The Carnation City
Toni Middleton, Mayor
CITY OF ALLIANCE
WATER SYSTEM
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORT
WATER QUALITY ON TAP
2003
A MESSAGE TO OUR CONSUMER
The City of Alliance’s Water Department is pleased to present this report to you as part of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirement on your right to know about the quality of your drinking water.
Our employees work around the clock, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to ensure that your drinking water is safe to use and consume.
The City of Alliance is a community public water system operating under the authority of Ohio EPA license #7600011.
ORIGIN OF YOUR WATER
Your drinking water originates from two surface water sources.
The primary source of water is from Walborn and Deer Creek Reservoirs.
When full, the reservoirs hold 2.85 billion gallons of raw water.
Deer Creek was dedicated on October 25, 1954, to supply raw water to the Alliance Water Treatment Plant.
The raw water is drawn from a multi-level intake structure on Deer Creek Reservoir to the treatment plant located on North Rockhill Avenue.
The Water Treatment Plant was put into operation July, 1993. Current treatment includes: Aeration, chlorine dioxide, potassium permanganate oxidation, powdered activated carbon adsorption, alum coagulation, solids contact clarification, dual media filtration with granular active carbon, stability adjustment, disinfection and fluoridation.
The secondary source of water is from the Mahoning river. This source was not used since 1999.
SOURCE WATER
Surface waters by their nature are highly susceptible to contamination, and potential contaminant source along their banks make them more so. The protection area around Deer Creek Reservoir and the Mahoning River contains several potential contaminant sources such as oil and gas wells, agricultural areas, septic systems, and road crossings.
Historically, the City of Alliance’s public water system has effectively treated this source water to meet drinking water quality standards. The potential for water quality impacts can be further decreased by implementing measures to protect Deer Creek Reservoir and the Mahoning River. More detailed information is provided in the City of Alliance’s Drinking Water Source Assessment report, which can be obtained by calling 330-829-2241.
The Ohio EPA requires us to monitor for some contaminants every 15 minutes and others less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though accurate, is more than one year old. There were no samples that exceeded the MCL for lead and copper in 2001. Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in your community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s drinking water, you may wish to have your water tested and you can flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791)
During the June and July 2003 time period, there was a monitoring violation because chlorine was not monitored on a continuous basis. This was due to a malfunction with the chlorine monitor. A new monitor was installed and a back up monitor was acquired to ensure the monitoring requirements are met. During this time period, chlorine was manually tested every hour to ensure water quality.
WATER QUALITY DATA
| CONTAMINANT |
VIOLATION YES/NO |
LEVEL FOUND |
RANGE |
MCLG |
MCL |
YEAR AVERAGE |
LIKELY SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION |
Microbiological Contaminants
| Turbidity |
NO |
0.79 NTU |
0.04-0.79 NTU |
TT |
SEE [A] |
0.08 NTU |
Soil Run-Off |
| Turbidity |
NO |
99.86% |
99.86%-100% |
TT |
SEE [A] |
99.98% |
Soil Run-Off |
| Total Coliform |
NO |
1 positive sample |
(ND)-1 positive |
(ND) |
SEE [B] |
<1 |
Naturally present in the environment |
| Total Organic Carbon |
NO |
1.48 |
1.12-1.86 |
N/A |
TT |
1.51 |
Naturally present in the environment. |
[A] The turbidity limit is 0.3 NTU in 95% of the daily samples and shall not exceed 1 NTU at any time
[B]
Any presence of coliform bacteria in > 5% of the monthly samplesInorganic Contaminants
|
Nitrate |
NO |
1.22 mg/l |
0.12-1.22 mg/L |
10 mg/L |
10 mg/l |
0.42 mg/l |
Run-Off from fertilizer use and animal grazing | ||||||
|
Fluoride |
NO |
1.14 mg/l |
0.83-1.14 mg/L |
4 mg/L |
4 mg/L |
0.96 mg/L |
Erosion of natural deposits, additive which promotes strong teeth | ||||||
| Chlorite |
NO |
0.53 mg/l |
0.10-0.53 mg/l |
0.8 mg/l |
1.0 mg/l |
0.19 mg/l |
By-product of drinking water Chlorination. | ||||||
| Barium (ppb) | NO |
14 ug/l |
N/A |
200 ug/l |
200 ug/l |
14 ug/l |
Refineries, drilling,erosion | ||||||
(Regulated at Your Tap)
| Copper |
NO |
90th percentile 110.0 ppb |
<10 – 220 ppb |
1300 ppb |
AL= 1300 ppb |
65.6 ppb |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems |
| Lead |
NO |
90th percentile 4.4 ppb |
< 2.0 – 8.5 ppb |
15 ppb |
AL=15 ppb |
1.3 ppb |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems |
Note: Lead and copper monitoring is only required once in every three year monitoring period. The monitoring period was
completed in 2001. There were NO samples that exceeded 15ppb of lead and NO samples exceeded 1300 ppb of copper in 2001.
