repeat sample is coliform positive and one is fecal.
0 positive out of 75 samples presence N Human and animal fecal waste
Constituent MCL
Highest measurement MCLG Units Violation
(Y Or N)
Typical Source of Contamination
Total Organic Carbon N/A 3.90 N/A PPM N Naturally present in the environment
Turbidity (NTU) 0.3 0.27 N/A PPM 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 0.04 0.0392 - 0.0504 2015 N Discharge of drilling waste, metal refineries, erosion of natural deposits
Fluoride (ppm)
4 4 0.20 0.21 – 0.24 2015 N Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories
Nitrate (ppm)
10 10 2.42 0.017 - 3.77 2015
N Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits
Nickel (ppb) .1 .1 0.0017 .0015 – .0019 2015 N Erosion of natural deposits
Chromium (ppb) .1 .1 Less than Detection Limit
Less than Detection Limit 2015 N Discharge from steel and pulp mills; Erosion of natural deposits
Lead and Copper 2013 Sampling
Constituent Action Level 90th Percentile
Sites exceeding Action Level
Violation
(Y or N) Typical Source of Contamination
Copper (ppm) 1.3 0.228 0 N Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives
Lead (ppb) 0.015 0.0027 0 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 (ppm) 4.0 4.0 2.72 .2 – 3.72 2015 Primary Disinfection for surface water
Chlorine (ppm) 4.0 4.0 1.75 .2 – 3.60 2015 Primary Disinfection for ground water
HAA5 Haloacedic Acids (ppb) 60 0 15.51 1.0 – 33.8 2015 By-product of drinking water chlorination
THM Trihalomethanes (ppb) 80 0 29.32 2.6 – 97.2 2015 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) 10.67 0 – 58.3 2015 Unregulated contaminants monitoring helps EPA to determine where certain contaminants occur and whether it needs to regulate those contaminants
Perchlorate is tested once every 5 years
Bromoform (ppb) 2.68 0 – 18 2015
Bromodichloromethane (ppb) 7.79 0 – 28.6 2015
Dibromochloromethane (ppb) 6.37 1.3 – 23.5 2015
Perchlorate (ppb) 0.00300 0.00197 – 0.00625 2012
Organic Contaminants
Constituent Average of All Sampling Points Range of Detected Levels Sample Date Typical Source of Contamination
Atrazine (ppb) <0.1 <0.1 – 0.17 2015 Runoff from herbicide
used on row crops.
Total Organic Carbon
Year Contaminant Average Level Minimum Level Maximum Level Unit of Measure Source of Contaminant
2015 Source Water 2.74 .88 5.06 ppm Naturally present in the environment.
2015 Drinking Water 2.25 .86 3.90 ppm Naturally present in the environment.
2013 Removal Ratio 1.02 .64 1.34 % removal N/A
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3 Rule)*
Substance (units) Year
Sampled Average Range of
Detection Typical Source
Chlorate (ppb)
2013 374 ND - 1400 Agricultural defoliant or desiccant; disinfection byproduct; and used in production of chlorine dioxide.
Chromium
(ppb)
2015 ND ND
Naturally occurring element; used in making steel and other alloys; used for
chrome plating, dyes, and pigments, leather tanning, and wood
preservation.
Chromium (VI)
(ppb)
2015 ND ND
Naturally occurring element; used in making steel and other alloys; used for
chrome plating, dyes, and pigments, leather tanning, and wood
preservation.
Molybdenum
(ppb)
2013 0.19 ND – 2.2
Naturally-occurring element found in ores and present in plants, animals,
and bacteria; commonly used form molybdenum trioxide used as a
chemical reagent require
Strontium
(ppb)
2013 393 120 – 980
Naturally-occurring element; historically, commercial use of strontium has
been in the faceplate glass of cathode-ray tube televisions to block x-ray
emissions.
Vanadium
(ppb)
2013 2.2 1.4 – 3 Naturally-occurring elemental metal; used as vanadium pentoxide which is
a chemical intermediate and a catalyst.
2015 LT2 Results
Substance (units) Year
Sampled Average Range of
Detection Typical Source
Cryptosporidium(ppb)
2015 0.059 ND – 0.091 Cryptosporidium is a microbial pathogen found in surface water
throughout the U.S.