Este informe contiene información importante acerca de su agua potable. Haga que alguien lo traduzca para usted, ó hable con alguien que lo entienda. (This report contains important information about your drinking water. Have someone translate it for you, or speak with someone who understands it.)
We're pleased to present to you this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water. Our water sources are a combination of surface and ground water. The surface water is drawn from Webster Reservoir and Springs, located on Lambs Creek in Richmond Township. The ground water is drawn from Well No. 1 and Well No. 2 located in the Lambs Creek Watershed.
This report shows our water quality and what it means. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Casandra Cowles at (570)662-2589. We want you to be informed about your water supply. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings.
They are held the third Monday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Dr. Robert E. Swinsick Council Room, located at 14 South Main Street.
Mansfield Borough Municipal Authority routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to
Federal and State laws. This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 st to December
31 st , 2014. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some constituents. It's important to remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk.
A Source Water Assessment of the Lambs Creek Intake was completed in 2003 by the PA Department of
Environmental Protection (PADEP). The Assessment has found that the Lambs Creek Intake has no potential threats. Overall, the Lambs Creek Watershed has little risk of significant contamination. A summary report of the Assessment is available on the Source Water Assessment & Protection Web page at http://www.dep.stat.ps.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/wc/Subjects/SrceProt/SourceAssessment/default.htp
Complete reports were distributed to municipalities, water suppliers, local planning agencies and PADEP offices. Copies of the complete report are available for review at the PADEP North Central Regional Office, Records
Management Unit at 570-327-3636.
In the table to follow 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:
ppm – Parts per million or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) ppb – Parts per billion or micrograms per liter (ug/l) pCi/L – Picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
Action Level (AL) – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
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.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.
MCL’s are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (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.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) – The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water.
There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant in 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 contamination.
Minimum Residual Disinfectant Level (MinRDL) – The minimum level of residual disinfectant required at the entry point to the distribution system.
Treatment Technique (TT) - A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Chemical
Contaminant
MCL in
CCR Units
MCLG
Chemical Contaminants
Highest
Level
Detected
Range in
Detections
Units
Sample
Date
Violation
Y/N
Sources of
Contamination
Nitrate 10 10
Chlorine
(Distribution)
MRDL = 4 MRDLG = 4
Chlorine
(Entry Point)
MRDL = 4 MRDLG = 4
.38
2.0
1.0
-
0.5 – 2.0
0.6 – 1.0 ppm ppm ppm
09/14
2/14
10/14
N
N
N
Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage;
Erosion of natural deposits
Water Additive Used to Control Microbes
Water Additive Used to Control Microbes
Contaminant
Minimum
Disinfectant
Residual
Entry Point Disinfectant Residual
Lowest
Level
Detected
Range of
Detections
Units
Sample
Date
Violation
Y/N
Sources of
Contamination
Chlorine 0.2 .5 0.4- 1.9 ppm 02/14 N
Water additive used
Chemical
Contaminant
MCL in CCR Units MCLG
Microbial
Highest # or % of
Positive Samples
Violation Y/N
Sources of
Contamination
Total Coliform
Bacteria
For systems that collect >40 samples/month) 5% of monthly samples are positive
For systems that collect <40 samples/month) more than 1 positive monthly sample
0 0 N
Naturally Present in the
Environment
Fecal Coliform
Bacteria or E. coli
0 0 0 N
Human & Animal Fecal
Waste
Turbidity
Contaminant MCL MCLG Level Detected Sample Date
Violation
(Y/N)
Source of
Contamination
Turbidity
TT = 1 NTU for a single measurement
TT = at Least 95%of monthly samples > 0.3
NTU
0
32
100%
03/31/14 N
N
Soil Runoff
Contaminant
TOC
Range of Removal
Required
25% to 35%
Total Organic Carbon TOC
Range of %
Removal Achieved
Number of Quarters out of Compliance
.8 – 1.5 0
Violation
(Y/N)
N
Source of
Contamination
Naturally Present in the Environment
Total Organic Carbon
(TOC) ppm
Total organic carbon (TOC) has no health effect. However, total organic carbon provides a medium for the formation of disinfection by-products. These by-products include total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and
Haloacetic Acids (HAA’s). Drinking water containing these by-products in excess of the MCL may lead to adverse health effects, liver or kidney problems, or nervous system effects, and may lead to an increase risk of getting cancer.
Turbidity NTU
Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease causing organisms. The organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches.
We constantly monitor for various constituents in the water supply to meet all regulatory requirements. We had violations for IOC’s, SOC’s and Radium due to our lab failing to submit sample results to the Department on time. There are no potential health effects due to these violations. We are working closely with our lab to make sure this does not continue to be a problem in the future.
Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. The primary concern is Cryptosporidium and the following is information on this potential disease causing organism.
Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a microbial pathogen found in surface water throughout the U.S. Although filtration removes cryptosporidium, the most commonly-used filtration methods cannot guarantee 100 percent removal.
Ingestion of cryptosporidium may cause cryptosporidiosis, an abdominal infection. Symptoms of infection
include nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Most healthy individuals can overcome the disease within a few weeks. However, immuno-compromised people are at greater risk of developing life-threatening illness.
We encourage immuno-compromised individuals to consult their doctor regarding appropriate precautions to take to avoid infection. Cryptosporidium must be ingested to cause disease, and it may be spread through means other than drinking water.
Information about Lead
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. Mansfield Municipal Authority 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 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead .
All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contaminants that are naturally occurring or man made.
Those contaminants can be microbes, organic or inorganic chemicals, or radioactive materials. 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 the 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 at 1-800-426-4791.
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, in some cases, 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:
- Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come form 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 byproducts or
industrial process and petroleum production and mining activities.
Please call our office if you have questions.