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Town Offices
Woodsboro Fire Hall
3rd street
Woodsboro, Md. 21798
301-898-3800 |
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Mailing Address
P. O. Box 88
Woodsboro, Md. 21798
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Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for
2009
The Town of Woodsboro, Maryland
PWSID # 0100027
May 20, 2010
We're pleased to present to you this year's
Annual Water Quality Report. This report is
designed to inform you about the water quality
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 sources of our drinking water are the
Frederick Limestone Aquifer and the Grove
Limestone Aquifer. An aquifer is a sort of
underground reservoir or deposit of water,
which is tapped by drilling wells and pumping
the water to the surface for distribution. The
earth between surface sources of contamination
and this underground river helps to purify the
water before it actually reaches the aquifer,
making it easier for us to treat before we
pump it into your water distribution system.
We have 5 wells varying in depth from 200 to
600 feet all located within the corporate
limits of the town.
We have a source water assessment plan
available from our office that provides more
information such as potential sources of
contamination. This plan is also available
from the Frederick County Public Library or
from Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
This report outlines the quality of our
finished drinking water and what that quality
means.
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 (8000426-4791).
If you have any questions about this report or
concerning your water utility, please contact
Richard Priddey at 301-845-4288. 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
Mayor and Council meetings. They are held on
the second Tuesday of every month beginning at
7:00 pm at the Fire Hall on Third Street.
The Town of Woodsboro 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, 2009, unless
otherwise noted. 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 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.
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 |
|
Radioactive Contaminants |
|
Beta/photon emitters
Well 2 = B (2007)
Well 3 = C (2003)
Well 2A,7,14 = D
|
NN
N |
4.0
6.0
5.0 |
pCi/l |
0 |
50 |
Decay of natural and
man-made deposits |
|
Alpha emitters
B (2007)
C (2003)
D (2003) |
NN
N |
7.0
3.0
<1.0 |
pCi/1 |
0 |
15 |
Erosion of natural
deposits |
|
Combined radium
(226 & 228) B (2007)
C (2003)
D (2003) |
NN
N |
0.7
< 2.5
<2.5 |
pCi/1 |
0 |
5 |
Erosion of natural
deposits |
|
Inorganic Contaminants |
|
Copper – Distribution
(2008) |
N |
0.29 |
ppm |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
Corrosion of household
plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits;
leaching from wood preservatives |
|
Lead - Distribution
(2008) |
N |
7.0 |
ppb |
0 |
AL=15 |
Corrosion of household
plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits |
|
Nitrate (as Nitrogen)
B
C
D (avg.) |
NN
N |
0.51
4.14
5.4 |
ppm |
10 |
10 |
Runoff from fertilizer
use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of
natural deposits |
|
Arsenic
B (2006)
C (2006)
D (2006) |
NN
N |
<2
<2
<2 |
ppb |
N/A |
10 |
Erosion of natural
deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and
electronics production wastes |
|
Floride
B
C
D |
NN
N |
0.1
0.1
0.13 |
ppm |
4 |
4 |
Erosion of natural
deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth;
discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories |
|
Synthetic Organic
Contaminants including Pesticides and Herbicides |
|
Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate
B (2007)
C (2007)
D (2005) |
N N
N |
0.6
0.5
0.7 |
ppb |
0 |
6 |
Discharge from rubber
and chemical factories |
|
Volatile Organic
Contaminants |
TTHM(distribution)
[Total trihalomethanes] |
N |
4.36 |
ppb |
0 |
80 |
By-product of drinking
water chlorination |
HAA5 [Haloacetic Acids]
(distribution) |
N |
0.53 |
ppb |
0 |
60 |
By-product of drinking
water chlorination |
Note: Sources are as follows:
B = Well # 2; C = Well # 3; D = Wells # 7, 14, & 2A;
Test results are for 2009 unless otherwise noted.
Additional contaminants which were detected in our
testing but which are not currently regulated are
listed in the following table.
|
Unregulated Contaminants |
|
Contaminant |
Violation
Y/N |
Level Detected |
Unit
Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source of
Contamination |
Sodium
B
C
D |
NN
N |
27.8
69.5
39.9 |
ppm |
N/A |
N/A |
Erosion of natural deposits
|
Chloroform
BC
D |
NN
N |
2.8
2.0
ND |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
By-product of drinking water
Chlorination |
Dibromochlorormethane
BC
D |
NN
N |
0.7
1.0
ND |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
By-product of drinking water
Chlorination |
Bromodichlorormethane
BC
D |
NN
N |
ND
0.7
ND |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
By-product of drinking water
Chlorination |
Bromoform
BC
D |
NN
N |
ND
0.7
ND |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
By-product of drinking water
Chlorination |
|
Methyl-Tert-Butyl-Ether (MTBE) B C
D |
NN
N |
3.1
ND
ND |
ppb |
N/A |
N/A |
Gasoline additive |
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 Woodsboro 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.
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.
We constantly monitor for various contaminants in the
water supply to meet all regulatory requirements. This
past year we received a monitoring violation dated
July 10th, 2009 for failure to have our quarterly
testing result for nitrate for our Source D reported
to MDE within 10 days of the end of the compliance
period, which was April 1st thru June 30th, 2009. We
are required by Federal & State Regulations (The
Public Notification Rule) to let you know that this
occurred.
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 2
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.
Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your
family with clean, quality water this year. In order
to maintain a safe and dependable water supply we
sometimes need to make improvements that will benefit
all of our customers. These improvements are sometimes
reflected as rate structure adjustments. Thank you for
understanding.
Please call our office Monday through Friday between
the hours of 8:00 am and 4:00 pm at 301-898-3800 if
you have questions. |
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