Volatile Organic Contaminants (Regulated at the Treatment Plant)
|
Chloroform Bromoform Bromodichloromethane Dibromochloromethane |
NO NO NO NO |
24.4 ppb <0.5 ppb 13.2 ppb 4.2 ppb |
4.5 –24.4 < 0.5 4.7 – 13.2 2.0 – 4.2 |
N/A N/A N/A N/A |
100 ppb |
13.1 ppb <0.5 ppb 8.6 ppb 3.0 ppb |
By-Product of drinking water chlorination |
Volatile Organic Contaminants (Regulated in the Distribution System)
|
TTHMs Total Trihalomethanes |
NO |
48.6 ppb |
17.6-116.8 ppb |
0 |
80 ppb |
47.0 ppb |
By-Product of drinking water chlorination |
|
Haloacetic Acids(HAA) |
NO |
32.1 ppb |
11.6-54.9 ppb |
N/A |
60
ppb |
30.8 ppb |
By-Product of drinking water disinfection. |
Radioactive Contaminants (Regulated at the Treatment Plant)
|
Gross Alpha PCi/L |
NO |
< 3 pCi/L |
NA |
0 |
15 pCi/L |
< 3 pCi/L |
Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Gross Beta PCi/L |
NO |
<4 pCi/L |
NA |
0 |
Al=50 pCi/L |
<4 pCi/L |
Decay of natural and man made deposits |
| Radium 228 |
NO |
<1.0 pCi/L |
NA |
0 |
5.0 pCi/L |
<1.0 pCi/L |
Decay of natural and man made deposits |
Note: Radioactive monitoring is only required once a year.
Synthetic Organic Contaminants (Regulated at the Plant)
| Atrazine (ppb) |
NO |
0.42 ppb |
<0.3-1.3 ppb |
3.0 ppb |
3.0ppb |
0.3 ppb |
Runoff from herbicide used on row crops |
Residual Disinfectants
| Chlorine |
NO |
1.3 mg/l |
0.1-2.5 mg/l |
4 mg/l |
4 mg/l |
1.2 mg/l |
Water additive used to control microbes |
| Chlorine dioxide |
NO |
0.28 mg/l |
0.01-0.28 mg/l |
0.80 mg/l |
0.80 mg/l |
0.06 mg/l |
Water additive used to control microbes |
What are sources of contamination to drinking water?
The sources of drinking water, both tap water and bottled water, includes 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 it can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include the following:
(A) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses, bacteria, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia, may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife;
(B) Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, can be naturally-occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming;
(C) Pesticides and herbicides may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses;
(D) Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems;
(E) Radioactive contaminants, 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, which 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
(1-800-426-4791).
Who needs to take special precautions?
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 infection. 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).
How can I receive additional information?
Hopefully this report has answered most of your questions concerning your water quality. If you would like to receive additional information on the following, please contact Daniel McGannon,
Superintendent of Water Treatment
12251 Rockhill Ave., N.E.
Alliance, Ohio 44601
330-829-2241
* Water Quality and treatment
* Taking a treatment plant tour
* Having a speaker come to talk to your
class or group.
Water Service Phone Numbers
Water Billing…….……….… 330-823-3126
Water Main Breaks.….……. 330-823-5216
After 3:30pm and weekends . . . . 330-829-2241
Water Meter Repair ..……… 330-823-5216
Backflow prevention .……… 330-823-5216
Water Taps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-823-5216