Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2009

Kittery Water District

17 State Rd., Kittery, ME  03904

April 30, 2010

MISSION STATEMENT

Kittery Water District recognizes that water and watersheds must be preserved, conserved and protected; that an adequate supply of clean water is a basic human right; that water is a public trust, to be guarded by all levels of government acting as an equal partner with the public; and that the best advocates for water are local communities and citizens.  The District strives to maintain stable water rates for domestic and municipal purposes.

The 12^th annual water quality report to all customers is in accordance with the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and provides general information regarding District activities. During 2009, drinking water produced by the Kittery Water District (KWD), met or exceeded all federal and state health safety requirements.

DISTRICT ACTIVITIES IN 2009

·     Produced over eight hundred eighty two million (882,000,000) gallons of water for the homes and businesses of Kittery, Kittery Point, parts of Eliot, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and a portion of York.

·     State Road, Kittery – replaced 2,340 feet of undersized, cast iron water main.

·     Beech Ridge Road, York – replaced 3,325 feet of undersized, cast iron water main.

·     Sterling Road and Laurel Avenue, Kittery – replaced 1,511 feet of undersized, cast iron, concrete and steel water mains.

·     Pleasant Street, Eliot – replaced 950 feet of undersized, cast iron water main.

·     Pepperrell Terrace, Kittery Point – replaced 495 feet of steel water main.

·     Dennett Road, Kittery – replaced 400 feet of cast iron water main.

·     Litchfield Road, Kittery – replaced 230 feet of undersized, cast iron water main.

·     Treatment Plant, York – replaced one of the three distribution pumps in our pump station.

·     Bell Marsh Reservoir Dam, York – replaced and upgraded the toe drain piping system.

SAFETY PAYS OFF

   The employees of the Kittery Water District have worked 2,145 days without a lost day of work resulting from an on the job injury.  As a result, the reduction in our Workers’ Compensation premium is saving the District thousands of dollars per year.  This, in turn, helps us to maintain affordable water rates for our customers.  Kudos to all of our employees for their dedication to continue working safely!

A LITTLE COMPARATIVE SHOPPING

   On average, a gallon of tap water in the United States costs a fraction of a penny.  You simply can’t find a better deal for a commodity that means so much to your daily life.  Compare that with the cost of some other liquids you might use on a daily basis:

S   One gallon of tap water = less than 1/10^th of one cent

S   One gallon of bottled water = $1.43 to $8.00

S   One gallon of soda = $2.80 to $4.60

S   One gallon of milk = $3.79 to $4.24

S   One gallon of gasoline = $2.49 to $3.75

S   One gallon of table wine = $18.50 to $37.95

S   One gallon of café lattes = $35.00 to $52.00

S   One gallon of imported olive oil = $135.00 to $525.00

S   One gallon of fine French perfume = $60,160.00

 Costs are based on 2009 U.S. prices.

 

STATE MANDATED CROSS CONNECTION PREVENTION REQUIREMENT

   A cross connection is a connection between the public water supply and a source of contamination or pollution.  This can occur through back-siphonage, resulting from a negative pressure in the distribution system or through back  pressure, where a customer’s system pressure is greater than the distribution system pressure.  A device referred to as a backflow preventer provides a safeguard against cross connection contamination or pollution.

   The District is in the process of establishing a State Mandated Cross Connection Control Program to ensure that all connections to the potable water distribution system are in compliance.  More information will be forthcoming.

 ONLINE BILL PAYMENT OPTION

   The District now accepts debit and credit card payments online.  A convenience fee of $4.00 per transaction is charged by the bank.

 Payments can be made online at kitterywater.org by clicking on the Online Bill Payment option.

    Unfortunately, we are not able to accept debit and credit card payments at the Kittery Water District office.  If you do not have a computer to go online at home, you can go to your local library to access a computer.

   Payments may be made by mail or in person at our 17 State Road office.  We also offer a drive up payment window and an after hours drive up payment drop slot for your convenience.

