Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2008

Town of Northampton-Sacandaga Park Water District

412 South Main Street, PO Box 479, Northville, NY 12134

(Public Water Supply Identification Number NY1700022)

Introduction

We are very pleased to provide you with this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. Last year, your drinking water met all State drinking water health standards. This report is a snapshot of last year’s water quality.  Included are details about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to New York State standards. Our constant goal is and always has been, to provide to you 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 to protect our water resources. If you have any questions concerning this report or concerning your drinking water please contact: Mr. Kenneth Cramer, Licensed Water Plant Operator, 310 Bunker Hill Road, Mayfield, NY 12117; telephone (work)(518) 862-4282 or (home) (518) 863-6625.  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 3^rd Wednesday of each month, 7:00 PM at the Town Hall, 412 South Main Street, PO Box 479 Northville, NY 12134 telephone (518) 863-8829.

Where does our water come from?

Drinking water for the Town of Northampton comes from a “groundwater” supply located on Mountain Road and County Highway 123. Groundwater or well water is stored below the surface of the earth in deep, porous rocks called “aquifers.”  Groundwater is purified naturally as if filters through layers of soil, clay, rock and sand.  This process, known as “percolation” takes years to complete.  As a result, groundwater requires less treatment than surface water.  We pump this groundwater out through our well. The groundwater supply is comprised of 3 wells, each of which can supply 80 gallons/minute. Well #4 serves as a back-up well to use in case of emergency and has a yield of 60 gallons/minute. Chlorine in the form of sodium hypochlorite is added to the water, which is used for disinfection to protect against contamination from harmful bacteria and other organisms.  We also add soda ash to raise the pH along with orthophosphate to reduce the corrosivity of the water.

The source water assessment performed by the New York State Health Department has rated our source water as having a medium-high susceptibility to bacteria, viruses, protozoa, nitrates, halogenated solvents, herbicides, pesticides, metals, petroleum products and other industrial organic compounds.  It should be noted that the SWAP looks at the untreated water only.   Our water is treated to minimize the potential sources of contamination.  The SWAP summary for our water supply is attached to this report.

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 in some cases, radioactive material, 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 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.

Facts and figures

The Town serves water to approximately 830 persons through 216 service connections.  Our average daily demand was 65,359 gallons. Our single highest day was 123,000 gallons. The total water produced in 2008 was 32,856,000 gallons.  Much of the distribution system is made up of cast-iron and steel pipes.

Are there contaminants in our drinking water?

In accordance with State regulations, the Town of Northampton routinely monitors your drinking water for numerous contaminants. We test your drinking water for inorganic contaminants, radiological contaminants, lead and copper, nitrate, volatile organic contaminants, and synthetic organic contaminants. In addition, we test 1 sample for coliform bacteria each month. The table presented below depicts which contaminants were detected in your drinking water. The state allows us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.  Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old and is noted.

It should be noted that all drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily pose 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 Department of Health, Herkimer District Office at (315) 866-6879.

What does this information mean?

As you can see by the table, our system had no violations.  We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected; however, these compounds were detected below New York State requirements. MCL’s are set at very stringent levels.  To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, 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.

Is our water system meeting other rules that govern operations?

During 2008, our system was in compliance with applicable State drinking water operating and reporting requirements.  We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis.  Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not your drinking water meets health standards.  During 2008, we “did not monitor or test” or “did not complete all monitoring or testing” for the Principal Organic Compounds, and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time.  As soon as we were notified of the failure to monitor we collected the required sample in February 2009.  We will discuss the results in next year’s report.

Is our water safe for everyone?

Some people may be more vulnerable to disease causing microorganisms or pathogens 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 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 microbiological pathogens are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

What is the source  water assessment  program (swap)?

To emphasize the protection of surface and ground water sources used for public drinking water, Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996.  The amendments require that New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Public Water Supply Protection is responsible for ensuring that source water assessments are completed for all of New York’s public water systems.

Water Conservation Tips

The Town of Northampton encourages water conservation. There are a lot of things you can do to conserve water in your own home. Conservation tips include:

¨       Only run the dishwasher and clothes washer when there is a full load

¨       Use water saving showerheads

¨       Install faucet aerators in the kitchen and the bathroom to reduce the flow from 4 to 2.5 gallons per minute

¨       Water gardens and lawn for only a couple of hours after sunset

¨       Check faucets, pipes and toilets for leaks and repair all leaks promptly

¨       Take shorter showers

Closing

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 our customers. 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.  Please call our office if you have questions.

Northampton W.D. # 1

NY1700022

Source Water Assessment Summary

The NYS DOH has completed a source water assessment for this system, based on available information. Possible and actual threats to this drinking water source were evaluated. The state source water assessment includes a susceptibility rating based on the risk posed by each potential source of contamination and how easily contaminants can move through the subsurface to the wells. The susceptibility rating is an estimate of the potential for contamination of the source water, it does not mean that the water delivered to consumers is, or will become contaminated. See section “Are there contaminants in our drinking water?” for a list of the contaminants, if any, that have been detected, The source water assessments provide resource managers with additional information for protecting source waters into the future.

As mentioned before, our water is derived from 3 drilled wells. The source water assessment has rated these wells as having a medium-high susceptibility to bacteria, viruses, protozoa, nitrates, halogenated solvents, herbicides, pesticides, metals, petroleum products and other industrial organic compounds. While no significant sources of contamination have been identified in the assessment area, the wells draw from an unconfined aquifer with high hydraulic conductivity.

Please note that, while the source water assessment rates our wells as being susceptible to microbials, our water is disinfected to ensure that that the finished water delivered into your home meets the New York State drinking water standards for microbial contamination.

County and state health departments will use this information to direct future source water protection activities. These may include water quality monitoring, resource management, planning, and education programs.  A copy of the full Source Water Assessment, including a map of the assessment area, is available for review by contacting us at the number provided in this report.