Consumer
Confidence Report Quality on Tap Report
West Brookwood Water Department
For the Year 2004, Results from the Year 2003
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 draws groundwater from the Kittatinny
Aquifer, Well # 2 draws groundwater from the Gneiss Aquifer, and Well # 3 draws
groundwater from the Gneiss Aquifer.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) is preparing Source Water Assessment Reports and Summaries
for all public water systems, which are expected to be complete in 2004.
Further information on the Source Water Assessment Program can be obtained by
logging onto NJDEP’s source water assessment web site at WWW.state.nj.us/dep/swap or by
contacting NJDEP’s Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at (609) 292-5550. You may also contact your public water
system at (973) 347-1040
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).
EPA
requires monitoring for over 80 drinking water contaminants. Those contaminants listed in the table are
only contaminants detected in your water.
|
TEST RESULTS
|
||||||
|
Contaminant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Units of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source of Contamination |
|
Radioactive Contaminants |
||||||
|
Alpha
emitters |
N |
1.4 |
pCi/1 |
0 |
15 |
Erosion of
natural deposits |
|
Inorganic Contaminants: |
||||||
|
Barium |
N |
Avg = 0.015 Range = 0.01 – 0.02 |
ppm |
2 |
2 |
Discharge of
drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits |
|
*Copper |
N |
Avg = 0.16 Range = 0.01 – 0.31 |
ppm |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
Corrosion of
household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits |
|
Nitrate (as
Nitrogen) |
N |
Avg = 3.52 Range = 1.00– 6.04 |
ppm |
10 |
10 |
Runoff from
fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural
deposits |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* 3 year cycle, sample date July 15. 2003
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 Barbara De Marco at (973) 347-1040. 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 7:30 pm
The
B.M.R.P.O.A., Inc.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, 2003
Most data in the
CCR will be from 2003, however, if the system has monitoring waivers, or for
another reason monitors less than once per year, the system must use the most
recent data. If the CCR contains
detection data that is not from 2003, the Table of Detected Contaminants must
show the date of monitoring and the CCR must contain a brief statement
explaining that the data presented is from the most recent monitoring done in
compliance with regulations. ( note
that data older than five years should not be used.) In addition, if the CCR contains detection data that is not from
2003, the CCR must contain a brief statement explaining that the data presented
is from the most recent monitoring done in compliance with regulations. EPA provides the following sample
language: 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.
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.
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:
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. 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 is several ways.
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 received a
waiver for monitoring synthetic organic contaminants.
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 at
B.M.R.P.O.A., Inc., membership owned West Brookwood Water Department 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.