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annualWATER Quality REPORT REPORTING YEAR 2020

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PWS ID#: 1121052 Quality First nce again, we are pleased to present our annual quality report covering all Otesting performed between January 1 and December 31, 2020. We are pleased to report that your meets or exceeds all federal and state requirements and has not exceeded or violated any standards set by the EPA. We remain vigilant in meeting the challenges of new regulations, source water protection, , and community outreach and education, while continuing to serve the needs of all our water users. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you and your family.

Public Meetings Table Talk et the most out of the Testing Results data table ater Authority meetings are held the fourth Gwith this simple suggestion. In less than a minute, WWednesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. at you will know all there is to know about your water: the NRV Regional Plant, 3515 Peppers Ferry Road, Administration Building. For For each substance listed, compare the value in more information on your water treatment plant, visit the Amount Detected column against the value www.nrvwater.org. in the MCL (or AL, SMCL) column. If the Amount Detected value is smaller, your water meets the health and safety standards set for the Water Treatment Process substance. Other Table Information Worth Noting he Water Treatment Facility utilizes a conventional Verify that there were no violations of the state and/or process to treat surface water from the river. Water goes T federal standards in the Violation column. If there was a through several treatment processes, including coagulation, violation, you will see a detailed description of the event flocculation, chlorination, sedimentation, and filtration. in this report. Following disinfection, a small amount of ammonia is added to the disinfected water to react If there is an ND or a less-than symbol with the chlorine to form chloramines (<), that means that the substance was (or combined chlorine). This is called not detected (i.e., below the detectable We remain vigilant in the process, which limits of the testing equipment). provides a long-lasting disinfectant in delivering the best-quality The Range column displays the lowest the distribution system to provide safe, drinking water and highest sample readings. If there disinfected water to the outermost parts is an NA showing, that means only of the regional distribution system. a single sample was taken to test for Important Notice: the substance (assuming there is a reported value in the Chloramine should be removed from the water used Amount Detected column). in kidney dialysis machines. However, chloraminated If there is sufficient evidence water that meets the EPA standard is safe for kidney to indicate from where the dialysis patients to . substance originates, it will Chloramine is toxic to fish and amphibians at levels be listed under Typical used for drinking water. Therefore, fish owners should Source. neutralize or remove chloramine from water used in aquariums or ponds.

Information on the Internet he U.S. EPA (https://goo.gl/TFAMKc) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) Web Tsites provide a substantial amount of information on many issues relating to water resources, water conservation and . Also, the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water, has a Web site (https://goo.gl/3Tn805) that provides complete and current information on water issues in Virginia, including valuable information about our watershed. in Home f present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and Iyoung children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. We are responsible for providing high-quality drinking water, but we 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 . 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 at (800) 426-4791 or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Substances That Could Be in Water Source Water Assessment o ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. TEPA prescribes regulations limiting the amount source water assessment was conducted in 2002 of certain contaminants in water provided by public Aby Draper Aden and Associates and updated water systems. U.S. Food and Drug Administration with a Source Water Protection Plan in 2018 by regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled CHA Consulting. The source was determined to water, which must provide the same protection for be of “high” susceptibility to contamination using public health. Drinking water, including , criteria developed by the State of Virginia and its may reasonably be expected to contain at least small approved Source Water Assessment Program. It is amounts of some contaminants. The presence of these important to understand that this susceptibility contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the rating does not imply poor water quality, only the water poses a health risk. system’s potential to become contaminated within the assessment area. Details of this report may be The sources of drinking water (both tap water and obtained from the NRV Regional Water Authority bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, or Town of Blacksburg Water Resources Manager at reservoirs, springs, and . As water travels over the (540) 443-1357. surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals, in some cases, radioactive material, and substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Substances that may Important Health Information be present in source water include: ome people may be more vulnerable to contaminants Microbial Contaminants, such as viruses and , Sin drinking water than the general population. which may come from plants, septic Immunocompromised persons such as persons with cancer systems, agricultural livestock operations, or wildlife; undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and metals, immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants may which can be naturally occurring or may result from be particularly at risk from infections. These people should urban storm-water runoff, industrial or domestic seek advice about drinking water from their health-care wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, providers. The U.S. EPA/CDC (Centers or farming; for Disease Control and Prevention) Pesticides and Herbicides, which may come from a guidelines on appropriate means to lessen variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm- the risk of infection by water runoff, and residential uses; and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Organic Chemical Contaminants, including synthetic Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or http:// and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products water.epa.gov/drink/hotline. of industrial processes and petroleum production and may also come from gas stations, urban storm-water runoff, and septic systems;

