2006
ANNUAL DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT
TOWN
OF LAWRENCEVILLE
PWSID NO. 5025450
INTRODUCTION
This Annual Drinking Water
Quality Report for calendar year 2006 is designed to inform you about your
drinking water quality. Our goal is to
provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water, and we want
you to understand the efforts we make to protect your water supply. The quality of your drinking water must meet
state and federal requirements administered by the Virginia Department of
Health (VDH).
If you have questions about
this report, or if you want additional information about any aspect of your
drinking water or want to know how to participate in decisions that may affect
the quality of your drinking water, please contact:
|
Randy
Spence, at 434-848-2227 Supt. Of Water |
The times and location of
regularly scheduled board meetings are as follows:
|
Second
Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM. |
GENERAL 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 from 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 stormwater 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 stormwater runoff, and residential uses.
-Organic
chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals,
which are byproducts of industrial process and petroleum production, and can
also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
-Radioactive
contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas
production and mining activities.
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. Food and Drug Administration regulations
establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same
protection for public health.
All drinking water, including
bottled drinking 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 can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
Some people may be more
vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immunocompromised persons such as persons
with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ
transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorder, 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).
SOURCE OF YOUR DRINKING
WATER
The source of your drinking
water is surface water as described below.
Primary raw water intake is
located on Great Creek with an auxiliary intake on the Meherrin River.
Treatment of the raw water
consists of chemical addition, coagulation, flocculation, settling, filtration,
fluoridation and chlorination. All of
these processes work together to remove the physical, chemical, and biological
contaminants to make the water safe for drinking.
A source water assessment of
our system was conducted in March 2002 by the Virginia Department of
Health. The Great Creek and Meherrin
River were determined to be of High susceptibility to contamination using the
criteria developed by the state in its approved Source Water Assessment Program.
The assessment report
consists of maps showing the source water assessment area, an inventory of
known land use activities of concern, and documentation of any known
contamination with the last 5 years. The
report is available by contacting your water system, The Town of Lawrenceville,
Randy Spence, at the phone number or address given elsewhere in this drinking
water quality report.
DEFINITIONS
Contaminants in your drinking
water are routinely monitored according to Federal and State regulations. The table on the next page shows the results
of our monitoring for calendar year 2004.
In the table and elsewhere in this report you will find many terms and
abbreviations you might not be familiar with.
The following definitions are provided to help you better understand
these terms:
Non-detects (ND) - lab
analysis indicates that the contaminant is not present within the detection
limits of the instrument used.
Parts per billion (ppb) or
Micrograms per liter- one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2000 years or a
single penny in $10,000,000.
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.
Picocuries per liter
(pCi/L) - picocuries per liter is a measure
of the radioactivity in water.
Milirems per year (mrem/year) - melirems per year is a measure of radiation
absorbed by the body.
Nephelometric Turbidity
Unit (NTU) - nephelometric turbidity
unit is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just
noticeable to the average person.
Action Level (AL) - the concentration of a contaminant which, if
exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water systems must
follow.
Treatment Technique (TT) -
a required process intended to reduce
the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Maximum Contaminant Level
Goal, or 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 Contaminant Level,
or MCL- the highest level of a
contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.
MCLs are set as close to the MCLs as feasible using the best available
treatment technology.
Maximum Residual
Disinfectant Level Goal or 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.
Maximum Residual
Disinfectant Level or 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.
