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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 See Page 4 to learn how to edit or replace this picture. The styles available in this template allow you to change the look of your headlines and other text. The following is a list of some common styles and their uses. Body Text - Use this style for the regular text of an article. Byline - Use this style for the name of the author of an article. Byline Company - Use this style to type the author’s company. SIDEBAR HEAD - Use this style to type a second-level heading in a sidebar article. SIDEBAR SUBHEAD - Use this style to type a third-level heading in a sidebar article. Sidebar Text - Use this style to type the text in a sidebar article. SIDEBAR TITLE - Use this style to type first-level headings in a sidebar article. Footer - Use this style to type the repeating text at the very bottom of each page. Heading1 - Use this style to create headlines for each article. Heading2 - Use this style to create section headings in an article. Jump To and Jump From - Use these styles to indicate that an article continues on another page. 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.