Full Text
WATER REPORT Quality annual REPORTING YEAR 2020 Presented By City of Blackfoot Water Department PWS ID#: 6060007 ---PAGE BREAK--- Count on Us D elivering high-quality drinking water to our customers involves far more than just pushing water through pipes. Water treatment is a complex, time-consuming process. Because tap water is highly regulated by state and federal laws, water treatment plant and system operators must be licensed and are required to commit to long-term, on-the-job training before becoming fully qualified. Our licensed water professionals have a basic understanding of a wide range of subjects, including mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics. Some of the tasks they complete on a regular basis include: • Operating and maintaining equipment to purify and clarify water; • Monitoring and inspecting machinery, meters, gauges, and operating conditions; • Conducting tests and inspections on water and evaluating the results; • Maintaining optimal water chemistry; • Applying data to formulas that determine treatment requirements, flow levels, and concentration levels; • Documenting and reporting test results and system operations to regulatory agencies; and • Serving our community through customer support, education, and outreach. So, the next time you turn on your faucet, think of the skilled professionals who stand behind each drop. Level 1 and Level 2 Assessment Update C oliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and 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. We found coliforms, indicating the need to look for potential problems in water treatment or distribution. When this occurs, we are required to conduct assessments to identify problems and then correct any problems that were found during these assessments. During the past year, we were required to conduct one Level 1 assessment, which was completed. Also during the past year, we were required to conduct three Level 2 assessments for our water system. These assessments were completed. In addition, we were required to take eight corrective actions; we completed all eight of these actions. Questions? The Blackfoot Water Department works around the clock to provide top-quality water to every tap. In 2020 the City of Blackfoot pumped 1.32 BILLION gallons of water. We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life, and our children’s future. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please feel free to contact Princton Lee, Water Superintendent, at (208) 785-8608, Monday through Thursday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Quality First T he City of Blackfoot Water Department is pleased to present our annual water quality report covering all testing performed between January 1 and December 31, 2020. As in years past, we are committed to delivering the best-quality drinking water possible. To that end, we remain vigilant in meeting the challenges of new regulations, source water protection, water conservation, and community outreach and education while continuing to serve the needs of all our water users. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you and your family. We encourage you to share your thoughts with us on the information contained in this report. After all, well-informed customers are our best allies. We remain vigilant in delivering the best-quality drinking water Public Meetings W e want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you wish to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings in person or via Zoom. City Council meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month. Find out more on the internet at www. cityofblackfoot.org, or visit our Facebook page for the City of Blackfoot. ---PAGE BREAK--- Important Health Information S ome 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 disorders, some elderly, and infants may be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. The U.S. EPA/CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or http://water.epa.gov/ drink. Substances That Could Be in Water T o ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. EPA prescribes regulations limiting the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. U.S. Food and Drug Administration 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 these contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. 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, in some cases radioactive material, and substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Substances 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, or wildlife; Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or may 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 and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production and may also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems; Radioactive Contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or may be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, call the U.S. EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. Water Conservation Tips Y ou can play a role in conserving water and save yourself money in the process by becoming conscious of the amount of water your household is using and looking for ways to use less whenever you can. It is not hard to conserve water. Here are a few tips: • Automatic dishwashers use 15 gallons for every cycle, regardless of how many dishes are loaded. So get a run for your money and load it to capacity. • Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. • Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to 20 gallons a day. Fix it and you can save almost 6,000 gallons per year. • Check your toilets for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank. Watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the bowl. It is not uncommon to lose up to 100 gallons a day from an invisible toilet leak. Fix it and you save more than 30,000 gallons a year. • Use your water meter to detect hidden leaks. Simply turn off all taps and water-using appliances. Then check the meter after 15 minutes. If it moved, you have a leak. Where Does My Water Come From? T he city’s source is groundwater from the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. It is pumped by nine vertical turbine wells located throughout the system. Information on the Internet T he U.S. EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www. cdc.gov) Web sites provide a substantial amount of information on many issues relating to water resources, water conservation and public health. Also, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has a Web site that provides complete and current information on water issues in Idaho, including valuable information about our watershed. ---PAGE BREAK--- What’s a Cross-Connection? C ross-connections that contaminate drinking water distribution lines are a major concern. A cross-connection is formed at any point where a drinking water line connects to equipment (boilers), systems containing chemicals (air-conditioning systems, fire sprinkler systems, irrigation systems), or water sources of questionable quality. Cross-connection contamination can occur when the pressure in the equipment or system is greater than the pressure inside the drinking water line (back pressure). Contamination can also occur when the pressure in the drinking water line drops due to fairly routine