Water

Water Foreman                 Don Robinson

Email Address                    drobinson@syracusein.org

 

 2010 Drinking Water Quality Report

 

DEAR CUSTOMER:

 

This report has been prepared to inform our customers of the quality of their drinking water.

 

Your drinking water complied with all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Indiana drinking water health standards for the latest sampling period.

 

You may be more vulnerable than the general population to certain microbial contaminants, such as cryptosporidium, in drinking water.  Infants, some elderly or immuno-compromised persons such as those undergoing chemotherapy; those who have undergone organ transplants; those who are undergoing treatment with steroids; and people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders can be particularly at risk from infections.  You should seek advice about drinking water from your physician or health care provider.  Additional guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

 

Our water is groundwater.  Wells pump water from the Lake Michigan Aquifer.  Ground water (also called well water) is protected from many of the sources of contamination described below, such as microbes like cryptosporidium.  In general, the sources of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) may 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 and in some cases, radioactive material.  Source water can also be contaminated by substances resulting from animal or human activity. 

 

Contaminants include anything found in water.  They are generally not harmful at low levels.  Removing all contaminants would be extremely expensive and in nearly all cases would not provide greater protection of health.  Examples of contaminants that may be present in source water in general include: 1) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.  2) Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.  3) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses.  4) Organic chemical contaminants including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production and can also, come from runoff and septic systems.  5) Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production or the mining process.  In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.

 

The Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.  Drinking water (bottled or tap) may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.  The contaminants in our drinking water are primarily geological materials that dissolved while still in the aquifer.  The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.  More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking water hotline (800-426-4791).

 

Contaminants may be found in drinking water that cause taste, color, or odor problems.  These types of problems are not necessarily causes for health concerns.  For more information on taste, odor, or color of drinking water, please contact the system’s business office.

Este reporte incluye informacion importante sobre el agua para tomar.  Si tiene preguntas o’discusiones sobre este reporte en espanol, favor del llamar al tel.  (281) 579-4507 par hablar con una persona biligue en espanol.

 

Public input concerning the Town of Syracuse water system may be made at regularly scheduled Council Meetings, held at 7:00 pm every 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 310 N Huntington St.  You may also contact Jeremy Sponseller at the Department of Public Works (574) 457-3229.

 

 2010 Drinking Water Quality Report

The last available information for the contaminants detected in our water during the sampling cycle ending in 2010 is given in the table below.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require some contaminants to be monitored annually because their concentrations are not expected to vary.  The Indiana Department of Environmental Management obtains and analyzes the samples in accordance with sampling cycles which vary according to EPA schedules. The definitions and abbreviations used in the table follow.

  

Substance (units)	Sample Date	MCL	Level Detected	Range	MCLG	In Compliance	Typical Sources
Inorganic Contaminants (Regulated at the Water Plant)
Barium (ppm)	8/12/08	2	0.44	.23-.51	2	Yes	Natural Erosion
Chromium (ppm)	8/12/08	0.1	0.0083	.027-.029	0.1	Yes	Natural Erosion
Fluoride (natural) (ppm)	8/12/08	4	0.45	.7-1.0	4	Yes	Natural Erosion
Nickel (ppm)	8/12/08	0.1	0.0088	.0047-.0078	0.1	Yes	Natural Erosion
Nitrate (ppm)	8/12/10	10	BDL	-	0.01	Yes	Natural Erosion
Nitrite (ppm)	8/12/08	1	0.01	-	0.01	Yes	Natural Erosion
Sodium (ppm)	1/30/09	N/A	5.4	6.3-12	N/A	Yes	Natural Erosion
Cyanide (ppm)	1/30/09	0.02	ND	-	0.02	Yes	Natural Erosion
Arsenic  (ppb)	8/12/08	10	2.7	2.7-2.7	N/A	Yes	Natural Erosion
Effective January 23, 2006, the arsenic MCL decreased from 50ppb to 10 ppb.  While your drinking water meets EPA's standard for arsenic, it does contain low levels of arsenic.  EPA's standard balances the current understanding of arsenic's possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water.  EPA continues to research the health effects of low levels of arsenic, which is the mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations and is linked to other health effects such as skin damage and circulatory problems.
Radioactive Contaminants (Regulated at the Water Plant)
Radium (pCi/L)	1/27/09	5	0.2	-	0	Yes	Natural Erosion
Gross Alpha (pCi/L)	1/27/09	15	0.8	.7-1.0	0	Yes	Natural Erosion
Gross Beta (pCi/L)	1/27/09	50	0.4	1.9-6.4	0	Yes	Natural Erosion
Uranium	1/27/09	0.03	0.0005	-	0	Yes	Natural Erosion
Synthetic Organic Compounds (Regulated at the Water Plant)
All 2010 SOC results were BDL		2/12/2010
Volatile Organic Contaminants (Unregulated)
Bromodichloromethane (ppb)	8/12/08	N/A	ND	-	N/A	Yes
Chlorodibromomethane (ppb)	8/12/08	N/A	ND	-	N/A	Yes
Chloroform (ppb)	8/12/08	N/A	ND	3.8-7.0	N/A	Yes
Volatile Organic Contaminants (Regulated at the Water Plant)
Total Xylenes(ppb)	8/12/08	10,000	ND	0-2.3	N/A	Yes	Petroleum Exploration
Trihalomethanes (Regulated in the Distribution System)
Total Trihalomethanes (ppb)	8/12/10	80	19.4	-	N/A	Yes	By-Product of Drinking Water Chlorination
Haloacetic Acids (Regulated in the Distribution System)
Total Haloacetic Acids (ppb)	8/12/10	60	11.4	-	N/A	Yes	By-Product of Drinking Water Chlorination
Substance (units)	Sample Date	90th Perce-ntile Value	EPA Action Level	Results Above	MCLG	In Compliance	Typical Source
Lead and Copper (Regulated at the Customer's Plumbing)
Lead (ppb)	8/12/10	0.001	15	0	0	Yes	Corrosion of customer plumbing
Copper (ppm)	8/12/10	0.69	1.3	0	1.3	Yes	Corrosion of customer plumbing
If present, elevated levels of lead 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. The Town of Syracuse is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components.  When you water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking.  If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your wter tested.  Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available for teh Safe Drinking Wter Hotline or at hhtp://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.