2006 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
City Corporation
City Corporation is pleased to present
to you the 2006 Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you
about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant
goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We
want 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. 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, can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or
from human activity. Our source is
surface water from the Illinois Bayou which supplies the Huckleberry Creek
Reservoir.
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 by-products of industrial processes 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.
The Arkansas Department of
Health & Human Services has completed a Source Water Vulnerability
Assessment for City Corporation. The
assessment summarizes the potential for contamination of our sources of
drinking water and can be used as a basis for developing a source water
protection plan. Based on the various
criteria of the assessment, our water sources have been determined to have a low
to medium susceptibility to contamination.
You may request a summary of the Source Water Vulnerability Assessment
from the City Corporation Office.
All 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.
In order to
assure 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 (FDA)
regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for public health.
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.
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).
If you have any questions
about this report or your water utility, please contact Kenny Lutz, Customer
Service Manager, at 479-968-2105. We want
our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any
of our regularly scheduled board meetings that are held on the third Tuesday of
each month at
City Corporation routinely monitors for
constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The
test results table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of
January 1st to
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Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant which,
if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must
follow.
Maximum Contaminant Level (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 (MCLG) – unenforceable public
health goal; 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 Residual Disinfectant Level (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 (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.
NA – not applicable
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – a unit of measurement for the clarity of water.
Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
Parts per million (ppm) – a unit of measurement for detected levels
of contaminants in drinking water. One
part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in
$10,000.
Parts per billion (ppb) - a unit of measurement
for detected levels of contaminants in drinking water. One part per billion corresponds to one
minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.
|
TEST RESULTS |
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MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS |
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|
Contaminant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Unit |
MCLG (Public Health Goal) |
MCL (Allowable Level) |
Major Sources in Drinking Water |
|
Total Coliform
Bacteria |
N |
1 positive sample in January,
April, May, and July, 2006 (4 total positive samples) |
Present |
0 |
1 positive
sample per month |
Naturally
present in the environment |
|
Turbidity
|
N |
Highest
yearly sample result: 0.099 |
NTU |
NA |
> 0.3
NTU in ≤ 5% of samples and no single sample > 1 NTU |
Soil
runoff |
|
Lowest
monthly % of samples meeting the
turbidity limit: 100% |
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|
¨
Turbidity is a measurement of the cloudiness of water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator
of the effectiveness of our filtration system. |
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|
INORGANIC CONTAMINANTS |
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|
Contaminant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Unit |
MCLG (Public Health Goal) |
MCL (Allowable Level) |
Major Sources in Drinking Water |
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|
Fluoride |
N |
Average:
0.96 Range: 0.85
– 1.03 |
ppm |
4 |
4 |
Water
additive which promotes strong teeth |
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|
Nitrate [as
Nitrogen] |
N |
0.19 |
ppm |
10 |
10 |
Runoff
from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural
deposits |
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LEAD AND COPPER TAP MONITORING
|
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|
Contaminant |
Number of Sites over Action Level |
90th Percentile Result |
Unit |
Action Level |
Major Sources in Drinking Water |
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Lead
|
0 |
0.006 |
ppm |
0.015 |
Corrosion
from household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits |
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|
Copper |
0 |
0.28 |
ppm |
1.3 |
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|
¨
City
Corporation is on a reduced monitoring schedule and required to sample once
every three years for lead and copper at the customers’ taps. Our last monitoring period was in 2005. Our next required monitoring period is the
year 2008. |
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DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCT PRECURSORS |
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¨
The
percentage of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) removal was routinely monitored in
2006, and our water system met all TOC removal requirements set by USEPA.
Total organic carbon (TOC) has no health effects. However, total organic carbon provides a
medium for the formation of disinfection by-products. These by-products include trihalomethanes
(THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). |
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REGULATED DISINFECTANTS |
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|
Disinfectant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Unit |
MRDLG (Public Health Goal) |
MRDL (Allowable Level) |
Major Sources in Drinking Water |
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|
Chlorine |
N |
Average:
0.82 Range: 0.01
– 1.34 |
ppm |
4 |
4 |
Water
additive used to control microbes |
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|
BY-PRODUCTS OF DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION |
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|
Contaminant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Unit |
MCLG (Public Health Goal) |
MCL (Allowable Level) |
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|
HAA5 [Haloacetic
Acids] |
N |
Highest
Running 12 Month Average: 40 Range: 28.9
– 53.4 |
ppb |
0 |
60 |
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|
TTHM [Total Trihalomethanes] |
N |
Highest
Running 12 Month Average: 40 Range: 22.9
– 52.9 |
ppb |
NA |
80 |
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|
UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS |
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|
Contaminant |
Level Detected |
Unit |
MCLG (Public Health Goal) |
Major Sources in Drinking Water |
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|
Chloroform
|
54.6 |
ppb |
NA |
By-products
of drinking water disinfection |
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|
Bromodichloromethane
|
6.71 |
ppb |
0 |
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|
Dibromochloromethane |
1.01 |
ppb |
60 |
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|
¨
Unregulated
contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water
standards. The purpose of unregulated
contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA in determining the occurrence of
unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether future regulation is
warranted. MCLs (Maximum Contaminant
Levels) and MCLGs (Maximum Contaminant Level Goals) have not been established
for all unregulated contaminants. |
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