Radioactive Contaminants, which can be naturally For more information occurring or may be the result of oil and gas production Questions? about this report, or for any and mining activities. questions related to your drinking water, please call Lori For more information about contaminants and Lester, Water Resources Manager, at (540) 443-1357, or potential health effects, call the U.S. EPA’s Safe Caleb Taylor, Director, NRV Regional Water Authority, Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. at (540) 639-2575. Where Does My Water Come From? lacksburg’s water is taken from the New River and pumped to the NRV Regional Water Authority treatment plant Blocated on Route 114. From there, the treated water is transmitted through a series of pipes, tanks, and pump stations located along routes 114 and 460 to the town’s water storage tanks, and then to your tap. Last year, Blacksburg used an average of 2.59 million gallons of water a day, and Virginia Tech used an average of 1.02 million gallons of water a day.

What type of container is best for storing water? Consumer Reports has consistently advised that glass or BPA-free plastics such as are the safest choices. To be on the safe side, don’t use any container with markings on the recycle symbol showing “7 PC”(that’s code for BPA). You could also consider using stainless steel or aluminum with BPA-free liners. How much emergency water should I keep? Typically, 1 gallon per person per day is recommended. For a family of four, that would be 12 gallons for 3 days. Humans can survive without food for 1 month, but can only survive 1 week without water. How long can I store drinking water? The disinfectant in drinking water will eventually dissipate, even in a closed container. If that container housed bacteria prior to filling up with the tap water, the bacteria may continue to grow once the disinfectant has dissipated. Some experts believe that water could be stored up to six months before needing to be replaced. Refrigeration will help slow the bacterial growth. How long does it take a water supplier to produce one glass of drinking water? It could take up to 45 minutes to produce a single glass of drinking water. How many community water systems are there in the U.S.? About 53,000 public water systems across the United States process 34 billion gallons of water per day for home and commercial use. Eighty-five percent of the population is served by these systems. Which household activity wastes the most water? Most people would say the majority of water use comes from showering or washing dishes; however, flushing is by far the largest single use of water in a home (accounting for 40% of total water use). Toilets use about 4–6 gallons per flush, so consider an ultra-low-flow (ULF) toilet, which requires only 1.5 gallons. Test Results ur water is monitored for many different kinds of substances on a very strict sampling schedule. And, the water we deliver must meet specific Ohealth standards. Here, we only show those substances that were detected in our water. Remember that detecting a substance does not mean the water is unsafe to drink; our goal is to keep all detects below their respective maximum allowed levels. The State recommends monitoring for certain substances less than once per year because the concentrations of these substances do not change frequently. In these cases, the most recent sample data are included, along with the year in which the sample was taken. We participated in the 4th stage of the U.S. EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR4) program by performing additional tests on our drinking water. UCMR4 sampling benefits the environment and public health by providing the U.S. EPA with data on the occurrence of contaminants suspected to be in drinking water, in order to determine if U.S. EPA needs to introduce new regulatory standards to improve drinking water quality. Unregulated contaminant monitoring data are available to the public, so please feel free to contact us if you are interested in obtaining that information. If you would like more information on the U.S. EPA’s Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule, please call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

