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The Town of Ponce Inlet
2009 Annual Drinking Water
Quality Report
The Town of Ponce Inlet is very pleased to provide you with this annual water quality report. This report is being mailed to you in accordance with Federal and State requirements. The Town of Ponce Inlet hopes you are pleased with the excellent water and services we have delivered to you over the past year. Our goal is and always has been, to provide to you a dependable supply of drinking water.
The Town purchases water from the City of Port Orange. The water source is forty (40) deep wells that draw water from the Floridan Aquifer. The well water is pumped to the Garnsey Water Plant, which is where the treatment begins. The treatment process consists of water softening, disinfection using sodium hypochlorite and anhydrous ammonia to form a chloramine residual, pH stabilization using carbon dioxide, fluoridation for dental protection, and filtration to further clarify the water.
In 2009 the Department of Environmental Protection performed a Source Water Assessment on our system. The assessment was conducted to provide information about any potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of our wells. There are 3 potential sources of contamination identified for this system with low to moderate susceptibility levels. The assessment results are available on the FDEP Source Water Assessment and Protection Program website at www.dep.state.fl.us/swapp. Once at the site, click ‘Search by
PWS Name or Number”, type in Port Orange and hit “Enter”.
This report shows our water quality results and what they mean
If you have any questions about this report, please contact Mr. Keith Gunter (General Manager) or Jeff Miller (Maintenance Tech II) at 386-322-6729. We encourage our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings. The public is welcome to participate in decisions that may affect water quality by attending regularly scheduled town council meetings which are held on the third Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers located at the Town Hall Complex.
The Town of Ponce Inlet routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws, rules, and regulations. Except where indicated otherwise, this report is based on the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2009. As authorized and approved by EPA, the State has reduced monitoring requirements for certain contaminants to less often than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Data obtained before January 1, 2009 and presented in this report represents the most recent testing done in accordance with regulations.
In the table below, you may find unfamiliar terms and abbreviations. To help you better understand these terms we’ve provided the following definitions:
Maximum Contaminant Level or MCL: The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology. |
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal or MCLG: The level of contaminant in drinking water below, which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety. |
Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant that, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow. |
TTHMs: or Total Trihalomethanes consist of Chloroform, Bromodichloromethane, Dibromochloromethane, and Bromoform. TTHM’s are formed when organic compounds in raw and finished water react with free Chlorine. They may be carcinogenic when the concentrations are in excess of the MCL. |
N/A- means not applicable. |
Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) – one part by weight of analyte to one million parts by weight of the water sample. |
Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/l) – one part by weight of analyte to one billion parts by weight of the water sample. |
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.
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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.
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Inorganic Contaminants
Contaminant and Unit of Measurement |
Dates of sampling (mo./yr.) |
MCL Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Range of Results |
MCLG |
MCL |
Likely Source of Contamination |
Nitrate (ppm)
|
07/09
|
No |
0.11 |
0.11 |
N/A |
10.0 |
Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and electronics production wastes |
Cyanide (ppb) |
04/08
|
No |
5.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
200 |
Discharge from steel/metal factories; discharge from plastic and fertilizer factories |
Fluoride (ppm)
|
2009
|
No
|
1.4 |
0.3-1.4 |
4.0
|
4.0
|
Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories. Water additive promoting strong teeth when at optimum levels between 0.7 and 1.3 ppm |
Selenium (ppb)
|
04 / 08 |
No |
0.54 |
N/A |
N/A |
50 |
Discharge from petroleum and metal refineries, Erosion of natural deposits, discharges from mines |
Sodium (ppm) |
04 /08 |
No |
46 |
N/A |
N/A |
160 |
Salt water intrusion, leaching from soil |
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products
Disinfectant or Contaminant and Unit of Measurement |
Dates of sampling (mo./yr.) |
MCL or MRDL Violation Y/N |
Level Detected |
Range of Results |
MCLG or MRDLG |
MCL or MRDL |
Likely Source of Contamination |
Chloramines Chlorine (ppm) |
2009 |
No |
3.45 |
1.0-4.0 |
MRDLG 4.0 |
MRDL 4.0 |
Water additive used to control microbes |
Haloacetic Acids (five) (HAA5) (ppb) |
7/09 |
No |
18.3 |
N/A |
N/A |
MCL 60 |
By-product of drinking water disinfection |
TTHM [Total trihalomethanes] (ppb) |
7/09 |
No |
36.6 |
N/A |
N/A |
MCL 80 |
By-product of drinking water disinfection |
Lead and Copper (Tap Water)
Contaminant and Unit of Measurement |
Dates of sampling (mo./yr.) |
AL Violation Y/N |
90th Percentile Result |
No. of sampling sites exceeding the AL |
MCLG |
AL (Action Level) |
Likely Source of Contamination |
Copper (tap water) (ppm) |
09 / 08 |
NO |
0.12 |
0 |
0 |
1.3 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives |
Lead (tap water) (ppb) |
09 / 08 |
NO |
4.1 |
2 |
0 |
15 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits |
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 Ponce Inlet 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.
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.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
- Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewerage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural live-stock operations, and wildlife.
- Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban storm-water runoff, 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, urban storm-water runoff, 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 runoff, and septic systems.
- Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
In order to ensure the tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health. 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.
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 (800)-426-4791.
We, at the Town of Ponce Inlet, would like you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to insuring the quality of your water. If you have any questions or concerns about the information provided, please feel free to call any of the numbers listed or visit our website @ www.ponce-inlet.org.
TOWN OF PONCE INLET / Public Works Department
4875 South Peninsula Drive - Ponce Inlet, FL 32127
Phone: (386)322-6729 / Fax: (386)322-6717
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