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The Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater – Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

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Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
The Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater
January-December 2020

We’re 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.  The Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater utilized a 0.5 MGD surface water treatment plant until October of 2005 at which time the treatment plant ceased operation and a purchase water interconnection with the City of Alexander City was activated to provide water for the Board’s customers.  The City of Alexander City utilizes the Adams Surface Water Treatment Plant which treats water from the Tallapoosa River (Lake Martin).  The water goes through a process of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and filtration with chlorine added to the final product as a disinfectant and the required residual is maintained to protect your drinking water from any possible outside contaminants.  The Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater routinely completes a water storage facility inspection plan and utilizes a Bacteriological Monitoring Plan and a Cross Connection Policy is in place to insure good safe drinking water for our customers.  The Alexander City, Adams Filter Plant has completed a Source Water Assessment Plan that will assist in protecting the source, a copy of the plan can be reviewed during normal business hours at the Alexander City office.  

 

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Jake Gokey, Manager (256) 839-6301. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend our regularly scheduled meetings held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Goodwater City Hall, 22132 Alabama Highway 9, in Goodwater beginning at 4:30 PM.

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

Elmore Unbehant – Chairman                      Curtis Fuller                               Clyde Wetstone

 

PLAIN LANGUAGE DEFINITION

  • Not Required (NR) – Laboratory analysis not required due to waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency for the State of Alabama.
  • 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. 
  • Parts per  trillion (ppt) or Nanograms per liter (nanograms/l) – one part per trillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000,000.
  • Parts per quadrillion (ppq) or Picograms per liter (picograms/l) – one part per quadrillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000,000 years or one penny in $10,000,000,000,000.
  • 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.
  • Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
  • Variances & Exemptions (V&E) – State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment technique under certain conditions. 
  • Action Level – (AL)  the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
  • Treatment Technique (TT) – (mandatory language) A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
  • Maximum Contaminant Level – (mandatory language) 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 – (mandatory language) 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.
  • Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal or MRDLG – The level of a 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.

                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 run-off, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.
  • Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, storm water run-off, and residential uses.
  • Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also, come from gas stations, urban storm water run-off, and septic systems.
  • Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

 

 

 

The Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater & the Adams 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, 2020. 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.  

 

NOTE: The following test results are the combined results from The Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater and Adams Water Department (the City of Alexander City).  

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Notice of Violation – The Goodwater Water Works & Sewer Board has incurred a Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) reporting non-compliance. The non-compliance resulted from a failure to submit the April 2020 results by May 10, 2020. Since this non- compliance, the Goodwater Water Works & Sewer Board has sent the results to the proper agency.   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 Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater 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 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.

 We are proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some contaminants have been detected. The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.

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.

Some people may be more vulnerable  to  contaminants  in  drinking  water  than  the   general population.  People who are immuno-compromised, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS positive or individuals with other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants, can be particularly at risk from infections.  Those at risk should seek advice  about  drinking  water  from  the  health  care providers.  EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk  of  infection  by  Crytosporidium  and  other  microbial  contaminants  are  available  from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

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 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 (1-800-426-4791).

MCL’s are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated contaminants, a person would have to drink two liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.

Based on a study conducted by the ADEM with the approval of the EPA, a statewide waiver for the monitoring of Asbestos and Dioxin was issued. Thus, monitoring for these contaminants was not required.

We at the Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Goodwater and the Adams Water Department work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap. Carefully follow instructions on pesticides and herbicides you use for your lawn and garden and properly dispose of household chemicals, paints and waste oil.  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.

 

For more information contact:  Jake Gokey, Manager (256) 839-6301

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