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Department of Public Services Division of Water & Sewer Kevin A. Gagne Deputy Director David A. Jones P.E. Director WATER CUSTOMER NOTICE May 9, 2006 Dear Water Customer, In mid March, the Lewiston Water Division changed its method of disinfection to your drinking water to enhance the quality of water and to reduce the production of disinfection by-products. Disinfection by-products are formed when chlorine (used to prevent microbiological disease) reacts with natural organic matter found in Lake Auburn. These products are tested for quarterly and the results are averaged over four quarters (1 year of data) to determine compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. There are two groups of disinfection by-products that are tested for. These include trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. While your water continues to meet over 100 federal drinking water standards, it does not currently meet the standard for haloacetic acids. The EPA has set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for haloacetic acids at 60 parts per billion (ppb) in a four quarter average. This means 60 parts of haloacetic acid per 1 billion parts of water. LWD took a set of first quarter haloacetic acids samples in March 2006 and the result was 52 ppb, which is below the MCL. Although the first quarter 2006 sample passed, our average over the past 4 quarters is 62 ppb, which is a violation. The EPA has set the maximum contaminant level based on studies and suggests that some people who drink water containing haloacetic acids in excess of the MCL may have an increased risk of cancer. EPA assumes a person weighing approximately 154 pounds, consuming 8.5 cups of water per day with elevated disinfection by-products over the MCL for 70 years may have a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting cancer. While most of our customers are not receiving water with high levels of disinfection by-products, we are required to provide all of our customers with this information. With the continued use of chloramines, Lewiston should significantly reduce disinfection by-products throughout the water system. We will continue to monitor the water system for disinfection by-products and inform you if the levels remain elevated. It is our intention to provide high quality water to all of our customers. This is not an emergency and there are no particular actions that you need to take. There are no restrictions to drinking the water. Continue to use the public water supply as you always have. Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (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. We appreciate your assistance in this notification. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact the following: Kevin Gagne Mary Jane Dillingham Superintendent & Deputy Director Water Quality Manager Tel. 784-5753 Tel. 784-6469 For more information and links visit our website at www.ci.lewiston.me.us. Click on the CHLORAMINES under the SPECIAL NOTICES menu. The City of Lewiston does not discriminate against or exclude individuals from its municipal facilities, and/or in the delivery of its programs, activities and services based on an individual person's ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or inability to speak English. For more information about this policy, contact or call Compliance Officer Mike Paradis at [PHONE REDACTED], (TTY) [PHONE REDACTED], or email [EMAIL REDACTED]. P.O. BOX 7250 ● 101 Adams Avenue ● Lewiston, ME ● 04243-7250 ● Tel. [PHONE REDACTED] ● Fax [PHONE REDACTED]