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Reporting Year 2023 Reporting Year 2023 Presented By City of Blackfoot Water Department PWS ID#: 6060007 ---PAGE BREAK--- Benefits of Chlorination D isinfection, a chemical process used to control disease- causing microorganisms by killing or inactivating them, is unquestionably the most important step in drinking water treatment. By far, the most common method of disinfection in North America is chlorination. Before communities began routinely treating drinking water with chlorine (starting with Chicago and Jersey City in 1908), cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and hepatitis A killed thousands of U.S. residents annually. Drinking water chlorination and filtration have helped to virtually eliminate these diseases in the U.S. Significant strides in public health are directly linked to the adoption of drinking water chlorination. In fact, the filtration of drinking water and the use of chlorine are probably the most significant public health advancements in human history. How chlorination works: Potent Germicide Reduction of many disease-causing microorganisms in drinking water to almost immeasurable levels. Taste and Odor Reduction of many disagreeable tastes and odors from foul-smelling algae secretions, sulfides, and decaying vegetation. Biological Growth Elimination of slime bacteria, molds, and algae that commonly grow in water supply reservoirs, on the walls of water mains, and in storage tanks. Chemical Removal of hydrogen sulfide (which has a rotten egg odor), ammonia, and other nitrogenous compounds that have unpleasant tastes and hinder disinfection. It also helps to remove iron and manganese from raw water. 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. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 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 water.epa.gov/drink/ hotline. Public Meetings W e encourage our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. To learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings in person. Come as you are! City council meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Find out more at cityofblackfoot.org or visit our Facebook page (City of Blackfoot). Our Commitment W e are pleased to present to you this year’s annual water quality report. This report is a snapshot of last year’s water quality covering all testing performed between January 1 and December 31, 2023. Included are details about your source of water, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. 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 and providing you with this information because informed customers are our best allies. The Blackfoot Water Department works around the clock to provide top-quality water to every tap. In 2023 the City of Blackfoot pumped 1.06 billion gallons of water. We ask that all our customers help us protect and conserve our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life, and our children’s future. 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. Questions? 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 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ---PAGE BREAK--- 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. 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 (backpressure). 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 (backsiphonage). 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. 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 moderate susceptibility rating. If you would like to review the SWAP, please feel free to contact our office during regular office hours or visit www2.deq. idaho.gov/water/swaOnline/Search. ---PAGE BREAK--- 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. REGULATED SUBSTANCES SUBSTANCE (UNIT OF MEASURE) YEAR SAMPLED MCL [MRDL] MCLG AMOUNT DETECTED RANGE LOW-HIGH VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE Chlorine (ppm) 2023 0.39 0.16–0.50 No Water additive used to control microbes Haloacetic Acids [HAAs]–Stage 2 (ppb) 2023 60 NA 0.386 ND–1.350 No By-product of drinking water disinfection Nitrate (ppm) 2023 10 10 1.308 ND–2.74 No Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits [total trihalomethanes]–Stage 2 (ppb) 2023 80 NA 5.194 ND–9.05 No By-product of drinking water disinfection 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) 2023 1.3 1.3 0.214 0/120 No Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits Lead (ppb) 2023 15 0 0.005 0/120 No Lead service lines; Corrosion of household plumbing systems, including fittings and fixtures; Erosion of natural deposits Definitions 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. 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. MRDL (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level): 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): The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants. NA: Not applicable. ND (Not detected): Indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis. 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). Lead in Home Plumbing L ead 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 and removing lead pipes, but we cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components in your home. You share the responsibility for protecting yourself and your family from the lead in your home plumbing. You can take responsibility by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family’s risk. Before drinking tap water, flush your pipes for several minutes by running your tap, taking a shower, or doing laundry or a load of dishes. You can also use a filter certified by an American National Standards Institute- accredited certifier to reduce lead in drinking water. If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, please contact Princton Lee at [PHONE REDACTED]. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at epa.gov/safewater/lead. ---PAGE BREAK--- The dollar value needed to keep water, wastewater, and stormwater systems in good repair. The average amount in gallons of water used to produce one megawatt- hour of electricity. The gallons of drinking water lost each year to faulty, aging, or leaky pipes. The percentage of water sector employees who will be eligible to retire by 2033. How often in minutes a water main breaks. The amount in gallons of water used to meet U.S. electric power needs in 2020. 5.1 TRILLION 2 1.7 TRILLION 33 12 THOUSAND 47.5 TRILLION 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 four to six 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.