2009 Water Test Results
Contaminant:	Results:	Violation:	MCLG:	MCL:	Likely Source:
TOTAL COLIFORM BACTERIA (2009)	0 positive	No	0	1 positive per month or 5%	Naturally present in the environment.
TURBIDITY (12/09)	0.17 NTU	No	NA	0.3 NTU 95% 1 NTU 100%	Soil erosion; suspended materials
BARIUM (4/09)	0.004 ppm	No	2 ppm	2 ppm	Erosion of natural deposits.
TOTAL TRIHALO- METHANES  (TTHMs)	34 ppb RAA (Range: 10 – 89 ppb)	No	0	80 ppb	By-product of drinking water chlorination.
TOTAL HALOACETIC ACIDS  (HAAs)	16.5 ppb RAA (Range: 5 – 30 ppb)	No	0	60 ppb	By-product of drinking water chlorination.
CHLORINE   (2009)	1.4 ppm RAA (Range: 1.1 – 1.6 ppm)	No	4.0 ppm (MRDL)	4 ppm (MRDLG)	Water additive to control microbes.
NITRATE            NITROGEN (3/09)	0.04 ppm	No	10 ppm	10 ppm	Runoff from fertilizer use. Leaching from septic tanks, sewage. Erosion of natural deposits
GROSS ALPHA SCREEN (2/06)	0.009 pCi/l	No	0 pCi/l	15 pCi/l	Erosion of natural deposits

REGULATED PRIMARY DRINKING WATER STANDARDS

 Our water was regularly tested for some or all of the primary standard contaminants listed below, as regulated by law.

Microbiological Contaminants

1. Total Coliform Bacteria

2. Fecal coliform and E.coli

3. Turbidity

Radioactive Contaminants

4. Beta/photon emitters

5. Alpha emitters

6. Combined radium

6a. Uranium

Inorganic Contaminants

7. Antimony

8. Arsenic

9. Asbestos

10. Barium

11. Beryllium

12. Cadmium

13. Chromium

14. Copper

15. Cyanide

16. Fluoride

17. Lead

18. Mercury (inorganic)

19. Nitrate (as Nitrogen)

20. Nitrite (as Nitrogen)

21. Selenium

22. Thallium

Synthetic Organic Contaminants including Pesticides and Herbicides

23. 2,4-D

24. 2,4,5-TP (Silvex)

25. Acrylamide

26. Alachlor

27. Atrazine

28. Benzo(a)pyrene (PAH)

29. Carbofuran

30. Chlordane

31. Dalapon

32. Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate

33. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

34. Dibromochloropropane

35. Dinoseb

36. Diquat

37. Dioxin [2,3,7,8-TCDD]

38. Endothall

39. Endrin

40. Epichlorohydrin

41. Ethylene dibromide

42. Glyphosate

43. Heptachlor

44. Heptachlor epoxide

45. Hexachlorobenzene

46. Hexachlorocyclo-pentadiene

47. Lindane

48. Methoxychlor

49. Oxamyl [Vydate]

50. PCBs [Polychlorinated biphenyls]

51. Pentachlorophenol

52. Picloram

53. Simazine

54. Toxaphene

Volatile Organic Contaminants

55. Benzene

56. Carbon tetrachloride

57. Chlorobenzene

58. o-Dichlorobenzene

59. p-Dichlorobenzene

60. 1,2 - Dichloroethane

61. 1,1 - Dichloroethylene

62. cis-1,2-ichloroethylene

63.  trans - 1,2 -Dichloroethylene

64. Dichloromethane

65. 1,2-Dichloropropane

66. Ethylbenzene

66a. Haloacetic acids

66b. Methyl-Tertiary-Butyl-Ether (MTBE) (Maine MCL)

67. Styrene

68. Tetrachloroethylene

69. 1,2,4 -Trichlorobenzene

70. 1,1,1 - Trichloroethane

71. 1,1,2 -Trichloroethane

72. Trichloroethylene

73. TTHM [Total trihalomethanes]

74. Toluene

75. Vinyl Chloride

76. Xylenes

77. HAA5’s

[Haloacetic Acids]

DEFINITIONS OF TESTING TERMINOLOGY

Primary standards - Quality standards designed to protect your health.

