Chestertown Utilities
Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2006
PWSID # 0140002

For a print version of this report click here
The 2007 Water Quality Report will be posted after it is available in June of 2008.

We are pleased to present to you this year's Annual Quality Water 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 Aquia and Magothy aquifers which lie from 95 to 400 feet below the earth’s surface.  An aquifer is an underground reservoir of sand saturated with water that can provide significant quantities of water to a well.

We have a source water protection plan available from our office that provides more information such as potential sources of contamination.

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

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). 

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Robert Sipes at (410) 778-0500.  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 Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at the town office, 118 Cross Street.

Chestertown Utilities 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, 2006.  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.

Pico curies per liter (pCi/L) - Pico curies 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 of Measurement	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Radioactive Contaminants
Beta/photon emitters	N	5.6	pCi/1	0	50	Decay of natural and man-mad e deposits
Alpha emitters	N	2.5	pCi/1	0	15	Erosion of natural deposits
Inorganic Contaminants
Arsenic	N	0.005	ppb	0	10	Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and electronics production wastes
Barium	N	0.15	ppm	2	2	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits
Copper	N	0.075	ppm	1.3	AL 1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives
Fluoride	N	0.78	ppm	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories
Nitrate (as Nitrogen)	N	2.11	ppm	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
Lead	N	0.003	ppm	0	AL=0.015	Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits
Disinfection Byproducts
Halo acetic acids (HAA5)	N	0	ppm	0	0.06	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs)	N	0.00345	ppm	0	0.08	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits
Unregulated Contaminates
Sodium	N	17.2	mg/l	n/a	n/a	Erosion of natural deposits
Bromoform	N	0.8	ppb	0	n/a	Byproduct of disinfection
Chloroform	N	1.2	ppb	n/a	n/a	Byproduct of disinfection
Bromo- dichlomethane	N	1	ppb	0	n/a	Byproduct of disinfection
Dibromo- chloromethane	N	0.9	ppb	60	n/a	Byproduct of disinfection
Methyl-Tert-Butyl-Ether	N	Avg 16.5	ppb	0	AL=20	Gasoline spills and underground tank leaks

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 contaminants have been detected. The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.

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, or at.http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html#mcls

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.

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.

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.

Please call our office if you have questions.

We at Chestertown Utilities work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap. 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”.

Robert L. Sipes, Director of Public Works