Town of Cheraw releases Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

 

Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

Town of Cheraw

System 1310001

June 1, 2021

 

 

            We're pleased to present to you this year's Annual Quality Water Report (Consumer Confidence Report) as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This report is designed to provide details about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. This report is a snapshot of last year’s water quality. We are committed to providing you with information because informed customers are our best allies.

 

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persona 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/Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Water Drinking Hotline (800-426-4791).

 

Our water comes from the Great Pee Dee River, located just east of town. We also have the ability to utilize Brasington Pond, just east of town near Roddy St. Our raw water sources are most susceptible to contamination from runoff or environmental conditions. 

 

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 (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791). The sources of drinking water (both tap 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 activity: microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, that may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife; inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban runoff, industrial, or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming; pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses; organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems; and radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

 

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Sherry Turner at 537-8440. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you would like to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled council meetings. They are held on the second Tuesday of each month at Town Hall at 5:30 pm.

 

Did you know that the average U.S. household uses approximately 400 gallons of water per day or 100 gallons per person per day? Luckily, there are many low-cost and no-cost ways to conserve water. Small changes can make a big difference – try one today and soon it will become second nature.

 

  • Take short showers – a 5-minute shower uses 4 to 5 gallons of water compared to up to 50 gallons for a bath
  • Shut off water while brushing your teeth, washing your hair and shaving and save up to 500 gallons a month
  • Use a water-efficient showerhead. They’re inexpensive, easy to install, and can save you up to 750 gallons a month
  • Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month
  • Water plants only when necessary
  • Fix leaky toilets and faucets. Faucet washers are inexpensive and take only a few minutes to replace. To check your toilet for a leak, place a few drops of food coloring or a pack of powdered Kool-Aid in the tank and wait. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak. Fixing it or replacing it with a new, more efficient model can save up to 1,000 gallons a month
  • Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered. Apply water only as fast as the soil can absorb it and during the cooler parts of the day to reduce evaporation
  • Teach your kids about water conservation to ensure a future generation that uses water wisely. Make it a family effort to reduce next month’s water bill
  • Visit epa.gov/watersense for more information

 

Protection of drinking water is everyone’s responsibility. You can help protect your community’s drinking water source in several ways:

 

  • Eliminate excess use of lawn and garden fertilizers and pesticides – they contain hazardous chemicals that can reach your drinking water source
  • Pick up after your pets
  • If you have your own septic system, properly maintain your system to reduce leaching to water sources or consider connecting to a public water system
  • Dispose of chemicals properly; take used motor oil to a recycle center
  • Volunteer in your community. Find a watershed or wellhead protection organization in your community and volunteer to help. If there are no active groups, consider starting one. Use EPA’s Adopt Your Watershed to locate groups in your community or visit the Watershed Information Network’s How to Start a Watershed Team
  • Organize a storm drain stenciling project with your local government or water supplier. Stencil a message next to the street drain reminding people “Dump No Waste – Drains to River” or “Protect Your Water”. Produce and distribute a flyer for households to remind residents that storm drains dump directly into your local water body

 

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. The Town of Cheraw 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 drinking 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 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

 

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The table below lists all the drinking water contaminants that we detected during the calendar year 2019. Although many more contaminants were tested, only those substances listed below were found in your water. All sources of drinking water contain some naturally occurring contaminants. At low levels, these substances are generally not harmful in our drinking water. Removing all contaminants would be extremely expensive, and in most cases, would not provide increased protection of public health. A few naturally occurring minerals may improve the taste of drinking water and have a nutritional value at low levels. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done in 2019. The EPA or the State requires s to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not vary significantly from year to year, or the system is not considered vulnerable to this type of contamination. As such, some of our data, though representative, may be more than one year old.

 

In this table you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we've provided the following definitions:

 

Non – Detects (ND) – laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.

 

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

 

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 that, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.

 

Action Level Goal (ALG) - the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. ALGs allow for a margin of safety.

 

Highest Level Detected (HDL) - maximum amount found in any one sample

 

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

 

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is 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.

 

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) - The “Goal”(MCLG) is 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.

 

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) - The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water.  There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

 

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG) –  The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

 

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Removal – The annual percent removal ratio must be at least 1 or the system is in violation.

 

 

 

LEAD AND COPPER TEST RESULTS 2018

Contaminant

Exceeds AL

Y/N

90th

percentile

Unit

Measurement

Range

Action Level

Sites Over

Action

Level

Likely Source of

Contamination

Copper

No

0.073

ppm

0.00 – 0.092

1.3

0

Corosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits

Lead

No

2.4

ppb

0.00 – 3.1

15

0

Corosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits

 

TEST RESULTS 2020

 

Contaminant

Violation

Y/N

Highest Level

Detected

Unit

Measurement

Range

MCLG

MCL

Likely Source of Contamination

Microbiological Contaminants

Turbidity

100 % of all samples were below the TT value of 0.30 NTU

No

       0.23

NTU

0.02 – 0.23

n/a

TT

Soil runoff

Inorganic Contaminants

Nitrate (as Nitrogen)

No

     0.93

ppm

N/A

10

10

Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits

Fluoride

No

     0.60

ppm

N/A

4

4

Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories.

Radioactive Contaminants

Contaminant

 

Violation

Y/N

Highest Level Detected

Units

Range of Levels

MCLG

MCL

Likely source of contamination

Combined Radium 226/228

 

No

0.0435

pCi/L

N/A

0

5

Erosion of natural deposits.

Disinfectants and Disinfection By Products (2020)

 

Contaminant

 

Violation

Y/N

LRAA

2019

Units

Range of Levels

MCLG

MCL

Likely source of contamination

Haloacetic acids

(HAAs)

No

20

ppb

11.2 – 24.3

No Goal

60

By-product of drinking water disinfection

Total Trihalomethanes                                      (TTHMs)

Yes

53

ppb

25.5 – 79.4

No Goal

80

By-product of drinking water disinfection

Chlorine

No

1.0

ppm

1.00 – 1.00

MRDLG = 4

MRDLG = 4

Water additive used to control microbes

 

TOC TEST RESULTS 2020

Contaminant

Violation

Y/N

Level

Detected

% removal required

Range

Sample Fequency

MCL

Likely Source of Contamination

Total Organic Carbon

 

No

49.4% removal :

43.3% removal required

29.7% -67.9 %

removal

Monthly

TT

Naturally present in the environment

 

 

               

 

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.

 

Turbidity is a measurement of the cloudiness of the water caused by suspended particles. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of water quality and the effectiveness of our filtration system and disinfectants.

 

Nitrates: As a precaution we always notify physicians and health care providers in this area if there is ever a higher than normal level of nitrates in the water supply.

 

Please call our office if you have questions. We at the Town of Cheraw Water Department 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.