Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
For the Year 2006
We are pleased to present to you this year's Annual
Drinking 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.
Our sources draw their water from the PRM and
We have a source water protection plan
available from our office that provides more information such as potential
sources of contamination.
We
are pleased to report that our drinking water is safe and meets federal and
state requirements.
This report shows our water quality and
what it means.
If you have any questions about this
report or concerning your water utility, please contact our operations office
at 609-654-7886. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water
utility.
The Medford Utility Department routinely
monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State
laws. This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January
1st to December 31st, 2006. As water travels over the land or
underground, it can pick up substances or contaminants such as microbes,
inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances. All drinking water, including bottled
drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of
some constituents. It's important to
remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a
health risk.
In
the following table you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be
familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we've provided the
following definitions:
Non-Detects (ND) - laboratory analysis indicates that
the constituent is not present.
Parts per million (ppm) or
Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - 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 - one part
per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in
$10,000,000.
Parts per trillion (ppt) or Nanograms per liter (nanograms/l)
- one part per trillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000 years, or a
single penny in $10,000,000,000.
Parts per quadrillion (ppq) or Picograms per liter (picograms/l)
- one part per quadrillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000,000 years or
one penny in $10,000,000,000,000.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) - picocuries per liter is a measure
of the radioactivity in water.
Millirems per year (mrem/yr) -
measure of radiation absorbed by the body.
Million Fibers per Liter (MFL) - million fibers per liter is a
measure of the presence of asbestos fibers that are longer than 10 micrometers.
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.
Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant,
which if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements, which a water
system must follow.
Treatment Technique (TT) - A treatment technique is a required
process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Maximum Contaminant Level - The "Maximum Allowed" (MCL)
is 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 -The "Goal"(MCLG) is 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.
Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level - (SMCL) Federal drinking water
measurements for substances that do not have an impact on health. These reflect
aesthetic qualities such as odor, taste or appearance. Secondary standards are recommendations, not
mandates.
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Water
Quality Data Table |
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The table below lists all of the drinking water contaminants that we detected during the calendar year of this report. The presence of contaminants in the water does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done in the calendar year of the report. The EPA or the State requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. |
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MCLG |
MCL, |
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or |
TT, or |
Your |
Range |
Sample |
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Contaminants |
MRDLG |
MRDL |
Water |
Low |
High |
Date |
Violation |
Typical Source |
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Disinfectants
& Disinfection By-Products |
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(There is convincing
evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of
microbial contaminants.) |
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TTHMs [Total Trihalomethanes]
(ppb) |
NA |
80 |
8.74 |
0.29 |
8.74 |
2006 |
No |
By-product of
drinking water disinfection |
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Microbiological
Contaminants |
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Total Coliform (positive samples/month) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
NA |
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2006 |
Yes |
Naturally present in
the environment |
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Unit Descriptions |
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Term |
Definition |
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ppb |
ppb: parts per
billion, or micrograms per liter (µg/L) |
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positive
samples/month |
positive
samples/month: Number of samples taken monthly that were found to be positive |
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NA |
NA: not applicable |
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ND |
ND: Not detected |
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NR |
NR: Monitoring not
required, but recommended. |
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Important Drinking
Water Definitions |
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Term |
Definition |
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MCLG |
MCLG: Maximum
Contaminant Level 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. |
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MCL |
MCL: Maximum
Contaminant Level: 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. |
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TT |
TT: Treatment
Technique: A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant
in drinking water. |
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Variances and
Exemptions |
Variances and
Exemptions: State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment
technique under certain conditions. |
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MRDLG |
MRDLG: Maximum
residual disinfection 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. |
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MRDL |
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. |
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MNR |
MNR: Monitored Not
Regulated |
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MPL |
MPL: State Assigned
Maximum Permissible Level |
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Violations and
Excedences |
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Total Coliform |
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Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the
environment and are used as an indicator that other,
potentially-harmful, bacteria may be present. Coliforms
were found in more samples than allowed and this was a warning of potential
problems. In March 2006 1 positive sample was taken. A re-test was performed with negative
results. Lines were flushed and extra samples were taken to correct the
problem. |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Safe Drinking Water Act regulations allow monitoring
waivers to reduce or eliminate the monitoring requirements for asbestos,
volatile organic chemicals and synthetic organic chemicals. Our system received
monitoring waivers for all of these types of contaminants.
Barium. Some people who
drink water containing barium in excess of the MCL over many years could
experience an increase in their blood pressure.
Copper. Copper is an
essential nutrient, but some people who drink water containing copper in excess
of the action level over a relatively short amount of time could experience
gastrointestinal distress. Some people who drink water containing copper in
excess of the action level over many years could suffer liver or kidney damage.
People with Wilson's Disease should consult their
personal doctor.
Fluoride. Some people who
drink water containing fluoride in excess of the MCL over many years could get
bone disease, including pain and tenderness of the bones. Children may get
mottled teeth.
Lead. Infants and
children who drink water containing lead in excess of the action level could
experience delays in their physical or mental development. Children could show
slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink this
water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.
Mercury (inorganic). Some
people who drink water containing inorganic mercury well in excess of the MCL
over many years could experience kidney damage.
Nitrate. Infants below the
age of six months who drink water containing nitrate in excess of the MCL could
become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of
breath and blue-baby syndrome.
Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years
experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and
may have increased risk of getting cancer.
All sources of drinking water are subject to potential
contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or man made. These
substances can be microbes, inorganic or organic chemicals and radioactive
substances. 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.
MCL's are set at very
stringent levels. 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.
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).
Special Considerations Regarding Children, Pregnant Women, Nursing Mothers and Others:
Children may receive a slightly higher amount of a contaminant present in the water than do adults, on a body weight basis, because they may drink a greater amount of water per pound of body weight than do adults. For this reason, reproductive or developmental effects are used for calculating a drinking water standard if these effects occur at lower levels than other health effects of concern. If there is insufficient toxicity information for a chemical (for example, lack of data on reproductive of developmental effects), an extra uncertainty factor may be incorporated into the calculation of the drinking water standard, thus making the standard more stringent, to account for additional uncertainties regarding these effects. In the cases of lead and nitrate, effects on infants and children are the health endpoints upon which the standards are based.
Please call our office if you have questions.
We at Medford Twp. Utilities work hard to provide top
quality water to every tap. 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.
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