2006 ANNUAL DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT

 

City of Bedford Municipal Water System

 

¨        Meets all drinking water standards

¨        Is continuously tested

¨        Is safe to drink

The City of Bedford Water Treatment System is pleased to present to you this Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2006.  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 safety and quality of your water.

 

TYPE AND SOURCE OF OUR WATER SUPPLY

 

Our main water source is the Stoney Creek Reservoir located in Bedford County, which is a surface water source.  We have a supplemental source located in Bedford County that is used presently during periods of dry weather and could be utilized in the future as demand increases. A source water assessment of our system was conducted in 2002 by the Virginia Department of Health.  The sources were determined to be of high susceptibility to contamination, using the criteria developed by the state in its approved Source Water Assessment Program.

 

The assessment report consists of maps showing the source water assessment area, an inventory of known land use activities of concern, and documentation of any known contamination within the last 5 years.  The report is available by contacting your water system representative at the phone number or address given elsewhere in this drinking water quality report.

 

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

 

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 your Water Treatment Facility Superintendent at 586-7197 during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility.  If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled council meetings.  They are held on the second and fourth Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. each month in the City of Bedford Council chambers located in the City of Bedford Municipal Building.

 

 

SUBSTANCES EXPECTED TO BE IN OUR DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

 

The City of Bedford Water Treatment System routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  The following table shows the results of our monitoring for detected contaminants for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2006.  We are allowed to monitor for certain regulated contaminants less often than once a year.  Where this is applicable in the table, it will be noted.  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:

 

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.

 

Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) - picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.

 

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 (AL) - the concentration of a contaminant which , if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

 

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.

 

FACTS & FIGURES

 

The City of Bedford Water Treatment System is required to test for over 75 constituents to make sure that the water you drink is safe.  We are pleased to report that for the calendar year 2006, the water delivered to your homes and businesses complied with all state and federal requirements.  The regulated constituents shown were detected in our finished drinking water as analyzed between January 1 and December 31, 2006. Finished water is the water that leaves our treatment plant and is distributed throughout the system.

 

Contaminant	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Range	% Meeting Requirements	Unit Measurement	MCL	MCLG	Likely Source of Contamination
1. Fluoride	N	0.92 Average	0.70 to   1.57	100%	ppm	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits, water  additive which promotes strong teeth
2. Finished Water Turbidity	N	0.27	0.03 to 0.27	100%	NTU	1.00	N/A	Soil run off
3. Copper               Sampled during August, 2005	N	0.054                     90th Percentile, 0 of 20 samples exceeded action level	< 0.050 to 0.536	100%	ppm	AL = 1.3	1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Contaminant	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Range	% Meeting Requirements	Unit Measurement	MCL	MCLG	Likely Source of Contamination
4. Lead                                      Sampled during       August, 2005	N	< 5                      90th Percentile, 1 of 20 samples exceeded action level	< 5 to 76.7	100%	ppb	AL = 15	0	Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits
5.  Total Organic         Carbon –         Removal Ratio	N	1.0 Actual Annual Removal Ratio	1.0 to 1.0	100%	ratio	1.0 Annual Removal Ratio	NA	Naturally present in the environment
6. Alpha emitters      pCi / L    Sampled May 2001	N	0.3		100%	pCi / L	15	0	Erosion of natural deposits
7.  Combined       Radium   pCi / L Sampled May 2001	N	0.5		100%	pCi / L	5	0	Erosion of natural deposits
8.  Chlorine	N	2.0	1.1 to 2.0	100%	mg/L	4	4	Water addititive to control microbes
9.  Total        Trihalomethanes	N	57 Running Annual Average	44 to 57	100%	ppb	80 Running Annual Average	NA	By-product of drinking water chlorination
10.  Total Haloacetic         Acids (5)	N	46 Running Annual Average	41 to 46	100%	ppb