Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2000

Narrowsburg Water District

210 Bridge Street Narrowsburg, NY 12764

(845) 252-7376

(Public Water Supply ID# NY5203338)

Introduction

To comply with State and Federal regulations the Narrowsburg Water District will be annually issuing a report describing the quality of your drinking water. The purpose of this report is to raise your understanding of drinking water and awareness of the need to protect our drinking water sources. Last year, your tap water met or exceeded all State drinking water health standards. This report provides an overview of last year’s water quality. Included are details about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to State standards.

We are proud to report that the water provided by the Narrowsburg Water District meets or exceeds established water-quality standards.

If you have any questions about this report or your drinking water, please contact superintendent Scott Birney at (845) 252-7376. We encourage public interest and participation in our community's decisions affecting our drinking water. As part of regular Town of Tusten Town Board meetings the Water Board meetings occur on the 2nd Monday of every month, at the Tusten Town Hall, 7:30pm. The public is welcome. The District advertises planned maintenance and service interruptions in the River Reporter, which also covers Town of Tusten Board meetings.

Where does our water come From?

In general, 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 can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activities. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: microbial contaminants; inorganic contaminants; pesticides and herbicides; organic chemical contaminants; and radioactive contaminants. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the State and the EPA prescribe regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The State Health Department’s and the FDA’s regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

Overview and Highlights:

In 2000 the Narrowsburg Water District was supplied by 24.1 million gallons of groundwater pumped from Well #1, and Well #2. Well #1, located on the southern portion of Delaware Drive, takes water from a Delaware River sand and gravel alluvial deposit. Well #2, located on the northern portion of Delaware Drive also takes water from a Delaware River sand and gravel alluvial deposit.

The production meter for Well #1 has been rebuilt to maintain accuracy. A new magnetic flow meter for Well #2 has replaced the old production meter. Magnetic flow meters have no moving parts and use a magnetic field to measure water. Since there are no moving parts magnetic flow meters typically last longer than their counter-parts. Accurate production meters are used to quantify un-accounted for water in our continuing water audit program.

A draft of our wellhead protection plan (WHPP) with an accompanying map is completed and will be presented at a public hearing over the next few months. The WHPP will be used to review new development in our watershed areas and promote practices that will preserve water quality.

A valve operation program was instituted with the fall hydrant flushing on over 40 of our main line valves. Annual operation of these large buried valves keeps them in good working order and determines which ones should be scheduled for replacement. A broken 6-inch main valve was replaced on School Street. Hydrant flushing is now performed twice each year, once in April and October. Hydrant flushing reduces rusty water and will help keep our water mains clean. A fire hydrant was rebuilt on Bridge Street.

A variable frequency drive (VFD) was installed on the well pump at Well #2. A VFD will enable a pump to be slowed down saving energy. VFDs will also monitor and protect a pump from damage due to a power failure. There is now a VFD protecting well pumps at each of our three well sites.

The Narrowsburg Water District has again been recognized as a participant in the 2000 Groundwater Guardian Program.

Are there contaminants in our drinking water?

As the State regulations require, we routinely test your drinking water for numerous contaminants. These contaminants include: total coliform, inorganic compounds, nitrate, nitrite, lead and copper, volatile organic compounds and synthetic organic compounds. The table presented below depicts which compounds were detected in your drinking water. The State allows us to test for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though representative, is more than one year old. It should be noted that all drinking water, including bottled drinking water, might be reasonably 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’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) or the New York State Health Department, Monticello District Office at (845) 794-2045.

Notes:

New York State Sanitary Code Compliance - Variances and Exemptions

Under a waiver granted by the New York State Department Health our system is not required to monitor for Asbestos and the Synthetic Organic Contaminants- Dioxin, Endothall, and Diquat. Installation and maintenance records indicate that Transite pipe (which contains Asbestos) was not used in the District. Previous sampling for the Synthetic Organic Contaminants has yielded non-detects and were neither used nor produced in the watershed.

What does this information mean?

As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We have learned through our testing that some contaminants have been detected; however, these contaminants were detected below the level allowed by the State. These contaminants will continue to be monitored for any changes in concentration.

Do I Need to Take Special Precautions?

Although our drinking water met or exceeded state and federal regulations, some people may be more vulnerable to disease causing microorganisms or pathogens in drinking water than the general population. Immune-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 from their health care provider about their drinking water. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other microbial pathogens are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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 than at other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush your tap 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Why Save Water and How to Avoid Wasting It?

