WEST CUMMINGTON WATER SYSTEM

PWS ID# 1069002

33 MAIN STREET

CUMMINGTON, MA. 01026

TEL. 413-634-5358

CONTACT: DENNIS W. FORGEA

 

 

2000 DRINKING WATER

QUALITY REPORT

YOUR DRINKING WATER SOURCE

 

The West Cummington Water System is governed by three elected Water Commissioners. The Commission meetings are held at the Community House the first Monday of the month at 7:00 P.M.

 

Water quality and reliability have been the primary commitment of the commission. Although neither has been achieved, we continue to work on your behalf to install a new distribution system and treatment facility. This Consumer Confidence Report will explain where your water comes from.

 

West Cummington's public water supply system consists of a single source of supply. The gravel packed well is located off River Road on a 2.5-acre parcel acquired by the town in 1972. Water is pumped from this well untreated through the main to the storage tank on Bush Road.

 

Following the passage of the Federal Lead and Copper Rule and initial copper and lead sampling in 1993, the West Cummington Water System failed to meet the regulated action levels. Notification, bill stuffers, etc, were distributed to comply with regulations until a water treatment facility could be constructed.

 

The water has a low PH causing it to be corrosive when it reacts with the copper pipes, fixtures and solder joints in the system. This results in higher than exceptable amounts of lead and copper in your water.

 

The Department of Environmental Protection issued an administrative consent order and issued us a schedule to bring the system into compliance. At this writing the new pump house and treatment facility have been installed on River Road. This was completed in April of 2000. We started treatment which consists of adding a controlled amount of potassium hydroxide to increase the ph of the water in order to make it less corrosive in reacting with the copper pipes, fixtures and solder in all the pipe joints. This treatment is necessary to reduce the amount of lead and copper in your water caused by low ph.

 

Phase II construction started in October 2000 and stopped around the end of December due to severe winter weather. The contractor was able to replace most of the existing water main with new eight-inch ductile iron. Some of the house services were also changed but we will have to wait until the Spring of 2001 for a completion of the project.

 

We had intended to rehabilitate the well as part of Phase II but after review it was decided that it would be more economical to drill a new well. The new gravel packed well went on line in late December with an approved pumping rate of 30 gallons per minute. We are confident the contractor will complete the project on schedule prior to June of 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUBSTANCES FOUND IN TAP WATER

 

 

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 sewage treatment plants, septic Systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife

 

Inorganic contaminants -such as salts and metals, which can he naturally-occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial, or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, or farming.

 

Pesticides and herbicides -which may come from a variety of sources such as agricultural, 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 he naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

 

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations that 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 that must provide the same protection for public health. All drinking water including bottled water, may reasonably he expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in dinking 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 some infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/Centers for Disease Control guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

 

 

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

 

 

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.

 

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health.

 

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

 

Action Level (AL) - The concentration of a contaminant, which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

 

Variances and Exemption - State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment technique under certain conditions

 

WATER QUALITY TESTING RESULTS

 

 

CONTAMINANT

HIGHEST

MCL

MCLG

VIOLATION

POSSIBLE SOURCE

BARIUM

0.01

2.0

2.0

N

EROSION OF NATURAL DEPOSITS

FLUORIDE

0.02

4.0

4.0

N

EROSION OF NATURAL DEPOSITS

SODIUM

2.9

None

None

N

GEOLOGY

NITRATE

0.44

10.0

10.0

N

RUNOFF FROM FERTILZER USE AND EROSION OF NATURAL DEPOSITS

 

 

LEAD AND COPPER

 

Substance

Action Level

MCLG

90TH Percentile

# Sites Above AL

Sources

Lead (ppb)

15

0

17

1

Corrosion of plumbing system

Copper (ppm)

1.3

1.3

1.19

1

Corrosion of plumbing system

 

Lead and Copper

 

Potential adverse health effects for copper and lead are listed as follows:

 

Copper:  Copper is an essential nutrient, but 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 of the action level over many years could suffer liver or kidney damage. People with Wilson's Disease should consult their personal doctor.

 

Lead:  Infants and children who drink water containing lead in excess of the action level could experience delays in their physical or mental development. Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure. Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher that at other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing.  If you are concerned about the elevated lead levels in your home's water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush you tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

 

The above chart shows the results of testing after we started treatment fo increase the ph. Only one site exceeded the acceptable limits and we are retesting that site now that it has been disconnected from the old system.

 

 

During March of 2000 the West Cummington System experienced a slightly elevated total coliform count. We believe this was due to contamination during construction. The system was immediately flushed and treated with chlorine and a retest was done. The retest showed 0 total coliform and we continued to monitor the situation with no reoccurrence.

 

The West Cummington Water System shown on the next page received a monitoring waiver until 2001 for synthetic organic compounds due to no defects found in previous monitoring. We also received a waiver for inorganic compounds through December 31, 2001. Our last test for IOC's was on 9-2-98, which is shown on the previous chart. Volatile organic compounds were tested for on 6-2-99 and none were found.

 

 

West Cummington Village Water System