DEFINITIONS | TEST RESULTS | ADDITIONAL RESULTS
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 Mt. Laurel Aquifers, from 130 to 675 feet deep. To date the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water has not completed an assessment for our sources of drinking water.
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, 2004. 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) - one part per trillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000,000 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 toone 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) - measures 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 inteded 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 waterbelow 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 substancesthat do not have an impact on health. These reflect aesthetic qualities such as odor, taste or appearance. Secondary standards are recommendations, not mandates. |
| Contaminant | Violation Y/N | Level Detected | Units of Measurement | MC LG | MCL Max. level allowed by law | Likely Source of Contamination |
| Inorganic Contaminants: | ||||||
| Barium | No | 0.065 | ppm | 2 | 2 | Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits. |
| Copper | No | None Detected | ppm | 1.3 | AL = 1.3 | Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives. |
| Flouride | No | None Detected | ppm | 4 | 4 | Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories. |
| Lead | No | None Detected | ppb | 0 | AL = 15 | Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits. |
| Mercury (inorganic) | No | None Detected | ppb | 2 | 2 | Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from refineries and factories; runoff from landfills; runoff from cropland |
| Nitrate (as Nitrogen) | No | 2.11 | ppm | 10 | 10 | Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits |
| Volatile Organic Contaminants: | ||||||
| TTHM (Total Trihalomethanes) |
No |
2000
Quarterly Average: 1st Qtr: 0.665 Yearly Average: 0.815 |
ppb | N/A | 100 | By-product of drinking water chlorination |
**As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We're proud
that your drinking water meets or exceeds all
Federal and State requirements. We have learned through our monitoring and
testing that some constituents have been
detected. The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.
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 whodrink 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 Protections 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 haveundergone 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/CED guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791)
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
waterstandard 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 or 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.
The Medford Township Utilities Department works 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.
If you should have any question, please feel free to call our office at (609) 654-7886