City of East Grand Forks

2001 Drinking Water Report

The City of East Grand Forks is issuing the results of monitoring done on its drinking water for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2001.

The United States Protection Agency (USEPA) published and finalized in August 19, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 160) rules and regulations in regards to Annual Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs). The first report was due October 19, 1999. Subsequent CCRs are due each July 1, reporting information from the preceding calendar year.

The purpose of the reports are to inform customers on the quality of tap water delivered. Also, the report is to advance consumers’ understanding of drinking water and heighten awareness of the need to protect precious water resources. The Minnesota Department of Health(MDH) as of

April 3, 2002 has determined that the population served by East Grand Forks, MN. Water Treatment and distribution (delivery) system stands at a population of 7501. Therefore, by publishing the CCR in the local newspaper servicing this area satisfies this requirement. Reports will not be mailed, but are available upon request.

Source of Water

The City of East Grand Forks provides drinking water to its residents from a surface water source: surface water drawn from the Red Lake River.

Call Gary L. Hultberg, Supt. of Water Treatment (773-1511) or Dan Boyce, General Manager of the Water and Light Dept. (773-1163), if you have questions about the City of East Grand Forks drinking water or would like information about opportunities for public participation in decisions that may affect the quality of the water.

Results of Monitoring

No contaminants were detected at levels that violated federal drinking water standards. However, some contaminants were detected in trace amounts that were below legal limits. The table that follows shows the contaminants that were detected in trace amounts last year. (Some contaminants are sampled less frequently than once a year; as a result, not all contaminants were sampled for in 2001. If any of these contaminants were detected the last time they were sampled for, they are included in the table along with the date that the detection occurred.). The sampling frequency of each contaminate is determined by USEPA and put into the Safe Drinking Water Act(SDWA) rule.

Key to abbreviations:

90^th percentile level – This is the value obtained after disregarding 10 percent of the samples taken that had the highest levels. (For example, in a situation in which 10 samples were taken, the 90^th percentile level is determined by disregarding the highest result, which represents 10% of the samples.) Note: In situations in which only 5 samples are taken, the average of the two with the highest levels is taken to determine the 90^th percentile level.

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

MCL–Maximum Contaminant Level: 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.

MCLG--Maximum Contaminant Level Goal: 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.

ppb--Parts per billion, which can also be expressed as micrograms per liter (ug/l).

ppm--Parts per million, which can also be expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/l).

Range--If a contaminant was tested more than once per compliance year, the lowest and highest result will determine the range. If a contaminant was tested for once in the compliance year, the result will show up in the Average/Result column. For the contaminants whose compliance with the MCL is based upon 4 quarterly samples, the average of those 4 samples is taken and will go into the Average/Result column.

TT--Treatment Technique, which is a required process intended to reduce levels of contaminants in drinking water.

Turbidity (NTU-Nephelometric Turbidity Unit)--Turbidity is a measurement of suspended material in a known sample of water.

CDC – Center for Disease Control & Prevention

*This is the value used to determine compliance with federal standards. It sometimes is the highest value detected and sometimes is an average of all the detected values. If it is an average, it may contain sampling results from the previous year.

Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer. Some people who drink water containing fluoride in excess of the MCL over many years could get bone disease, including tenderness of the bones. Fluoride in drinking water at half the MCL or more may cause mottling of children’s teeth, usually in children less than nine years old. Mottling, also known as dental fluorosis, may include brown staining and/or pitting of the teeth and occurs only in developing teeth before they erupt from the gums 

**Lowest Monthly Percentage of Samples Meeting the Turbidity Limits.

***Highest Single Measurement.

Turbidity is monitored because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system. It also can interfere with effective disinfection of the water, because the suspended material can harbor Pathogenic organisms. And also can exert a chlorine demand, thus acting as an effective shield against disinfection. A filtered system must report the single highest turbidity measurement taken in that compliance year. Also, the lowest monthly percentile of samples meeting the turbidity limits must be listed. For systems to be in compliance for turbidity, they must never have less then 95% of the monthly samples exceeding turbidity limits; in other words, a system is allowed to have up to 5% of the monthly samples be outside, or higher than the allowable turbidity limits of 0.5 NTU.

Some contaminants do not have maximum Contaminant Levels established for them. These “unregulated contaminants” are assessed using state standards known as health risk limits to determine if they pose a threat to human health. If unacceptable levels of an unregulated contaminant are found, the response is the same as if an MCL has been exceeded; the water systems must inform its customers and take other corrective actions. In the table that follows are the unregulated contaminants that were detected:

 Compliance with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

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 sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock 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 septic systems.

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 that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration 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 water poses a health risk.

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 have set guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Crytosporidium. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.