Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2018
TOWN OF PITTSVILLE
May, 2019
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 excellent 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 1st to December 31st, 2018. 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.
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.
TEST RESULTS |
||||||||
Contaminant |
Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Unit Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source of Contamination |
||
Inorganic Contaminants |
||||||||
Copper (distribution)(2018) |
N |
0.86 |
ppm |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives |
||
Lead (distribution)(2018) |
N |
12 |
ppm |
0 |
AL=15 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits |
||
Chlorine (2018) |
N |
0.4 |
ppm |
4 |
4 |
Water Additive used to control microbes |
||
Stage 2 DBPR Testing Results |
||||||||
TTHM (distribution) (2018) [Total)trihalomethanes]RangeLocational Running Annual Average |
N |
1.3- 1.62 |
ppb |
0 |
80 |
By-product of drinking water chlorination |
||
Haloacetic Acids (Distribution) (2018) RangeLocational Running Annual Average |
N |
4.1 – 6.25 |
ppb |
0 |
60 |
By-product of drinking water chlorination |
||