2008
We are pleased to provide
you with this year's Annual Water Quality Report also known by the federal
acronym CCR (Consumer Confidence Report.
We want to keep you informed about the excellent water and services we
have delivered to you over the past year. Our goal is, and always has been, to
provide to you a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. The wells that
serve your area are located on
Your
drinking water is safe and meets federal and state requirements.
If you have any questions about this
report or concerning your water utility, please contact Mike Galante, District
Manager at (208) 772-3619. If you want
to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled Board meetings that
are held at 12:30 PM on the first and third Thursday of each month at the
District office:
North Kootenai Water District monitors
for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.
The table below shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1
to December 31, 2007. As water travels over the land or underground it can pick
up 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 contaminants. It's important to
remember that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a
health risk.
In the following table you will find some
terms and abbreviations that you may not be familiar with. To help you better
understand these terms we've provided the following definitions:
Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant that, if exceeded, triggers
treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - the “Maximum Allowed” 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 (MCLG) - the “Goal” 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.
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.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) - picocuries per liter is a
measure of the radioactivity in water.
Variances & Exemptions (V&E) - State or EPA permission not to meet a
MCL or a treatment technique under certain conditions.
|
Inorganic Contaminants |
MCL |
MCLG |
Our Water |
|
Sample Date |
Violation? |
Typical Source of Contaminant |
|
||||
|
Nitrate |
10 ppm |
10 ppm |
0.7 ppm |
NA |
12/22/08 |
No |
Runoff
from fertilizer use, leaching from septic tanks, erosion of natural deposits |
|||||
|
Chlorine |
MRDL=4 |
MRDLG=4 |
.17 |
NA |
12/08 |
No |
Water
additive used to control microbes. |
|||||
|
Bacteria |
MCL |
MCLG |
Our Water |
|
Sample Date |
Violation? |
Typical Source of Contaminant |
|
Total
Coliform |
Present |
Not Present |
Not Present |
NA |
Monthly |
No |
Naturally
Present in Environment |
Microbiological Contaminants
Total Coliform - Coliform are bacteria
that are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that
other, potentially harmful, bacteria may be present.
Inorganic Contaminants
(1)
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.
(2)
Chlorine
– Some people who use water containing chlorine well in excess of the MRDL
could experience irritating effects to their eyes and nose or experience
stomach discomfort.
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 regulated compounds are
present at below Maximum Contaminant Levels. The EPA has determined that your
water is safe at these detected levels.
All sources of water are subject to potential
contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or man made.These 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.
Total
Coliform: The Total
Coliform Rule requires water systems to meet a strict limit for coliform
bacteria. Coliform bacteria are usually harmless, but their presence in water
can be an indication of disease-causing bacteria. When coliform bacteria are
found, special follow-up tests are done to determine if harmful bacteria are
present in the water supply. If this limit is exceeded, the water supplier must
notify the public by newspaper, television or radio.
Nitrates: As a precaution we always notify
physicians and health care providers in this area if there is ever a higher
than normal level of nitrates in the water supply.
Lead: Lead in drinking water is rarely the
sole cause of lead poisoning, but, it can add to a person's total lead
exposure. All potential sources of lead in the household should be identified
and removed, replaced or reduced.
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 at 1-800-426-4791.
Our
wells are within the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Wellhead Protection Area. This is
a geographical and geological area where strict regulations to protect ground
water (drinking water) are applied. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has granted the State of
Inorganics (IOC’s) to 2010
Volatile
Organics (VOC’s) to 2013
Synthetic
Organics (SOC’s) to 2010
Asbestos
to 2011
Dioxin
to 2010
Cyanide
to 2011
Call our office at (208) 772-3619 if you
have questions.
PLEASE DON’T DUMP ANYTHING ON THE GROUND THAT YOU
WOULD NOT WANT TO DRINK!