Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

Town of Edinburg

INTRODUCTION

This Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for calendar year 2007 is designed to provide you with valuable information about your drinking water quality. We are committed to providing you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water, and we want you to understand tbe efforts we make to protect your water supply. The quality of your drinking water meets all state and federal requirements administered by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

If you have questions about this report, want additional information about any aspect of your drinking water, or want to know how to participate in decisions that may affect the quality of your drinking water, please contact:

Honorable Daniel J. Harshman, Mayor, Town of Edinburg at (540) 984-8521

You can obtain additional information by attending Town Council meetings held at 7:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in the Town Council Chambers.

GENERAL INFORMATION

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 activity. Substances (referred to as contaminants) in source water may come from septic systems, discharges from domestic or industrial wastewater treatment facilities, agricultural and farming activities, urban storm water runoff, residential uses, and many other types of activities. Water from surface sources is treated to make it drinkable while groundwater mayor may not have any treatment.

All drinking water, including bott1ed drinking 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. More information can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immune­compromised 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. EP AlCDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from tbe Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

SOURCES AND TREATMENT OF YOUR DRINKING WATER

Your drinking water is surface influenced groundwater obtained from two drilled wells. Water is distributed throughout the community by one booster pump station, one ground storage tanks, one elevated storage tank, and variously sized distribution pipes.

Treatment is provided for both wells. Well No.1 is equipped with a basket strainer to pretreat the water prior to filtration and cWorination. Well No 2 receives no treatment prior to filtration and chlorination. Following Well No. I pretreatment, the combined well flows undergo membrane filtration and chlorination prior to distribution. The membrane filtration units arc used to eliminate turbidity and bacteria from the water while the gas chlorination system is used to inject a cWorine solution to disinfect the water.

2171300

SOURCE WATER ASSESSMENT

A source water assessment for the Town of Edinburg was completed by the ENSA T Corporation in cooperation with the County of Shenandoah and Shenandoah County Water Resources Advisory Committee. This assessment determined that the Town's water sources may be susceptible to contamination because they are surface influenced groundwater exposed to a wide array of contaminants at varying concentrations. Changing hydrologic, hydraulic and atmospheric conditions promote migration of contaminants from land use activities of concern within the assessment area. More specific infoffilation may be obtained by contacting the water systcm representative referenced within this report.

QUALITY OF YOUR DRINKING WATER

Your drinking water is routinely monitored according to Federal and State Regulations for a variety of contaminants. The table on the next page shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January I, 2007 through December 31, 2007.

Most of the results in the table are from testing done in 2007. However, the state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though accurate, is more than one year old.

DEFINITIONS

In the table and elsewhere in this report you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. The following definitions are provided to help you better understand these terms:

Non-detects (ND) - lab analysis indicates that the contaminant is not present

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mgll) - 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 bi1lion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

Picocuries per liter (POlL) - picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) - nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.

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

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

Maximum Contaminant Level, or MCL - the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs arc set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available trea!u1ent technology.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, or MCLG - the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which tl1ere is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

Variances and exemptions - state or EP A permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment technique under certain conditions.

Entry Point (EP) - place where water from the source or sources after the application of any treatment is delivered to tl1e distribution system

2171300

WATER QUALITY RESULTS-

Microbiological

Contaminant

MCLG

MCL

Level found

Unit Measure-ment

Violati-on

Date of Sample

Typical Source of Contamination

Total Coliform Bacteria

0

I Presence of Coliform bacteria in >1 sample per month

0

Presence or Absence

NO

Monthly

Naturally present in the environment

Turbidity

Contaminant

MCLG

MCL

Highest Single Level Found

Unit Measur-ment

Violation

Typical Source of  Contamination

2.342

Yes

Soil Runoff

Lowest Monthly % <0.3 NTU

Date of Sample

Turbidity (1)(2)

NA

TT

97

NTU

03/07

(1) Turhidity is measure of the cloudiness of the water. We monitor it hecause it is a good indicator of our water quality and the effectiveness of fi]tration process.

(2) Turbidity Treatment Technique (TT) MCL: I NTU max; ::: 0.3 NTU in at least 95% of all samples tested.

Inorganic Contaminants

Contaminant	MCLG	MCL	Highest Level	Unit	Violation	Date of	Typical Source of Contamination
			Found	Measure		Sample
				ment
Nitrates	10	10	2.7	mg/l	NO	10/07	Runoff from fertilizer use;
							leaching from septic tanks,
							sewage; Erosion of natural
							deposits

Radiological Contaminants

Contaminant

MCLG

MCL

Level