Akron Public Utilities Bureau

Akron Public Utilities Bureau
Akron Metropolitan Service Area

1999 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

This brochure explains how drinking water provided by Akron Public Utilities Bureau meets by a wide margin the current USEPA and OEPA regulatory requirements. Included is a listing of results from water quality tests as well as an explanation of where our water comes from and tips on how to interpret the data. We are proud to share our results with you. Please read them carefully.

We are proud to report that the water provided by Akron Public Utilities Bureau
meets or exceeds established water quality standards.
This report is also available on the World Wide Web at www.ci.akron.oh.us.
For more information, call Akron Public Utilities Bureau at (330) 375-2651

Water Source

Surface water is taken from the Upper Cuyahoga River via three impounding reservoirs. Water is stored and released from two upstream reservoirs: Wendell R. LaDue and East Branch, both located in Geauga County. These reservoirs supplement Lake Rockwell, located in Franklin Township, Portage County, 2.5 miles north of Kent, Ohio. Akron’s water is taken from Lake Rockwell, treated at the nearby water supply plant, then pumped 11 miles to Akron, through three force mains to equalizing reservoirs, and then distributed to over 80,000 customers. Because 21 percent of the system is at higher elevations, eight districts are supplied by additional pump stations and tanks.

Required Additional Health Information

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).

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 radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. 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 storm 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, stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

(D) Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organics, which are by-products 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, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

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, 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 are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

How to Read These Tables

This report is based upon tests conducted in the year 1998 by Akron Public Utilities Bureau. Terms used in the Water Quality Table and in other parts of this report are defined here.

Maximum Contaminant Level or MCL: 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 or MCLG: 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.

Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirement that a water system must follow.

Range: The range of all values for samples tested for each contaminant.

Detected Level: The highest level detected of a contaminant for comparison against the acceptance levels for each parameter. These levels could be the highest single measurement, or an average of values depending on the contaminant.

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

Key To Tables
     AL = Action Level
     MCL = Maximum Contaminant Level
     MCLG = Maximum Contaminant Level Goal
     NTU = Nephelometric Turbidity Units
     ppm = parts per million, or milligrams per liter (mg/L)
     ppb = parts per billion, or micrograms per liter (µg/L)
     TT = Treatment Technique
     n/a = not applicable
     nd = not detected

National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Compliance
As previously disclosed in the Akron Beacon Journal on May 21 through May 26, 1999, our water system inadvertently failed to monitor, test, and report for volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in 1998. Testing for VOCs is annually required between July 1 and December 31. VOCs are a group of 55 chemicals and are more commonly detected in well water. Because of their volatility, VOCs evaporate from surface waters, such as Lake Rockwell. Akron has tested for VOCs since 1983 and has not detected any VOCs in any of these 15 years. Subsequent VOC testing conducted during the week of May 17, 1999 and July 14, 1999, showed no detected VOCs.

Information Collection Rule Data¹

Contaminant	Date Tested	Unit	MCL	MCLG	Detected Level	Range	Major Source	Violation
ICR Disinfection By Products
Chloral hydrate	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	8.4	nd-8.4	By-product of drinking water disinfection.	NO
Total aldehydes	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	21	nd-21	By-product of drinking water disinfection.	NO
HAA₅ (Total Haloacetic acids (5)	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	57	18-103	By-product of drinking water disinfection.	NO
Total Haloacetonitriles	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	4.7	nd-4.7	By-product of drinking water disinfection.	NO
TTHMs² (Total Trihalomethanes)	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	47	11-133	By-product of drinking water disinfection.	NO

Information Collection Rule Data Footnotes:

The Information Collection Rule (ICR) was a USEPA conducted 18 month study of unregulated contaminants pursuant to Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that was completed in 1999. The ICR was to gather information that, along with other studies and information, will be used to promulgate a second stage of microbial/disinfectant by-product regulation. As part of the SDWA Amendments as passed by Congress on August 6, 1996, USEPA was mandated to promulgate a myriad of new drinking water regulations with specified issuance dates between now and May, 2002, with effective dates of 12 to 36 months after issuance. These will affect the operating and capital expenditures of all water utilities in varying times and degrees of impact over the next six years.
Per USEPA, monitoring taken at different times than those currently regulated and quarterly monitored and reported to Ohio EPA.

Water Quality Table

Contaminant	Date Tested	Unit	MCL	MCLG	Detected Level	Range	Major Source	Violation
Inorganic Contaminants
Copper¹	1998	ppm	AL = 1.3	1.3	0.33	n/a	Corrosion of household plumbing system; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives.	NO
Fluoride	1998	ppm	4	4	1.47	0.62-1.47	Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive which promotes strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories	NO
Lead²	1998	ppb	AL = 15	0	6.4	n/a	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits	NO
Nitrate	1998	ppm	10	10	1.05	0.38-1.05	Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits	NO
Chlorate	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	210	56-310	By-product of drinking water disinfection	NO
Chlorite	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	610	nd-850	By-product of drinking water disinfection	NO
TOX (Total organic halides)	1998	ppb	n/a	n/a	110	nd-195	By-product of drinking water disinfection	NO
Microbiological Contaminants
Turbidity³	1998	NTU	TT	n/a	0.76		Soil runoff	NO
Disinfection By Products
TTHMs (Total Trihalomethanes)	1998	ppb	100	0	49	11-98	By-product of drinking water disinfection.	NO

Water Quality Table Footnotes:

No samples of 104 tested exceeded the current action level of 1.3 ppm.
Two samples of 104 tested were above 15 ppb, but the action level was not exceeded.
3 99.9% of the samples tested were below the treatment technique level of 0.5 NTU for 95% of the time. Nephelometric Turbidity Units or turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.

This report was provided with the technical assistance of Consumer Confidence Services, a division of MAS Technology Corporation, operating contractor for the AWWA's CCRbuilder.com.

For more information, call Akron Public Utilities Bureau at (330) 375-2651. This report is also available on the World Wide Web at www.ci.akron.oh.us.

PWS #: OH7700011

Member: