HAYDEN PINES/GROUSE MEADOWS SERVICE AREA
NORTH KOOTENAI WATER DISTRICT
DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT
2010
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 draw water from the
Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. 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 any detection of contaminants over the past five
years. We are pleased to notify you that
our water has not exceeded any allowable detection levels. 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 provide the following
definitions:
Action Level - The concentration of a contaminant
that, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water
system must follow.
GTE – GTE Well located behind the GTE yard north of
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.
MHP –
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 Federal Environmental
Protection Agency (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 |
GTE—1.1 ppm |
NA |
06/10 |
No |
Runoff from fertilizer use,
leaching from septic tanks, erosion of natural deposits |
|
Arsenic |
0.010 ppm |
0.010 ppm |
GTE—0.003 ppm |
NA |
06/10 |
No |
Erosion of natural deposits. |
|
Barium |
2.0 ppm |
2.0 ppm |
GTE—0.02 ppm |
NA |
06/10 |
No |
Erosion of natural deposits. |
|
Disinfectants |
MCL |
MCLG |
Our
Water |
|
Sample Date |
Violation? |
Typical Source of Contaminant |
|
Sodium Hypochlorite |
4 ppm |
4 ppm |
.52 ppm |
.09 - .96 |
2009 |
No |
Disinfection of distribution
components. |
|
Lead and Copper |
MCL |
MCLG |
Our Water |
|
Sample Date |
Violation? |
Typical Source of Contaminant |
|
Copper |
1.3 mg/L |
1.3 mg/L |
.26 mg/L |
.01-.45 mg/L |
09/10 |
No |
Corrosion of household
plumbing. |
|
Lead |
0.015 mg/L |
0.015 mg/L |
.002 mg/L |
ND-.003
mg/L |
09/10 |
No |
Corrosion of household
plumbing. |
|
Volatile Organic Compounds |
MCL |
MCLG |
Our Water |
|
Sample Date |
Violation? |
Typical Source of Contaminant |
|
Total Trihalomethanes |
0.080 ppm |
0.080 ppm |
0.0005 ppm |
NA |
06/10 |
No |
Disinfection byproduct. |
Lead – 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. North Kootenai Water District is responsible
for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of
materials used in plumbing components.
When your 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 drinking water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water,
testing methods and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from
the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
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. The Federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Center for Disease Control (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
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.
It is required that free
chlorine residual be analyzed at each total coliform sampling location. This was not conducted at the time one
coliform sample was collected in March 2010.
North Kootenai
Water District works diligently to provide 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.
PLEASE DON’T
DUMP ANYTHING ON THE GROUND THAT YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO DRINK!