Secondary standards - Standards relating to the aesthetic qualities of

water like taste, odor and color that do not present a health risk.

ppm (Parts per million) – unit of measure

ppb (Parts per billion) or Micrograms per liter –unit of measure

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

NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit) - Nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of

the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.

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

TT (Treatment Technique) - A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) - 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.

MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal) - 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.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) - The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water.  There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG) - The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

SMCL (Secondary Maximum Containment Level) - The highest level of an aesthetic water quality parameter that is allowed in drinking water.

RAA (Running Annual Average) –The average of all monthly or quarterly samples for the last year at all sample locations.

Additional Notes:

1) Total Coliform Bacteria: Reported as the highest monthly number of positive samples, for water systems that take < 40 samples per month.

2) Gross Alpha: Action level over 5 pCi/L requires testing for Radium.  Action level over 15 pCi/L requires testing for Radon and Uranium.

3) Lead/Copper: Action levels (AL) are measured at consumer’s tap.  90% of the tests must be equal to or below the action level.

4) Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM)/Haloacetic Acids (HAA5): TTHM and HAA5 are formed as a by-product of drinking water chlorination.  This chemical reaction occurs when chlorine combines with naturally occurring organic matter in water.

5) Turbidity: Turbidity is a measurement of cloudiness or suspended colloidal matter (silt). Excessive turbidity can cause problems with water disinfection.  All samples taken from our system were below 0.549 ntu's for rapid sand filtration media. Therefore, our water filtration system renders your finished drinking water clear and safe to drink.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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 household plumbing. KWD is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When water has been sitting in household piping for several hours, the potential for lead exposure can be minimized by flushing your tap for up 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 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.

MCLs

   Maximum Contaminant Levels are set at very stringent levels. A person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level over the course of a lifetime to have a one-in-ten thousand chance of acquiring any adverse health effect.

Source Information

   The District obtains our water from four man-made ponds in the town of York, Maine:  Boulter Pond, Middle Pond, Upper Folly Pond and Bell Marsh Reservoir.  The watershed for these ponds has been tested for potentially harmful pathogens such as cryptosporidium, giardia, and E-Coli. None were detected. Our source water protection program prohibits all but passive recreation around the reservoirs. Frequent watershed protection patrols assure compliance with our watershed protection policies.

   As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals, radioactive material, and also substances resulting from human or animal activity. The Maine Drinking Water Program assessed public water supplies statewide in 2003 as part of the Source Water Assessment Program. The assessment considered geology and hydrology, land uses, water testing information, and the extent of land ownership or local ordinance protection to determine how likely the drinking water source is to being contaminated in the future. This evaluation reflected positively on the District’s watershed.  The assessment is available to the public upon request. For more information, contact the Drinking Water Program at 207-287-2070.

   The District’s water treatment and filtering facility is located at Boulter Pond in York. The filtration process includes the addition of alum and hydrated lime to coagulate organic materials in the raw water. As water passes through a sedimentation process, organic materials settle out. Water is filtered as it passes through a bed of washed, filtering sand. After filtering, the water is treated with sodium hypochlorite for disinfection.  Hydrated lime is added to adjust water pH.  Prior to leaving the plant, a corrosion control chemical, trade name Calciquest, is added to reduce distribution system pipe corrosion.

Health Information

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.

Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.

Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production and can also come from gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems.

   Our watershed monitoring program has tested for the above contaminants.  None were detected.  Should any contaminants be introduced, our water treatment process assures that the maximum contaminant level will be below State standards for safe drinking water.

   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 water poses a health risk.

   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 microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).