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Annual Drinking Water Quality Report 2001
We are pleased to present this year's Annual Drinking Quality Water Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our Mission is to provide Quality water, Service and Consumer Education to the citizens of LeMars. 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 safety of your water.
Through the years, we conduct numerous water quality tests for over 80 drinking water contaminants and over 5,000 tests that help us control the water treatment process. This brochure is a snapshot of the quality of the water that we provided last year. Included are details about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state standards.
If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Jim Conley at 712.546.5555. Please remember this report contains mandatory language. Also if you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled City Council meetings. They are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 12:00 noon in the City Hall Council Chambers. We are committed to providing you with information because informed customers are our best allies.
The water you drink comes from five municipal wells about 350 feet deep. These wells are located at O'Toole Park in the north part of town and at 1298 18th Street SE in the south part of town. After the water is pumped from the ground, it is treated with a poly-ortho blend of phosphate to help with iron and manganese and corrosion control. Then the water is aerated and Chlorine is added for disinfections. The City of LeMars obtains its water from the Dakota Aquifer. The Dakota aquifer was determined to be not susceptible to contaminants because the characteristics of the aquifer and overlying materials prevent easy access of contaminants to the aquifer. The City of LeMars water supply wells open to the Dakota Aquifer will not be susceptible to most contaminants sources except through pathways to the aquifer such as abandoned or poorly maintained wells. A detailed evaluation of your source water was completed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and is available from the City of LeMars Water Department at 712.546.5555.
LeMars Water Department routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The table (Primary Contaminants detected in LeMars Water) shows the results of your monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2000. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may contain at least small amounts of some constituents. It is important to remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk.
Terms and Abbreviations
In this table, you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we have 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
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) -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 - (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
The table shows that our system uncovered some problems last year. The nature of the violation was copper action level. The potential adverse health effects that some people who drink water containing copper in excess of the action level over a relatively short amount of time could experience gastrointestinal distress. Some people who drink water containing copper in excess fo the action level over many years could suffer liver or kidney damage. People with Wilson's Disease should consult their personal doctor.
In the last few years the LeMars Water Department has reduced the levels of copper corrosion by adding an ortho-phosphate as a corrosion inhibitor. Although copper levels are higher than allowed by the state, the City of LeMars has been put on what is called reduced monitoring, going from 80 copper tests a year, down to 20 tests a year.
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 EPA'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 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.
Capital Projects for this year include:
1. A new 1000 g.p.m. Dakota well at the south well field
2. Eight-inch water main looping on 8th Street SE from
Central Ave S to 4th Avenue E
3. Killeas Industrial Park 12-inch water main looping
4. Highway 75 South eight-inch water main relocation
5. 11th Street SW six-inch water main looping
6. Reservoirs at the North and South Pumping station are
being cleaned and inspected
7. Start design of a new water treatment plant.
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 at 1.800.426.4791.
Secondary Drinking Water
Regulations
The secondary drinking water regulations cover contaminants
that affect the taste, odor, or appearance of drinking
water. Unlike the primary drinking water contaminants
regulations the secondary are only guidelines; they are not
federally enforceable. The table below shows the standards
set by the EPA and what is in LeMars Water.
Back/Flow - Cross Connection
Control Program
As before the UPS and State codes will
need to be followed. Also the codes will be updated
this summer to include compliance language. If you
have any questions on the hazards survey one must do when
using domestic water service, also for such uses as a lawn
sprinkling system or other type of uses please call us at
the Water Department.
Thank you for allowing us to continue providing you and your family with clean, quality water this year. Please call, write or email us at the Water Department if you have questions.