Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
Oldtown Water System
INTRODUCTION
This Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for calendar year 2018 is designed to inform you about your drinking water quality. Our goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water, and we want you to understand the efforts we make to protect your water supply. The quality of your drinking water must meet state and federal requirements administered by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
If you have questions about this report or if you want additional information about any aspect of your drinking water or want to know how to participate in decisions that may affect the quality of your drinking water, please contact:
| Mitch Smith 276-773-2471 |
The times and location of regularly scheduled board meetings are as follows:
| Second Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM in the Courthouse |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) 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, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: (i) microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife; (ii) 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; (iii) pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses; (iv) organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems; (v) radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.
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. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer who are 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 (800-426-4791).
SOURCE OF YOUR DRINKING WATER
The source of your drinking water is surface water as described below:
| The water source is Chestnut Creek which is made up of several smaller streams. The smaller streams are outflows of springs located in southern Carroll and Grayson Counties. |
A source water assessment of our system was conducted in 2019 by the Virginia Department of Health. The Chestnut Creek was determined to be of high susceptibility to contamination using the criteria developed by the state in its approved Source Water Assessment Program. The assessment report consists of maps showing the source water assessment area, an inventory of known land use activities of concern, and documentation of any known contamination within the last five years. The report is available by contacting Edwin Ward, Galax City Engineer at (276)236-2422.
DEFINITIONS
Contaminants in your drinking water are routinely monitored according to Federal and State regulations. The table on the next page shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2019. In the table and elsewhere in this report you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. The following definitions are provided to help you better understand these terms:
Maximum Contaminant Level, or MCL – 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, or MCLG – 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 Goal or MRDLG: the level of 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.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level or 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.
Non-detects (ND) – lab analysis indicates that the contaminant 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 (AL) – the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
Treatment Technique (TT) – a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Level 1 assessment – a study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system.
Level 2 assessment – a very detailed study of the waterworks to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why an E. coli PMCL violation has occurred and/or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasions.
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity, or cloudiness, of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person. Turbidity is monitored because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.
WATER QUALITY RESULTS
Regulated Contaminants
| Contaminant (units) | MCLG | MCL | Level Detected | Violation (Y/N) | Range | Date of Sample | Typical Source of Contamination |
| Fluoride (ppm) | 4 | 4 | 0.33 | N | – | 2019 | Water additive which promotes strong teeth |
| Nitrate (ppm) | 10 | 10 | 0.65 | N | – | 2019 | Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits |
| Barium (ppm) | 2 | 2 | 0.017 | N | – | 2019 | Discharge of drilling waste; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits |
| Chlorine (ppm) | MRDLG = 4 | MRDL = 4 | 1.13 | N | 0.50 – 1.60 | 2019 | Water additive used to control microbes |
| Combined Radium (pCi/l) | 0 | 5 | 0.3 | N | – | 2014 | Erosion of Natural Deposits |
| Total Organic Carbon | NA | TT, met when >=1 | 1.00 | N | 1.00 – 1.35 | 2019 | Naturally present in the environment |
| Haloacetic Acids (ppb) | NA | 60 | 32 | N | 17 – 39 | 2019 | By-product of drinking water disinfection |
| TTHMs [Total Trihalomethanes] (ppb) | NA | 80 | 48 | N | 17 – 53 | 2019 | By-product of drinking water disinfection |
| Turbidity (NTU) | N/A | TT, 1 NTU Max | 0.29 | N | 0.05 – 0.29 | 2019 | Soil runoff |
| TT, ≤0.3 NTU 95% of the time | 100% | N | NA |
Lead and Copper Contaminants
| Contaminant (units) | MCLG | Action Level | 90th Percentile | Date of Sampling | # of Sampling Sites Exceeding Action Level | Typical Source of Contamination |
| Copper, ppm | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.047 | 9/52018 | 0 | Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits. |
| Monitoring Results for Sodium (Unregulated-No Limits Designated) | |||
| Level Detected (unit) | Sample Date | Typical Source | Guidance |
| 9.3 (mg/L) | 9/11/2019 | Naturally Occuring; Addition of treatment chemicals/processes | For individuals on a very low sodium diet (500 mg/day), EPA recommends that drinking-water sodium not exceed 20 mg/L.
Should you have a health concern, contact your health care provider. |
The state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data presented in the above tables, though accurate, is more than one year old.
MCL’s are set at very stringent levels by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In developing the standards EPA assumes that the average adult drinks 2 liters of water each day throughout a 70-year life span. EPA generally sets MCLs at levels that will result in no adverse health effects for some contaminants or a one-in-ten-thousand to one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect for other contaminants.
VIOLATION INFORMATION
There were no MCL or TT violations during the year.
There were no monitoring, reporting, or other violations during the year.
Additional Information for 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. The Oldtown waterworks 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 two 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 (800-426-4791).
In 2019, the City of Galax began monitoring for Cryptosporidium in the source water (before treatment) as required by EPA’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR). Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite found in surface water throughout the United States. Ingestion of Cryptosporidium may cause cryptosporidiosis, an abdominal infection. Although filtration removes Cryptosporidium, the most commonly-used filtration methods cannot guarantee 100 percent removal. Under the LT2ESWTR, the average Cryptosporidium concentration determines if additional treatment measures are needed. Twenty-four samples are required for analysis over a two-year period. During 2019, the average Cryptosporidium concentration was 0.0172 oocysts per liter for the 11 samples collected. While our monitoring indicates the presence of these organisms in our source water (before treatment), the current test methods do not allow us to determine if the organisms are dead or if they are capable of causing disease. Based on the Cryptosporidium monitoring results so far and the current performance of the treatment plant, we anticipate meeting the future treatment requirements of the LT2ESWTR.