Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2020

TOWN OF PITTSVILLE

April, 2021

PWSID #0220009

We are very pleased to provide you with this year’s Annual Quality Water Report. We want to keep you informed about the water and services we have delivered to you over the past year. Our goal is and always has been, to provide to you a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. Our water source is two wells approximately 115 feet deep in Pocomoke aquifer located at the Water Treatment Facility on Gumboro Road.

We are pleased to report that our drinking water meets federal and state requirements. In April and May 2019, we initiated improvements to operational and treatment practices in order to address problems associated with excessive iron concentrations in the finished water. Iron, is considered to be a secondary or aesthetic contaminant which can affect color, taste, and odor. Efforts to improve the iron removal treatment are being coordinated by the Town, engineering consultants, and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).

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).

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact one of our Water Plant Operators, 410-835-2386. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please contact our Town office 410-835-8872 and leave a message for our administrative officer. You may attend any of our regularly scheduled Town Commissioner meetings. They are each third Monday, 7:30p.m. at the Town Office Building, 7505 Gumboro Road.

The Town of Pittsville Water Treatment Facility 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 1^st to December 31^st, 2020. As water travels over the land or underground, it can pick up substances or contaminants such as microbes, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. It’s important to remember that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.

In this 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.

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.

TEST RESULTS
Contaminant	Violation Y/N		Level Detected	Unit Measurement		MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Inorganic Contaminants

Lead (distribution) (2020)	N		3.4	ppb		0	AL=15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits
Chlorine (2020)	N		0.5	ppm		4	4	Water Additive used to control microbes

Stage 2 DBPR Testing Results
TTHM (distribution) (2020) [Total)trihalomethanes Highest level detected	N	101			ppb	N/A	80	By-product of drinking water chlorination
Haloacetic Acids (Distribution) (2020) Range Locational Running Annual Average	N	27			ppb	N/A	60	By-product of drinking water chlorination

Note: Test results are for year 2020 or as otherwise indicated; All contaminants are not required to be tested for annually.

The High result for TTHM is not a MCL violation, we were on annual monitoring for Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs). The exceedance of the MCL triggered us into quarterly monitoring for DBPs.

All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or man made. These substances can be microbes, inorganic or organic chemicals and radioactive substances. All 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.

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 Town of Pittsville 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 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your drinking 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 EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

NOTE: As can be seen by results listed in the preceding tables, lead, which is tested for in Pittsville in accordance with Federal and State regulations, was detected in our most recent samples which were collected and tested in 2020, and does not exceed the Action Level requirements.