ML12223A455
| ML12223A455 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Watts Bar  |
| Issue date: | 01/02/2010 |
| From: | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| To: | Justin Poole Watts Bar Special Projects Branch |
| Poole J | |
| References | |
| Download: ML12223A455 (2) | |
Text
naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.
Is my drinking water safe?
Contaminants that may be present in source water:
Yes, our water meets all of EPAs health standards. We have
- Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may conducted numerous tests for over 80 contaminants that may be in come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural drinking water. As youll see in the chart on the back, we only detected livestock operations, and wildlife.
8 of these contaminants.
- Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, What is the source of my water?
industrial, or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas Your water is groundwater and purchased surface water. Our goal is to production, mining, or farming.
protect our water from contaminants and we are working with the State
- Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of to determine the vulnerability of our water source to potential sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and contamination. The Tennessee Department of Environment and residential uses.
Conservation (TDEC) has prepared a Source Water Assessment
- Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile Program (SWAP) Report for the untreated water sources serving this organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes water system. The SWAP Report assesses the susceptibility of and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, untreated water sources to potential contamination. To ensure safe urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
drinking water, all public water systems treat and routinely test their
- Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be water. Water sources have been rated as reasonably susceptible, the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
moderately susceptible or slightly susceptible based on geologic factors In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA and the and human activities in the vicinity of the water source. The Watts Bar Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation prescribe Utility District sources rated as reasonably susceptible to potential regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water contamination.
provided by public water systems. Watts Bar Utility District's water An explanation of Tennessees Source Water Assessment Program, the treatment processes are designed to reduce any such substances to Source Water Assessment summaries, susceptibility scorings and the levels well below any health concern. FDA regulations establish limits overall TDEC report to EPA can be viewed online at for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same www.tn.gov/environment/dws/dwassess.shtml or you may contact the protection for public health.
Water System to obtain copies of specific assessments.
Do I Need To Take Special Precautions?
Why are there contaminants in my water? Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health under-gone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agencys Safe from infections. These people should seek advice about not only their drinking water, but food preparation, personal hygiene, and precautions Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
in handling infants and pets from their health care providers. EPA/CDC Este informe contiene información muy importante. Tradúscalo o hable guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by con alguien que lo entienda bien. Cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available For more information about your drinking water, please call Wesley from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
Barger at 800.882.5099.
Lead in Drinking Water How can I get involved? If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health Our Water Board meets on the second Thursday of each month at 5:00 problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead pm at 4535 Watts Bar Hwy. Please feel free to participate in these in drinking water is primarily from materials and components meetings. The Commissioners of Watts Bar Utility District serve four associated with service lines and home plumbing. The Watts Bar year terms. Vacancies on the Board of Commissioners are filled by Utility District is responsible for providing high quality drinking appointment by the Rhea Co. Mayor from a list of three nominees. water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing Decisions by the Board of Commissioners on customer complaints components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, brought before the Board of Commissioners under the District's customer you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your complaint policy may be reviewed by the Utility Management Review Board of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or pursuant to Section 7-82-702(7) of Tennessee Code Annotated. cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking Is our water system meeting other rules that govern our water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize operations? exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at The State and EPA require us to test and report on our water on a http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead regular basis to ensure its safety. We have met all of these requirements. Results of unregulated contaminant analysis are available Water System Security upon request. We want you to know that we pay attention to all the Following the events of September 2001, we realize that our customers rules. are concerned about the security of their drinking water. We urge the Other Information public to report any suspicious activities at any utility facilities, including The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include treatment plants, pumping stations, tanks, fire hydrants, etc. to 800-882-rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water 5099 A
W a t e r Q u a l i t y D a t a What does this chart mean?
- MCLG - Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, or 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.
- MCL - Maximum Contaminant Level, or 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. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.
- MRDL: 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 the control of microbial contaminants.
- MRDLG: Maximum residual disinfectant level goal. 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.
- AL - Action Level, or the concentration of a contaminant which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
- Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - explained as a relation to time and money as one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.
- Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter - explained as a relation to time and money as one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.
- Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) - nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
- TT - Treatment Technique, or a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Water Quality Data for 2010 Contaminant Violation Level Range of Date of Unit MCLG MCL Likely Source of Yes/No Found Detections Sample Measurement Contamination Total Coliform No 0 2010 0 1 positive sample Naturally present in the Bacteria environment Turbidity1 No 0.4 0.1-0.4 2010 NTU n/a TT Soil runoff Copper* No 90th%= 2009 ppm 1.3 AL=1.3 Corrosion of household 0.12 plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives Lead* No 90th%= 2009 ppb 0 AL=15 Corrosion of household 6.7 plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits Sodium No 12.0 2008 ppm N/A N/A Erosion of natural deposits; used in water treatment TTHM No 23.9 10.8-42.6 2010 ppb n/a 80 By-product of drinking
[Total trihalomethanes] once/yr water chlorination Haloacetic Acids No 9.65 3.9-20.3 2010 ppb N/A 60 By-product of drinking (HAA5) once/yr water disinfection.
Total organic carbon No .97 0.0-.97 2010 ppm TT TT Naturally present in the (TOC)2 environment Chlorine No 1.79 0.5-2.3. 2010 ppm 4 4 Water additive used to control microbes.
avg.
- During the most recent round of Lead and Copper testing, 0 out of 20 households sampled for lead contained concentrations exceeding the action level, and 0 out of 20 households sampled contained concentrations exceeding the copper action level.
1 97.8% of our samples were below the turbidity limit of 0.3 NTU. Turbidity is a measurement of the cloudiness of water. We measure turbidity because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our treatment process.
2 The treatment technique for TOC was met for 2010.
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