occurrences (main breaks, heavy water demand), causing contaminants to be sucked out from the equipment and into the drinking water line (back siphonage). Outside water taps and garden hoses tend to be the most common sources of cross-connection contamination at home. The garden hose creates a hazard when submerged in a swimming pool or attached to a chemical sprayer for weed killing. Garden hoses that are left lying on the ground may be contaminated by fertilizers, cesspools, or garden chemicals. Improperly installed valves in your toilet could also be a source of cross- connection contamination. Community water supplies are continuously jeopardized by cross-connections unless appropriate valves, known as backflow prevention devices, are installed and maintained. We have surveyed industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities in the service area to make sure that potential cross-connections are identified and eliminated or protected by a backflow preventer. We also inspect and test backflow preventers to make sure that they provide maximum protection. For more information on backflow prevention, contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. What type of container is best for storing water? Consumer Reports has consistently advised that glass or BPA-free plastics such as polyethylene are the safest choices. To be on the safe side, don’t use any container with markings on the recycle symbol showing “7 PC”(that’s code for BPA). You could also consider using stainless steel or aluminum with BPA-free liners. How much emergency water should I keep? Typically, 1 gallon per person per day is recommended. For a family of four, that would be 12 gallons for 3 days. Humans can survive without food for 1 month, but can only survive 1 week without water. How long can I store drinking water? The disinfectant in drinking water will eventually dissipate, even in a closed container. If that container housed bacteria prior to filling up with the tap water, the bacteria may continue to grow once the disinfectant has dissipated. Some experts believe that water could be stored up to six months before needing to be replaced. Refrigeration will help slow the bacterial growth. How long does it take a water supplier to produce one glass of drinking water? It could take up to 45 minutes to produce a single glass of drinking water. How many community water systems are there in the U.S.? About 53,000 public water systems across the United States process 34 billion gallons of water per day for home and commercial use. Eighty-five percent of the population is served by these systems. Which household activity wastes the most water? Most people would say the majority of water use comes from showering or washing dishes; however, toilet flushing is by far the largest single use of water in a home (accounting for 40% of total water use). Toilets use about 4–6 gallons per flush, so consider an ultra-low-flow (ULF) toilet, which requires only 1.5 gallons. Source Water Assessment A Source Water Assessment Plan (SWAP) is available at our office. This plan is an assessment of the delineated area around our listed sources through which contaminants, if present, could migrate and reach our source water. It also includes an inventory of potential sources of contamination within the delineated area and a determination of the water supply’s susceptibility to contamination by the identified potential sources. According to the SWAP, our water system had a susceptibility rating of moderate. If you would like to review the SWAP, please feel free to contact our office during regular office hours. The SWAP is also available online at idaho.gov/water/swaOnline/Search. ---PAGE BREAK--- Definitions Definitions Test Results O ur water is monitored for many different kinds of substances on a very strict sampling schedule, and the water we deliver must meet specific health standards. Here, we only show those substances that were detected in our water (a complete list of all our analytical results is available upon request). Remember that detecting a substance does not mean the water is unsafe to drink; our goal is to keep all detects below their respective maximum allowed levels. The state recommends monitoring for certain substances less than once per year because the concentrations of these substances do not change frequently. In these cases, the most recent sample data are included, along with the year in which the sample was taken. We participated in the fourth stage of the U.S. EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR4) program by performing additional tests on our drinking water. UCMR4 sampling benefits the environment and public health by providing the U.S. EPA with data on the occurrence of contaminants suspected to be in drinking water in order to determine if U.S. EPA needs to introduce new regulatory standards to improve drinking water quality. Unregulated contaminant monitoring data are available to the public, so please feel free to contact us if you are interested in obtaining that information. If you would like more information on the U.S. EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, please call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. REGULATED SUBSTANCES SUBSTANCE (UNIT OF MEASURE) YEAR SAMPLED MCL [MRDL] MCLG AMOUNT DETECTED RANGE LOW-HIGH VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE Nitrate (ppm) 2020 10 10 1.563 1.060–3.410 No Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits Tap water samples were collected for lead and copper analyses from sample sites throughout the community SUBSTANCE (UNIT OF MEASURE) YEAR SAMPLED AL MCLG AMOUNT DETECTED (90TH %ILE) SITES ABOVE AL/TOTAL SITES VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE Copper (ppm) 2018 1.3 1.3 0.166 0/30 No Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits Lead (ppb) 2018 15 0 0.003 0/30 No Lead service lines, corrosion of household plumbing systems, including fittings and fixtures; Erosion of natural deposits 90th %ile: The levels reported for lead and copper represent the 90th percentile of the total number of sites tested. The 90th percentile is equal to or greater than 90% of our lead and copper detections. AL (Action Level): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. Level 1 Assessment: A Level 1 assessment is a study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system. Level 2 Assessment: A Level 2 assessment is a very detailed study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why an E. coli MCL violation has occurred and/or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasions. MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the as feasible using the best available treatment technology. MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal): The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. allow for a margin of safety. NA: Not applicable ppb (parts per billion): One part substance per billion parts water (or micrograms per liter). ppm (parts per million): One part substance per million parts water (or milligrams per liter). Basic Information about Lead in Home Plumbing I f 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. We are responsible for providing high-quality drinking water, but we 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 at (800) 426-4791 or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.