2013 Annual Drinking
Water Quality Report
Town of Drexel
P.W.S.I.D. # 01-12-045
Date: May, 2014
Dear Water Customer,
The water distribution system is owned and operated by the Town of Drexel. Our office
hours are 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday. We can be reached at 437-7421. The Town
Council meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building. If you
have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Roger
Burleson, our Public Works Supervisor. Every year we prepare a Consumer Confidence Report
so that our customers can obtain important water quality data. We value the trust you place in us
to provide you and your family with safe drinking water.
As water travels over the land or underground it can pick up substances or contaminants such
as microbes, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances. All drinking water,
including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts
of some contaminants. It's important to remember that the presence of these contaminants does
not necessarily pose a health risk. Our water supplier (City of Morganton) and Drexel routinely
monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. Drexel
tests monthly for coliform and quarterly for Trihalomethanes. Trihalomethanes were found to be
0.030 mg/l which is within the permitted limit of 0.080 mg/l. Coliform was not found to be
present in the water. The testing ensures that the water meets and exceeds all current drinking
water standards set by NCDENR and the EPA. The table included in this report shows the results
of monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2013 as reported by the City of
Morganton.
May 2014
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As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We’re proud that your drinking
water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. We have learned through our
monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected. The EPA has determined that
your water IS SAFE at these levels.
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. All sources of
drinking water are subject to potential contamination by substances that are naturally occurring
or man made. These substances can be microbes, inorganic or organic chemicals and radioactive
substances. All drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain
at least small amounts of some contaminants. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants
in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health. 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.
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.
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 microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(800-426-4791).
We at the Town of Drexel work very hard 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. Thank you for taking your time to read this report. We
appreciate you as a customer of our water system. Please call our office if you have questions.
Contaminants That May Be Present In Source Water:
 Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants,
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septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.
Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products
of industrial processes and petroleum production. These contaminants may also come from gas stations,
urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban
storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or
farming.
Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from numerous sources such as agriculture, urban storm water
runoff, and residential uses.
Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and
mining activities.
May 2014
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