Although our system has an adequate amount of water to meet present and future demands, there are a number of reasons why it is important to conserve water:

• Saving water saves energy and some of the costs associated with both of these necessities of life;
• Saving water reduces the cost of energy required to pump water and the need to construct costly new wells, pumping systems and water towers; and
• Saving water lessens the strain on the water system during a dry spell or drought, helping to avoid severe water use restrictions so that essential fire fighting needs are met

You can play a role in conserving water by becoming conscious of the amount of water your household is using, and by looking for ways to use less whenever you can. It is not hard to conserve water. Conservation tips include:

• Automatic dishwashers use 15 gallons for every cycle, regardless of how many dishes are loaded. So get a run for your money and load it to capacity.
• Use clothes washers with full loads only.
• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.
• Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to 20 gallons a day. Fix it up and you can save almost 6,000 gallons per year.
• Check your toilets for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank, watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the bowl. It is not uncommon to lose up to 100 gallons a day from one of these otherwise invisible toilet leaks. Fix it and you save more than 30,000 gallons a year.
• Install water saving 2.5 gallon per minute showerheads, sink flow restrictors or aerators. A good shower head can cost as little as $ 15.00, restrictors and aerators less than $ 3.00
• Use your water meter to detect hidden leaks. Simply turn off all taps and water using appliances, then check the meter after 15 minutes, if it moved, you have a leak.
• Keep a pitcher of water in your refrigerator. Don’t run the tap water for cool drinking water.
• Use a broom to sweep your driveway, garage or sidewalk instead of water.
• Plant drought resistant trees and plants
• Call the District office for a free leak survey and water audit at (845) 252-7376
• Consider upgrading or replacing your older water using fixtures. Houses built in the 1960’s probably have original toilets that use 5-7 gallons per flush. New toilets use 1.6 gallons and the newer ones do really work. (Call us for a list of recommended toilets from $ 99.00.)

How Can I Help Protect Our Drinking Water ?

Ground-water protection begins at home. You may be surprised to learn that the way you dispose of the products you use at home can contribute to the contamination of our community's ground water. You may be even more surprised to learn that a number of the products you use at home contain hazardous or toxic substances. Products like motor oil, pesticides, left-over paints or paint cans, mothballs, flea collars, weed killers, household cleaners, and even a number of medicines contain materials that can be harmful to ground water and to the environment in general.

Don't Pour It Down the Drain! Anything you pour down your drain or flush down your toilet will enter your septic system or our community's sewer system. Using this method to dispose of products that contain harmful substances can affect your septic system's ability to treat human wastes. Once in the ground, these harmful substances can eventually contaminate the ground water. In addition, most community wastewater treatment plants are not designed to treat many of these substances. Thus, they can eventually be discharged into bodies of surface water and cause contamination.

Don't Dump It on the Ground! Hazardous wastes that are dumped on or buried in the ground can contaminate the soil and either leach down into the ground water or be carried into a nearby body of surface water by runoff during rainstorms.

Do Use and Dispose of Harmful Materials Properly! There are very few options for disposing of hazardous products used in your home, so the first step may be to limit your use of such products. When possible, substitute a non-hazardous product. When that is not possible, buy only as much as you need. Larger quantities may be less expensive, but they leave you with the problem of disposing of them safely. Finally, urge community officials to sponsor periodic household hazardous waste collection days if they have not established this policy. By helping our community to centralize collection of hazardous household wastes for appropriate disposal, you will be helping our community to make a major contribution toward protecting its ground water. The saying "Garbage in, garbage out" applies to more than computer data bases.

Do Get Informed and Get Involved! You, alone or as part of a group, can help to educate your family, friends, and neighbors about the importance of ground water to our community. Learn where our wells are and what is around them.

For more information about protecting our drinking water www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/citguide.html

Closing

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your families and businesses with clean, quality water. In order to maintain a safe and dependable water supply we need to make improvements that will benefit all of our customers. These improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments.

We at the Narrowsburg Water District 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

This report was prepared by Superintendent -Scott Birney, using technical assistance provided by the New York Rural Water Association and the New York State Department of Health.

The Narrowsburg Water District is a participating member of the following professional organizations: American Water Works Association; Groundwater Guardian; Hudson Valley Water Works Association; National Rural Water Works Association; New York Rural Water Association ; and the Water Environment Federation.

This report is posted on the Town of Tusten Website at www.tusten-narrowsburg.org

Water Quality Data for community water systems throughout the United States is available at www.waterdata.com

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water information at www.epa.gov/safewater