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NORTHPORT VILLAGE CORPORATION WATER DEPARTMENT 2004 CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORT Welcome We are pleased to present our seventh annual Consumer Confidence Report to our customers. The reports are a requirement of the 1996 amendments to the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and are designed to inform you about the quality of your water and the services we deliver to you every day. We want you to know that the Village and District staff’s constant goal is to provide you, our customers, with a safe, dependable and adequate supply of drinking water. The
Northport Village Corporation (Village) and Belfast Water District‘s
(District) 2004 testing results confirm that the Northport Village Corporation
drinking water meets or exceeds all state and federal requirements. There were
no drinking water violations. Water Supply / Source Information During
2004 the water distributed to Village users was purchased from the Belfast Water
District. The Belfast Water District
uses groundwater as its water source from two gravel packed wells located in the
Goose River Aquifer in Swanville and Because of the high quality of the source of water, the only treatments required by the District to ensure safe water at your tap are pH adjustment, disinfection and fluoridation. 1. pH Adjustment with sodium hydroxide is required to control corrosion which keeps copper and lead levels in your water to a minimum. Without such treatment the water will slowly dissolve metals from copper piping and lead solder. Young children and pregnant women are especially at risk from high levels of lead in the drinking water. Lead in blood can interfere with growth and can alter physical and mental development or cause deficits in I.Q. Copper health effects include stomach and intestinal distress, liver and kidney damage and some rare cases of Wilson’s Disease. 2. Disinfection is achieved using sodium hypochlorite for biological control and to maintain high quality drinking water throughout the water distribution system prior to delivery to you. 3. Sodium fluoride is fed into drinking water systems to prevent tooth decay in young children up to the age of eight to ten years. Source Water Assessment In
2003, the Maine Drinking Water Program completed an evaluation of all public
water supply systems in the State of For
more information on the results of the 2003 Belfast Water District’s Source
Water Assessment Program (SWAP), please contact the State of Water System Data The
Village serves customers in Northport and In 2004, the Village purchased from the District a total of 7.6 million gallons of drinking water averaging just less than 21,000 gallons per day. Village consumption peaks to near double or 42,000 gpd during July and August and lowers to one-half of this amount or near 10,500 gpd during the off peak season of November to April. The Village’s consumption represents only 2.7% of the District’s water production. Agreements with the District allow for the Village to purchase up to 50,000 gallons per day. Health Information Sources of drinking water include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, groundwater and groundwater under the direct influence of surface water. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals, and in some cases, radioactive materials, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. The
Federal Safe Drinking Water Act directs the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Maine Department of Human Services (DHS) to establish and enforce
minimum primary and secondary drinking water standards. Primary standards are
health based standards and secondary standards establish guidelines for
aesthetic water quality such as taste and odor which do not present health
risks. These standards set maximum contamination levels ( 1. Biological (microbial) contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife. 2. Radioactive Contaminants, which can occur naturally or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. 3. 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. 4. Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming. 5. Pesticides and Herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses. 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 and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791). Water Quality Information / Data The
Village and District team together to ensure that your water is safe through
regular monitoring and testing of the water quality. The water is sampled and
tested by the Village and District’s state-certified operators, the State of The water quality report included with this cover, summarizes the detectable testing results of parameters for your water and represents a very small sample of the extensive tests that are run continuously, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually and with other specific time schedules. Parameters, excepting Total Coliform, tested for, but that were not detectable in your water are not listed in this report. A list of the non-detectable parameters and test results for the secondary standards are available from the Village Water Department (207) 338-0751. Waiver Summary A 2002 three year waiver was granted the District from the State of Maine Drinking Water Program exempting the testing and monitoring requirements for pesticides, herbicides and other industrial contaminants upon finding that no potential sources of these contaminants were within a half mile radius of the source of the District’s drinking water supplies. Water
utilities in
A
State-wide waiver to test for asbestos has also been granted to The
State of Other Important Information Constructive
public participation is welcomed. The Village Board of Trustees meets on the
first Friday of each month at the Village Office on Comments,
questions or complaints should be directed to Dr. David Crofoot, Chairman and/or
Richard McElhaney, Utility Superintendent by phone at Northport Village Corporation
1. Board of Trustees: Chairman, Dr. David Crofoot; Judy Metcalf, Esq.; William Cressey; Peter Spollett; James Coughlin; Technical Advisor, Dick Brockway. 2. Utility Superintendent / State-Certified Operator: Richard McElhaney 3. Office Manager / Billing Clerk: Karen Hoedtke 4. Village Agent / Water Technician: William Paige Again your drinking water meets all regulatory requirements that exist today, plus some regulations that haven’t even been finalized yet. Further to the positive side, there are no major capital investments that need to be made to make your drinking water safer in the foreseeable future. Thousands of dollars are spent analyzing your drinking water each year by the Village and District for more than 90 contaminants. If you have specific questions about your drinking water, we can answer them. The staff of the Village Water Department would like to thank its Chairman, Dr. David Crofoot and the rest of the Trustees and Overseers for their support in supervising the staff and operations of both the water and sewer departments. And, finally, moreover, to you, our customers, who are small in numbers and who have had to dig deep into their pockets to enable the Village to meet today’s Federal and State regulatory challenges. Thank You! NORTHPORT VILLAGE CORPORATION |
