2002 Water Quality Report

The Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware

2002 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

Town ofBethany Beach

P.O. Box 199, Bethany Beach, Delaware 19930

PWS ID# DE0000556

June 2, 2003

We're pleased to present to you this year's Annual Quality Water 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. Our water source is groundwater. We have four wells that draw from the Manokin and Ocean City Aqnifers.

The Division of Public Health in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is in the process of conducting source water assessments on all public water systems. As soon as the information is collected, we will notify you regarding how to obtain a copy of this assessment.

I'm pleased to report that our drinking water meets federal and state requirements.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Cliff Graviet @ 302-539-8011. 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 meetings. They are held on the third Friday of each month @ 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, 214 Garfield

Parkway.

The Town of Bethany Beach routinely monitors for constituents 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, 2002. 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 constituents. It's important to remember that the presence of these constituents 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:

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.

Treatment Technique (TT) - A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - 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 (MCLG) - 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 (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.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (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.

TEST RESULTS
Contaminant	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Unit Measurement	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Microbiological Contaminants
1. Total Coliform Bacteria	N	*1 present sample in June			0	Naturally present in the environment
* 1 sample out of 30 samples collected in June came back present for total coliform bacteria; all repeat samples came back absent for total coliform, there was no violation and no public notice was issued.
Inorganic Contaminants
15. Copper	N	**0.064 2001	ppm	1.3	AL=1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives
18. Lead	N	**<5.0 2001	ppb	0	AL=15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits
20. Nitrate (as Nitrogen)	N	0.5	ppm	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage, erosion of natural deposits
Unregulated Inorganic Contaminants
80. Sodium (Na)	N	68	ppm	0
81. Alkalinity (Alk)	N	135	ppm
82. pH	N	8.5	ppm		6.5 - 8.5
83. Chloride (Cl)	N	52.4	ppm		250
84. Hardness	N	74	ppm
85. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)	N	242	ppm		500
75. TTHM [Total trihalomethanes]	N	**23.9 2001	ppb	0	80	By-product of drinking water chlorination

** The state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because me concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though representative, are more than one year old.

All other contaminants tested for were in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act

As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We're proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected. The EPA has determined that level in your water is below the MCL.

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. In order to insure 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 established limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

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.

MCL's are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, 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.

In our continuing efforts to maintain a safe and dependable water supply it may be necessary to make improvements in your water system. The costs of these improvements may be reflected in the rate structure. Rate adjustments may be necessary in order to address these improvements.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immune-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).

Please call our office if you have questions.

We at Bethany Beach Water Department work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap, said Jay Latchum. 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.