QUALITY ON TAP

2010 Annual Water Quality Report

PWS ID# MO 4010417

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

At City Light Gas & Water the quality and safety of the water we produce for our customers is a top priority. Specialists in our own lab perform several tests daily to make certain our water is meeting quality standards. In addition to our own tests, we send at least ten samples per month to the State Department of Health Lab for bacteriological evaluation. Other samples are sent less frequently for a myriad of other tests ranging from Alkalinity to Zinc.

Kennett’s Water Source

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 pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Kennett’s water supply is taken from three ground water wells that extend 90 to 130 feet below the surface. These wells have a combined yield of 2,000 gallons per minute.

The water produced by these wells is of naturally high quality and free from harmful levels of chemicals and bacteria. However it does contain levels of iron and dissolved calcium which makes treatment of the water necessary to remove excess levels of these substances. After the water has undergone treatment at the plant, it is pumped to the distribution system for storage into one of four water tanks for consumption by you, our customers. Three of these tanks are elevated and one is ground storage. The tanks have a total storage capacity of 2.1 million gallons of water for the City of Kennett.

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.

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:

• Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which 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 stormwater 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 stormwater 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 stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
• 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.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources regulates our water system and requires us to test our water on a regular basis to ensure its safety. Our system has been assigned the identification number MO4010417 for the purposes of tracking our test results. Last year, we tested for a variety of contaminants. The detectable results of these tests are show on the following page. Any violations of state requirements or standards will be further explained later in this report.

Additional Information:

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water that 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 about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

If you would like more information about the decision-making process that affect drinking water quality or if you have further questions about your drinking water report, call CLGW at 573-888-5366 to inquire about scheduled meetings or contact persons.

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. KENNETT 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.
• MRDLG: Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal, or the level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health.
• MRDL: Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level, or the highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water.

Abbreviations:

• PPB: parts per billion or micrograms per liter.
• ppm: parts per million or milligrams per liter.
• n/a: not applicable.
• NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Unit, used to measure cloudiness in drinking water.
• MFL: Million fibers per liter, used to measure asbestos concentration.
• nd: not detectable at testing limits.

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

Violations and Health Effects Information

During the 2010 calendar year, there were NO VIOLATIONS of drinking water regulations.

There are no additional required health effects notices.

There are no additional required health effects violation notices.