Consumer
Confidence ReportQuality on Tap Report
B.M.R.P.O.A. Water Quality Report
West Brookwood Water Department
For the Year 2001, Results from the Year 2000
We
are pleased to present to you this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we
deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and
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.
We
are committed to ensuring the quality of your water. Our water source is supplied from three groundwater wells, Well #
1 on River Road, Well # 2 on Chestnut Street, and Well # 3 on River Road. Well
#1 draws groundwater from the Kittatinny Aquifer, Well # 2 draws groundwater
from the Gneiss Aquifer, and Well # 3 draws groundwater from the Gneiss
Aquifer.
To date the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water has not completed
an assessment for our sources of drinking water. Source water assessments will be completed for all sources of
public drinking water by May 2003.
We are pleased to
report that our drinking water meets all federal and state safety requirements.
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 microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
|
TEST RESULTS |
||||||
|
Contaminant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Units of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source
of Contamination |
|
Radioactive
Contaminants |
||||||
|
Alpha emitters |
N |
3.1(detected 1998) |
pCi/1 |
0 |
15 |
Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Inorganic
Contaminants: |
||||||
|
Copper |
N |
0.185 |
ppm |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems;
erosion of natural deposits; |
|
Lead |
N |
1.0 |
ppb |
0 |
AL=15 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems,
erosion of natural deposits |
|
Nitrate (as Nitrogen) |
N |
8.52 |
ppm |
10 |
10 |
Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching
from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits |
|
Volatile
Organic Contaminants |
||||||
|
Bromoform |
N |
1.7 |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
Byproduct of the chlorination of water |
|
Chloroform |
N |
1.5 |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
Byproduct of the chlorination of water |
|
Dichloromethane (Methylene chloride) |
N |
1.1 |
ppb |
0 |
3 |
Discharge from pharmaceutical and
chemical factories |
|
Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) |
N |
39.6 |
ppb |
70 |
70 |
Leaking underground gasoline and fuel
oil tanks. Gasoline and fuel oil
spills. |
We have learned through our monitoring and testing that
some contaminants have been detected. As you can see by the table, our system
had no violations. We are proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all
Federal and State safety requirements.
If you have any questions about this report or concerning
your water utility, please contact our Office Manager, Barbara De Marco at
(908) 850-7185 and request a return call. We want our valued customers to be
informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend
any of our regularly scheduled Association meetings at Byram Township Town
Hall, located at 10 Mansfield Drive, Stanhope, New Jersey 07874. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of
each month at 7:00 p.m.
The B.M.R.P.O.A. Water Department routinely monitors for
contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. This
table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st
to December 31st, 2000.
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:
·
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
storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas
projection, mining, or farming.
·
Pesticides and herbicides,
which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water
runoff, and residential uses.
·
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 storm water runoff, and septic systems.
·
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 which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration 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 the 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 at 1-800-426-4791.
DEFINITIONS
In the following table you will find many
terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better
understand these terms we've provided the following definitions:
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.
Millirems per year
(mrem/yr) - measure of radiation absorbed by the body.
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.
MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs 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. MCLGs allow for a margin of
safety.
To ensure the continued quality of our water we treat it in
the following manner:
Raw water is injected with sodium hypochlorite at each
well, at the point of entry to the distribution system.
The Safe Drinking Water Act regulations allow monitoring
waivers to reduce or eliminate the monitoring requirements for asbestos,
volatile organic chemicals and synthetic organic chemicals. Our system has not
received any wavers.
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,
though representative, are more than one year old .
Nitrate in drinking
water at levels above 10 ppm is a health risk for infants of less than six
months of age. High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby
syndrome. Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of
rainfall or agricultural activity. If you are caring for an infant you should
ask advice from your health care provider.
We constantly monitor the water supply for various
contaminants. We have detected NO cryptosporidium in the source
water. We believe it is important for
you to know that cryptosporidum may cause serious illness in 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. These people should seek advice from their health care providers.
We at B.M.R.P.O.A. work hard to provide top 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 call our office if you have questions.