Abbreviations: N/A- Not
Applicable
WATER QUALITY RESULTS
|
Contaminant |
MCLG |
MCL |
LEVEL FOUND |
RANGE |
VIOLATION |
DATE OF SAMPLE |
TYPICAL SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION |
|
Turbidity (TU)** |
N/A |
TT = 1 NTU |
Max .24 100% |
|
No |
Continuous |
Soil Runoff |
|
TT </= 0.3 95 % of Monthly Samples |
0.03 – 0.13 |
||||||
|
Fluoride(ppm) |
4 |
4 |
0.99 |
.66 – 1.33 |
No |
Daily |
Water additive which promotes strong teeth |
|
Nitrate(ppm) |
10 |
10 |
0.16 |
N/A |
No |
12/13/06 |
Runoff from fertilizer use, Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; and
erosion of natural deposits |
|
Gross Alpha(pCi/L) |
0 |
15 |
0.5 |
N/A |
No |
12/9/02 |
Erosion of natural
deposits |
|
Gross Beta (pci/L) ( 1) |
0 |
50 |
2.6 |
N/A |
No |
12/9/02 |
Decay of natural & manmade deposits |
|
Combined Radium(pCi/L) |
0 |
5 |
0.9 |
N/A |
No |
12/9/02 |
Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Copper (ppm) (A) |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
0.23 |
.061 - .611 |
No |
9/19/06 |
Corrosion of plumbing. |
|
Lead(ppb)* |
0 |
AL=15 |
43 (2 of the 10 samples exceeded the
A L) |
<2 – 43 |
No |
9/19/06 |
Corrosion of plumbing |
DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS
|
Contaminant |
MCLG |
MCL |
Level
Found |
Range |
Violation |
Date
of Sample |
Typical
Source of Contamination |
|
HAA5s(Total
Haloacetic Acids)(ppb) (B) |
N/A |
60 |
43 |
3
- 75 |
No |
Quarterly
Average
of the past four quarters |
By-product
of drinking water disinfection |
|
TTHMs(Total
Trihalomethanes)(ppb) (C) |
N/A |
80 |
79 |
50
- 102 |
No |
Quarterly Average
of the past four quarters |
By-product
of drinking water disinfection |
|
TOC(Total
Organic Carbon) Removal
Ratio |
N/A |
TT-TOC
removal ratio greater than or equal to 1.00 |
1.05 lowest
ratio |
1.05
to 1.75 |
No |
Monthly
2006 |
Naturally
present in the environment |
|
Chlorine
(ppm) |
MRDLG=4 |
MRDL=4 |
0.91 |
0.3
– 1.6 |
No |
Monthly
at 5 Sites in System |
Water
Additive To Control Microbes |
* : Lead - 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 tap water. Additional information is available from the
Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
A : Copper is an essential
nutrient, but some people who drink water containing copper in excess of the
action level over a period of time could experience gastrointestinal
distress. It is possible that copper
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 copper
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 tap water. Additional information is available from the
Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
B :
Haloacetic acids-Some people who drink water containing haloacetic acids in
excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
C :
TTHMs-Some people who drink water containing trihatomethanes in excess of the
MCL over many years could experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or
central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
(1) :
The MCL for beta particles is 4 mrem/year.
EPA considers 50 pci/L to be the level of concern for beta particles.
** : Turbidity is a measure
of the cloudiness of the water and is used because it is a good indicator of
how well the filtration system is functioning.
*** : Out of 10 samples
collected only two exceeded and they had a value of 42.5 and 43.0. Both of these residences were notified of the
lead exceedance.
We regularly monitor for
various contaminants in the water supply to meet regulatory requirements. The table lists only those contaminants that
had some level of detection. Many other
contaminants have been analyzed but were not present or were below the
detection limits of the lab equipment.
Most of the results in the
table are from testing done in 2006.
However, the state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than
once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change
frequently.
MCL’s are set at very
stringent levels by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. In developing the standards EPA assumes that
the average adult drinks 2 liters of water each day throughout a 70-year life
span. EPA generally sets MCLs at levels
that will result in no adverse health effects for some contaminants or a
one-in-ten-thousand to one-in-a-million chance of having the described health
effect for other contaminants.
VIOLATION INFORMATION
We are pleased to report to
you that there were no detections of total coliforms or fecal coliforms in the
monthly samples collected during calendar year 2006.
This Drinking Water Quality
Report was presented by:
Randy Spence, Supt. Of Water
Town of Lawrenceville
400 N. Main Street
Lawrenceville, VA 23868
(434) 848-2227