Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRA 2021 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report of Ravines Water Treatment Plant Clay County Utility Authority is very pleased to provide you with this year's Annual Water Quality Report. We want to keep you informed about the excellent water and services we have delivered to you over the past year. Our goal is and always has been, to provide to you a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. Ravines Water Treatment Plant PWS ID # 2104332 routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. Except where indicated otherwise, this report is based on the results of our monitoring for the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021. 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, though representative, are more than one-year old. Data obtained before Jan. 1, 2021, and presented in this report is from the most recent testing done in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations. Our water source is ground water from wells that draw from the Floridan Aquifer. Our water is aerated for odor removal then chlorinated for disinfection purposes. This report shows our water quality results and what they mean. In the table below, you may find unfamiliar terms and abbreviations. To help you better understand these terms we've provided the following definitions: Maximum Contaminant Level or 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 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. Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow. 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. 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. ‘ND’ means not detected and indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis. Parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per liter (µg/l): one part by weight of analyte to 1 billion parts by weight of the water sample. Parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/l): one part by weight of analyte to 1 million parts by weight of the water sample. Inorganic Contaminants Contaminant and Unit of Measurement Dates of sampling (mo/yr) MCL Violation Y/N Level Detected Range of Results MCLG MCL Likely Source of Contamination Barium (ppm) 03/20 N 0.0060 N/A 2 2 Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits Fluoride (ppm) 03/20 N 0.19 N/A 4 4.0 Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories. Water additive which promotes strong teeth when at the optimum level of 0.7 ppm Sodium (ppm) 03/20 N 5.3 N/A N/A 160 Saltwater intrusion, leaching from soil Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection By-products Disinfectant or Contaminant and Unit of Measurement Dates of sampling (mo/yr) MCL or MRDL Violation Y/N Level Detected Range of Results MCLG or MRDLG MCL or MRDL Likely Source of Contamination Chlorine (ppm) 01/21 – 12/21 N 2.14 1.8 – 2.2 MRDLG = 4 MRDL = 4.0 Water additive used to control microbes Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products Contaminant and Unit of Measurement Dates of sampling (mo/yr) MCL Violation (Y/N) Level Detected Range of Results MCLG MCL Likely Source of Contamination Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (ppb) 08/21 N 0.9 ND – 0.9 N/A 60 By-product of drinking water disinfection Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) (ppb) 08/21 N 11.61 3.69 – 11.61 N/A 80 By-product of drinking water disinfection Lead and Copper (Tap Water) Contaminant and Unit of Measurement Dates of sampling (mo/yr) AL Exceeded (Y/N) 90th Percentile Result No. of sampling sites exceeding the AL MCLG AL (Action Level) Likely Source of Contamination Copper (tap water) (ppm) 07/20 N 0.018 0 1.3 1.3 Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives 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. Clay County Utility Authority 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 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 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead. In 2021, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) performed a Source Water Assessment on our system. The assessment was conducted to provide information about any potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of our wells. There is one potential source of contamination identified for this system with a low susceptibility level. The assessment results are available on the DEP Source Water Assessment and Protection Program (SWAPP) website at https://fldep.dep.state.fl.us/swapp/ or they can be obtained from Heather Webber at 904-219-4114 or hwebber@clayutility.org. 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: (A) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife. (B) 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. (C) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff and residential uses. (D) 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 stormwater runoff, and septic systems. (E) Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (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. 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. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/Center for Disease Control 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). This report is also available at CCUA’s Administrative Building located at 3176 Old Jennings Road, Middleburg, FL 32068 upon request. We at CCUA would like 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. If you have any questions or concerns about the information provided, please feel free to call any of the numbers listed. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Heather Webber at 904-219-4114 or hwebber@clayutility.org. We encourage our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings. They are held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 2:00pm in the Board Room of the CCUA Administrative Building at 3176 Old Jennings Road, Middleburg, Florida, 32068. You can also obtain additional information from EPA at their Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791). IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER Ravines WTP Bacteriological Monitoring Public Notice What happened? CCUA is required to conduct monthly total coliform monitoring in the Ravines drinking water distribution system. Due to a sampling error in May 2022, two samples were collected instead of three. Although this is not an emergency, DEP requires CCUA to notify customers of the error. What Should I Do? You don’t need to do anything. CCUA treats all water delivered from the water treatment plants with chlorine to mitigate the risk of bacteria. All the water treatment plant systems were operating normally. The issue we are notifying you about is an error in the number of samples taken. Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially harmful, waterborne pathogens may be present or that a potential pathway exists through which contamination may enter the drinking water distribution system. Any customers who are concerned about their exposure to coliforms can choose alternative sources of water for ingestion. Customers may also boil water for a period of one minute if you are concerned about the presence of coliforms. We will again note the issue we are notifying you about is an issue with the number of samples taken, not a detection of coliforms. CCUA’s treatment systems were operating normally throughout the month of May. What does this mean? This is not an immediate risk. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. What is being done? Both samples collected in May 2022 were absent for total coliform bacteria. In June 2022, six bacteriological samples were collected from the Ravines distribution system. All six samples were absent for total coliform bacteria. To prevent future sampling errors, CCUA staff has implemented additional tracking procedures and is reevaluating sample collection procedures. For more information, please contact Heather Webber, Environmental Compliance Manager, at 904-219-4114 or hwebber@clayutility.org. Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail. Per FDEP and EPA requirements, this Public Notice is being sent by Clay County Utility Authority for the Ravines Water Treatment Plant, Public Water System #2104332, for insufficient samples collected in May 2022. Distributed: June 2022.