The Water Story 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

What is the quality of the water coming in my home?

At this point the water has absorbed many of the contaminants it has been exposed to since it left the clouds. Therefore, to insure public safety, the Public Utility Companies are required to perform periodic tests on the water they supply to their customers. This water must meet a set of minimum standards established by the EPA. A sample of these tests are shown below. If the water meets these minimum EPA Drinking Water Standards it is sent through undergound pipes to your home.

Except where otherwise noted, the results below are from OUC tests conducted between January 1 andDecember 31, 2001 (the most recent available in accordance with DEP regulations).

Primary Regulated Substances	MCL/AL Violation	Range Detected	Highest Detected	MCL	MCJG	Possible Sources
Barium (ppm)	No	0.010-0.049	0.049	2	2	Erosion of natural deposits; discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries.
Fluoride (ppm)	No	0.71-0.91	0.91	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits; wateradditive that promotes strong teeth;discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories.
Lead (point of entry) (ppb)	No	ND-4	4	AL15	0	Erosion of natural depositsCorrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits.
Nitrate (ppm)	No	ND-0.08	0.08	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leachingfrom septic tanks; sewage; erosion ofnatural deposits.
Chromium (ppb)	No	ND-1	1	100	100
Sodium (ppm)	No	9.92-32.2	32.2	160	N/A	Salt water intrusion; leaching from soil.
Nickel (ppb)	No	ND-3	3	100	N/A	Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from mines.
Selenium (ppb)	No	ND-11	11	50	50	Erosion of natural deposits.
Radiological Gross Alpha (pCi/L) (1999 data)	No	ND-2	2	5	0	Erosion of natural deposits.
TTHMs (ppb) Trihalomethanes	No	11-88	44.6 (average*)	100	0	By products of drinking water chlorination.
HAAs (ppb) Halocetic Acids (1998 data)	No	15-45	45	60	0-300	By products of drinking water chlorination.

As evidenced by the above OUC report our water contains trace elements of many contaminants. There are thousands of chemicals in daily use that may become a source of environmental contamination. It would be unrealistic, if not impossible, to test the water for every one of these potential sources of contamination. The only sure thing at this point is that we know the water contains contaminants, leaves spots when it dries, and tastes and smells like the Chemicals it has been "treated with".