Bonne Terre

2010 Annual Water Quality Report

This report is intended to provide you with important information about your drinking water and the efforts made to provide safe drinking water.

What is the source of my water?

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and groundwater 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 pickup substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Our water comes from the following source(s):

Source Name	Type
WELL # 1	GROUND WATER
WELL # 2	GROUND WATER
WELL # 3	GROUND WATER

Source Water Assessment:

The Department of Natural Resources conducted a source water assessment to determine the susceptibility of our water source to potential contaminants.  This process involved the establishment of source water area delineations for each well or surface water intake and then a contaminant inventory was performed within those delineated areas to assess potential threats to each source.  Assessment maps and summary information sheets are available on the internet at http://maproom.missouri.edu/swipmaps/pwssid.htm. To access the maps for your water system you will need the State-assigned identification code, which is printed at the top of this report.  The Source Water Inventory Project maps and information sheets provide a foundation upon which a more comprehensive source water protection plan can be developed.

Why are there contaminants in my water?

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. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

A. Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock   operations, and wildlife.

B. Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial, or domestic             wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.

C. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

D. Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum           production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

E. 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 Department of Natural Resources prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain   contaminants in water provided by public water systems.  Department of Health regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which     must provide the same protection for public health.

How might I become actively involved?

If you would like to observe the decision-making process that affect drinking water quality or if you have any further questions about your drinking water report, please call us at 573-358-2254 to inquire about scheduled meetings or contact persons.

Do I need to take any special precautions?

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

Special Lead and Copper Notice:

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children.  Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. BONNE TERRE is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components.  When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) or at http://water.epa.gov/drink/info/lead/index.cfm.

Contaminants Report

Definitions:

MCLG: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, or 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.

MCL: Maximum Contaminant Level, or 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.

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

TT: Treatment Technique, or a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

90th percentile: For lead and Copper testing.  10% of test results are above this level and 90% are below this level.

Level Found: is the average of all test results for a particular contaminant.

Range of Detections: Shows the lowest and highest levels found during a testing period, if only one sample was taken, then this number equals the Level Found.

RAA: Running Annual Average, or the average of sample analytical results for samples taken during the previous four calendar quarters.

Abbreviations:

PPB: parts per billion or micrograms per liter.

ppm: parts per million or milligrams per liter.

The state has reduced monitoring requirements for certain contaminants to less often than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.  Records with a sample year more than one year old are still considered representative.

Regulated Contaminants

Regulated Contaminants	Collection Date	Highest Value	Range	Unit	MCL	MCLG	Typical Source
ARSENIC	7/23/2009	1.46	0 – 1.46	ppb	10		Erosion of natural deposits
BARIUM	7/23/2009	0.104	0.0587 – 0.104	ppm	2	2	Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits

 

Disinfection Byproducts	Monitoring Period	RAA	Range	Unit	MCL	MCLG	Typical Source
No Detected Results were Found in the Calendar Year of 2010

 

Lead and Copper	Date	90TH Percentile	Range	Unit	AL	Sites Over AL	Typical Source
COPPER	2008 – 2010	0.112	0.00881 – 0.119	ppm	1.3	0	Corrosion of household plumbing systems
LEAD	2008 – 2010	6.84	1.06 – 11.9	ppb	15	0	Corrosion of household plumbing systems

 

Microbiological	Result	MCL	MCLG	Typical Source
COLIFORM (TCR)	In the month of September, 1 sample(s) returned as positive	MCL: Systems that Collect Less Than 40 Samples per Month – No more than 1 positive monthly sample	0	Naturally present in the environment

 

Radionuclides	Collection Date	Highest Value	Range	Unit	MCL	MCLG	Typical Source
COMBINED RADIUM (-226 & -228)	1/12/2010	9	5.8 – 9	pCi/l	5		Erosion of natural deposits
GROSS ALPHA PARTICLE ACTIVITY	1/12/2010	21.8	10.6 – 21.8	pCi/l			Erosion of natural deposits
GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. RADON & URANIUM	1/12/2010	21.8	10.6 – 21.8	pCi/l	15	0	Erosion of natural deposits
RADIUM-226	10/6/2010	5.2	3.1 – 5.2	pCi/l	5	0
RADIUM-228	7/7/2010	4.9	1.1 – 4.9	pCi/l	5	0

Violations and Health Effects Information

During the 2010 calendar year, we had the below noted violation(s) of drinking water regulations.

Type	Category	Analyte	Compliance Period
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. RADON & URANIUM	04/01/2009 – 03/31/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	COMBINED RADIUM (-226 & -228)	04/01/2009 – 03/31/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. RADON & URANIUM	07/01/2009 – 06/30/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	COMBINED RADIUM (-226 & -228)	07/01/2009 – 06/30/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. RADON & URANIUM	10/01/2009 – 09/30/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	COMBINED RADIUM (-226 & -228)	10/01/2009 – 09/30/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. RADON & URANIUM	01/01/2010 – 12/31/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	COMBINED RADIUM (-226 & -228)	01/01/2010 – 12/31/2010
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	COMBINED RADIUM (-226 & -228)	04/01/2010 – 03/31/2011
MCL,  AVERAGE	Maximum Contaminant Level Violation	GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. RADON & URANIUM	04/01/2010 – 03/31/2011

Additional Required Health Effects Language:

Certain minerals are radioactive and may emit a form of radiation known as alpha radiation.  Some people who drink water containing alpha emitters in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Some people who drink water containing radium 226 or 228 in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.