Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
The
January 1,
through
We are pleased to present to you this year's
Annual Water Report. This report is designed to
inform you about water quality
and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to
provide you with a 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.
Our water source is from ground water that is
drawn from two wells in the Aquia Aquifer and the
Federalsburg Aquifer. If you have any questions
about this report or concerning your water utility,
please contact Mr. Dave Sakers at 410-634-2115 ext. 1-256. We want our school
personnel,
parents and students to be
informed about their water utility.
We routinely monitor for contaminants in your
drinking water according to State and Federal laws.
The test results that are shown are for the year
2007 unless otherwise noted. 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 contaminants. It's important
to remember that the
presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.
Below you will find many terms and abbreviations
you might not be familiar with. To help you
better understand these terms
we have 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.
Picocuries
per liter (pCi/L) - Picocuries
per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
Action
Level - 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. MCL’s are set as
close to the MCLG’s 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. MCLG’s allow for
a margin of
safety.
TESTS RESULTS_BENEDICTINE SCHOOL 2007
________
Contaminant MCL MCLG Violation Level Unit Likely Source
Y/N Detected of Contamination
Microbiological:
Total Coliorm Bacteria
Presence of 0 N <1 100/ml Naturally
present
coliform bacteria
in the environment
in 2 monthly
samples
Fecal coliform and
A routine sample 0 N <1 100/ml Human and animal
E. coli and repeat sample
fecal waste
are total coliform
positive, and one
is also fecal coliform
or E. coli positive
Radioactive:
Radium - 228
(2003) 5 0 N < 1.5
pCi/L Erosion of natural deposits
Inorganic:
Arsenic 10 0.01 N
Well 3 .004 mg/l Erosion of natural deposits
Well 5 < .002
mg/l
Copper
plumbing systems; erosion
of natural deposits; leaching
from wood
preservatives
Fluoride
(11 month avg.) 4.0 4.0 N 3.2 mg/l Erosion of natural deposits;
water additive
which promotes
strong teeth;
discharge from
fertilizer and
aluminum
factories
Nitrate (12
month avg.) 10 n/a N 3.6 mg/l Erosion of natural deposits
Lead
plumbing
systems; erosion
of
natural deposits
Unregulated:
Sodium (2005) none n/a N 10.9 mg/l Erosion of natural deposits
As you can see our system had no violations. We
are proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds
all State and Federal
requirements. Even so the water may not be healthful for all our customers.
Note: Some testing is not required annually.
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 and organic chemicals and
radioactive substances. More
information about contaminants and potential health effects can be
obtained by contacting 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 stricter 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.
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.
In our continuing efforts to maintain a safe and
dependable water supply it may be necessary to make
improvements in your water system.
The costs of these improvements may be reflected in the rate
structure. Rate adjustments may
be necessary in order to address these improvements.
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants
in drinking water then 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.
Mr. Taylor and his staff work very hard to
provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all of
our residents help us
protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of
life and our children's
future.
This report was
prepared by:
Donald L. Young
Water and Wastewater Operation
410-820-9692