REGULATED SUBSTANCES

SUBSTANCE YEAR MCL MCLG AMOUNT RANGE (UNIT OF MEASURE) SAMPLED [MRDL] [MRDLG] DETECTED LOW-HIGH VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE Barium (ppm) 2020 2 2 0.021 NA No Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits Chlorine (ppm) 2020 [4] [4] 2.38 0.50–4.00 No Water additive used to control microbes (ppm) 2020 4 4 0.56 NA No Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive, which promotes strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories Haloacetic Acids [HAAs] (ppb) 2020 60 NA 35 11–43 No By-product of drinking water disinfection Nitrate (ppm) 2020 10 10 0.79 NA No Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits TTHMs [Total Trihalomethanes] (ppb) 2020 80 NA 38 18–44 No By-product of drinking water disinfection Total Organic Carbon [TOC]1 2020 TT NA 1.00 1.00–1.00 No Naturally present in the environment (removal ratio) Turbidity2 (NTU) 2020 TT, 1 NTU NA 0.18 0.07–0.18 No Soil runoff max Turbidity (lowest monthly percent of 2020 TT,< or = 0.3 NA 100 NA No Soil runoff samples meeting limit) (95% of the time) Tap Water Samples Collected for and Lead Analyses from Sample Sites throughout the Community

SUBSTANCE AMOUNT SITES ABOVE (UNIT OF YEAR DETECTED AL/TOTAL MEASURE) SAMPLED AL MCLG (90TH %ILE) SITES VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE Copper (ppm) 2020 1.3 1.3 0.0531 0/30 No Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits Lead (ppb) 2020 15 0 Not 0/30 No Lead services lines; Corrosion of household plumbing systems, including Detected fittings and fixtures; Erosion of natural deposits UNREGULATED SUBSTANCES Definitions SUBSTANCE (UNIT YEAR AMOUNT RANGE OF MEASURE) SAMPLED DETECTED LOW-HIGH TYPICAL SOURCE 90th %ile: The levels reported for lead and copper MRDLG (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level

3 represent the 90th percentile of the total number Goal): The level of a drinking water disinfectant Sodium (ppm) 2020 8.1 NA Naturally occurring in the environment of sites tested. The 90th percentile is equal to or below which there is no known or expected risk UNREGULATED CONTAMINANT MONITORING RULE - PART 4 (UCMR4) greater than 90% of our lead and copper detections. to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial SUBSTANCE YEAR AMOUNT RANGE AL (Action Level): The concentration of a contaminants. (UNIT OF MEASURE) SAMPLED DETECTED LOW-HIGH contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment Bromochloroacetic Acid (ppb) 2020 1.7 1.4–2.0 or other requirements which a water system must NA: Not applicable. follow. Bromodichloroacetic Acid (ppb) 2020 1.1 0.8–1.5 ND (Not detected): Indicates that the substance MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): Dichloroacetic Acid (ppb) 2020 16.7 13.4–20.3 The was not found by laboratory analysis. highest level of a contaminant that is allowed HAA9 (ppb) 2020 31.8 25.3–40.9 in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units): Measurement of the clarity, or turbidity, of water. Total Brominated HAAs 2020 2.8 2.2–3.4 the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment . Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to Trichloroacetic Acid (ppb) 2020 12.5 9.1–15.7 the average person. MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal): 1 The value reported under Amount Detected for TOC is the lowest ratio between the percentage of TOC The level of a contaminant in drinking water below ppb (parts per billion): One part substance per actually removed to the percentage of TOC required to be removed. A value of greater than one indicates which there is no known or expected risk to health. billion parts water (or micrograms per liter). that the water system is in compliance with TOC removal requirements. A value of less than one indicates MCLGs allow for a margin of safety. ppm (parts per million): One part substance per a violation of the TOC removal requirements. million parts water (or milligrams per liter). 2 Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. It is monitored because it is a good indicator of the MRDL (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level): effectiveness of the filtration system. The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in removal ratio: A ratio between the percentage of a 3 For individuals on a very low sodium diet (500 mg/day), EPA recommends that drinking-water sodium not drinking water. There is convincing evidence that substance actually removed to the percentage of the exceed 20 mg/L. Should you have a health concern, contact your healthcare provider. addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of substance required to be removed. microbial contaminants. TT (Treatment Technique): A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.