2007 Water Quality
Report
Public Water System ID#AK2340010
Nome
Joint Utility System is pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Water Quality
Report. It 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 the Moonlight Springs aquifer which is classified as a ground
water source. Water to the community is
provided by three artesian wells located north of the Nome-Beltz High School at
the base of Anvil Mountain. These wells are capable of adequately supplying
Nome’s year-round water needs. The
infiltration gallery previously used is no longer connected to our distribution
system; however, this could be reactivated in the event of an emergency and is
available to provide an additional source of fire fighting water to the
facilities in the vicinity of the high school.
This report shows
our water quality and what it means.
Nome
Joint Utility System 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 January 1 to December
31, 2007. 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 is important to remember that the
presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk.
TEST RESULTS |
|||||||
Contaminant |
Violation Y /N |
Level Detected |
Unit of Measurement |
MCLG |
MCL |
Year Tested |
Likely source of
contamination |
Inorganic
Chemicals |
|||||||
Arsenic |
N |
0.514 |
ppb |
0 |
10 |
2006 |
Erosion of
natural deposits; runoff from production wastes |
Copper |
N |
0.1320 |
ppm |
1.3 |
AL=1.3 |
2005 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of
natural deposits |
Lead |
N |
3.9 |
ppb |
0 |
AL=15 |
2005 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of
natural deposits |
Radionuclides |
|||||||
Alpha Particles |
N |
1.7 |
pCi/1 |
0 |
15 |
2007 |
Erosion of
natural deposits |
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:
DEFINITIONS:
Non-Detects (ND) - laboratory
analysis indicates that the constituent 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 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.
Source water
assessment and its availability
Source water assessments have been
completed by the ADEC as a first step towards voluntary local source water
protection efforts. Vulnerability
rankings are assigned based on the susceptibility of the drinking water source,
recent sampling results and the presence of potential contaminant sources -
they do not necessarily indicate these contaminants will reach your source of
water. Nome Water System has received
the following vulnerability rankings: "low" and the aquifer received
a susceptibility rating of "medium". Combining these scores produces a natural
susceptibility of "low" for the source. In addition, this water system has received a
vulnerability rating of "low" for bacteria/viruses,
"medium" for nitrates/nitrites, "medium" for volatile
organic chemicals, "low" for heavy metals, "low" for other
organic chemicals, and "low" for synthetic organic chemicals. Completed source water assessments are
available at ADEC's Drinking Water Protection Program at 555 Cordova St,
Anchorage, AK; or the Alaska Resources Library and Information Services, 3150 C
St, Anchorage, AK. For more information, call the Drinking Water Protection
Program at 907-269-7521.
HEALTH EFFECTS:
****NONE****
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 EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791). The Hotline can also provide more information
about contaminants and potential health effects.
Please
call our office if you have questions. We at Nome Joint Utility System work
around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all our
customers help us protect our water source, which is the heart of our community,
our way of life and our children’s future.
Water Treatment Operators Jay
Wieler, Carl Merchant and Wesley Perkins are proud to announce that
Nome Joint Utility System received
no water quality or monitoring violations in 2007.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
If
you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility,
please contact Toby Schield, Superintendent of Field Operations (907-443-6330)
or NJUS’ General Manager, John Handeland (907-443-6301).
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 Nome Joint Utility System Board meetings.
Meeting Location: Nome City Council
Chambers
Meeting Time: Third Tuesday of
every month