Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

Town of Gate City

PWSID # 1169405

INTRODUCTION

This Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for calendar year 2016 is designed to inform you about your drinking water quality.  Our goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water, and we want you to understand the efforts we make to protect your water supply.  The quality of your drinking water must meet state and federal requirements administered by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

If you want additional information about any aspect of your drinking water or want to know how to participate in decisions that may affect the quality of your drinking water, please contact:

Gate City Mayor, 156 East Jackson St., Gate City, VA 24251 276-386-3831

The times and location of regularly scheduled board meetings are as follows:

Town Council meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Gate City Town Hall.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

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:  (1) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.  (2) Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining , or farming.  (3) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.  (4) 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 stormwater runoff, and septic systems.  (5) 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 drinking 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 can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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).

SOURCES OF YOUR DRINKING WATER

The sources of your drinking water are surface water as described below:

  • Town of Gate City water treatment plant. The source of supply is Big Moccasin Creek with the raw water intake adjacent to the water treatment plant.
  • Scott County PSA/Moccasin Gap water treatment plant. The source of supply also Big Moccasin Creek with the raw water intake adjacent to the water treatment plant.

The Virginia Department of Health conducted a source water assessment of the Town of Gate City and Scott County PSA/Moccasin Gap water treatment plants during 2002.  The Big Moccasin Creek was determined to be of high susceptibility to contamination using the criteria developed by the state in its approved Source Water Assessment Program.  The assessment report consists of maps showing the source water assessment area, an inventory of known land use activities of concern. The report is available by contacting the Scott County PSA at the phone number or address given elsewhere in this drinking water quality report.

 DEFINITIONS

Contaminants in your drinking water are routinely monitored according to Federal and State regulations.  The table on the next page shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2016.  In the table and elsewhere in this report you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with.  The following definitions are provided to help you better understand these terms:

Maximum Contaminant Level, or MCL –  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, or MCLG – 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.

Non-detects (ND) – lab analysis indicates that the contaminant 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.

Treatment Technique (TT) – a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity, or cloudiness, of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.  Turbidity is monitored because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal or MRDLG – the level of drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level or MRDL – the highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

Level 1 assessment – a study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system.

Level 2 assessment – a very detailed study of the waterworks to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why E. coli PMCL violation has occurred and /or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasi

WATER QUALITY RESULTS

Gate City

Regulated Contaminants

Contaminant  (units) MCLG MCL Level Detected Violation (Y/N) Range Date of Sample Typical Source of Contamination
Trihalomethanes (ppb) N/A 80 66 N 9.6 – 140 2016 By-product of drinking water disinfection
Haloacetic Acids (ppb) N/A 60 45 N 12 – 72 2016 By-product of drinking water disinfection
Nitrate (ppm) 10 10 0.86 N N/A 2016 Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits
Barium (ppm) 2 2 0.022 N N/A 2016 Discharge of drilling waste; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits
Chlorine (ppm) 4.0 4.0    1.89 N 0.65 – 2.83 2016 Water additives to control microbes
Turbidity (NTU) N/A TT, 1 NTU max

 

    0.14 N 0.04 – 0.14 2016 Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.
TT, <0.3 NTU

95% of time

 

 

 

 100% N N/A
Total Organic Carbon N/A TT, MET when

>or = 1

 1.0 N 1.0 – 3.1 2016 Naturally present in the environment
Fluoride (ppm) 4 4 0.75 N N/D – 0.75 2016 Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories

 

Lead and Copper Contaminants

Contaminant (units) MCLG Action Level 90th Percentile

Level Detected

 Date of Sampling # of Sampling Sites Exceeding Action Level Typical Source of Contamination
Lead (ppb) 0 AL = 15 4 2014 1 Corrosion of household plumbing system; Erosion of natural deposits
Copper (ppm) 1.3 AL = 1.3 0.093 2014 0 Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives

 

The water quality results in the above tables are from testing done in 2016.  However, 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 accurate, is more than one year old.

MCL’s are set at very stringent levels by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  In developing the standards EPA assumes that the average adult drinks 2 liters of water each day throughout a 70-year life span.  EPA generally sets MCLs at levels that will result in no adverse health effects for some contaminants or a one-in-ten-thousand to one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect for other contaminants.

 ADDITIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION

 Cryptosporidium: In 2010, the Town of Gate City and Moccasin Gap – Scott County PSA began monitoring for Cryptosporidium in their source water (before treatment) as required by EPA’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR). Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite found in surface water throughout the United States. Ingestion of Cryptosporidium may cause cryptosporidiosis, an abdominal infection. Although filtration removes Cryptosporidium, the most commonly used filtration methods cannot guarantee 100 percent removal. Under the LT2ESWTR, the average Cryptosporidium concentration determines if additional treatment measures are needed. Twenty-four samples are required for analysis over a two-year period. During 2012, the average Cryptosporidium concentration was 0.00 oocysts per liter for the 2 samples collected from each water source. While the Cryptosporidium monitoring doesn’t indicate the presence of these organisms in each source water (before treatment), the current test methods do not allow us to determine if the organisms are dead or if they are capable of causing disease. Based on the Cryptosporidium monitoring results so far and the consistent performance of the treatment plant, we anticipate surpassing any future treatment requirements of the LT2ESWTR.

 Lead: 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.  Scott County Public Service Authority 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 two minutes or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using water for drinking or cooking.  If you are concerned about lead in your 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 Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

 VIOLATION INFORMATION

Your water system did not have any violations in 2016.