Presented By Henrico County Public Utilities ANNUAL WATER QUALITY WATER TESTING REPORT PERFORMED IN 2014 PWS ID#: VA4087125 Our Mission Continues Where Does My Water Come From? e are proud to present once again our annual enrico County customers receive water from Wwater quality report covering all testing Hthe county’s and the City of Richmond’s water performed between January 1 and December 31, 2014. treatment facilities. The source water for both facilities Most notably, last year marked the 40th anniversary is surface water drawn from the James River. The of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This rule county’s water treatment facility began operations in was created to protect public health by regulating April 2004 and currently produces up to 51 million the nation’s drinking water supply. We celebrate this gallons of drinking water daily. Henrico’s facility was milestone as we continue to manage our water system designed to meet the county’s future drinking water with a mission to deliver the best quality drinking needs and can produce up to 80 million gallons per water. By striving to meet the requirements of SDWA, day. The facility has multiple sources of electric power we are ensuring a future of healthy, clean drinking and emergency generators to enhance our ability to water for years to come. provide drinking water during local power outages. Please let us know if you ever have any questions or concerns about your water. Substances That Could Be in Water o ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. TEPA prescribes regulations limiting the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Community Participation regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled egular Meetings of the Henrico Board of water, which must provide the same protection for RSupervisors are typically held on the second and public health. Drinking water, including bottled water, fourth Tuesdays of every month in the Board Room, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small Administration Building, Government Center, 4301 amounts of some contaminants. The presence of these East Parham Road. The Board meeting schedule and contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the agenda can be found at http://www.co.henrico.va.us/ water poses a health risk. supervisors/. The sources of drinking water (both tap water and Each Board agenda has a public comment period. 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, in some cases, radioactive material, and substances resulting from Important Health Information the presence of animals or from human activity. ome people may be more vulnerable to contaminants Substances that may be present in source water Sin drinking water than the general population. include: Microbial Contaminants, such as viruses and Immunocompromised persons such as persons with bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or wildlife; Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and metals, which can be naturally occurring or may result infants may be particularly at risk from from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic infections. These people should seek advice wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, about drinking water from their health or farming; Pesticides and Herbicides, which may care providers. The U.S. EPA/CDC come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, (Centers for Disease Control urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses; Organic and Prevention) guidelines Chemical Contaminants, including synthetic and on appropriate means to volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of lessen the risk of infection by industrial processes and petroleum production and Cryptosporidium and other may also come from gas stations, urban stormwater microbial contaminants runoff, and septic systems; Radioactive Contaminants, are available from the Safe which can be naturally occurring or may be the result Drinking Water Hotline of oil and gas production and mining activities. at (800) 426-4791 or For more information about contaminants and http://water.epa.gov/ potential health effects, call the U.S. EPA’s Safe drink/hotline. Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. Lead in Home Plumbing f present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. ILead 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 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 www.epa.gov/safewater/lead. Water Treatment Process Tip Top Tap The treatment process consists of a series of steps. he most common signs that your faucet or sink Tis affecting the quality of your drinking water are First, raw (untreated) water is pumped from the river discolored water, sink or faucet stains, a buildup of to the treatment plant. After it enters the plant, a particles, unusual odors or tastes, and a reduced flow coagulant is added and the water then goes to a rapid of water. The solutions to these problems may be in mixing basin followed by a flocculation basin. These your hands. two steps cause particles to adhere to one another (called floc) making them heavy enough to settle to Kitchen Sink and Drain the bottom of the sedimentation basins, where the Hand washing, soap scum buildup, and the handling sediments are removed. of raw meats and vegetables can contaminate your The water then undergoes intermediate ozonation, sink. Clogged drains can lead to unclean sinks which is used for primary disinfection of settled water and backed up water in which bacteria (i.e., pink prior to filtration. Next, the water goes through deep- and black colored slime growth) can grow and bed granular activated carbon (GAC) filters. The contaminate the sink area and faucet, causing a rotten GAC filters are used for removing turbidity, taste egg odor. Disinfect and clean the sink and drain area and odors, and any bio-degradable organics regularly. Also, flush regularly with hot water. and/or ozonation byproducts remaining Faucets, Screens, and Aerators in the water following ozonation. Chemicals and bacteria can splash and accumulate Chloramines and fluoride are added on the faucet screen and aerator, which are located to the filtered water, chloramines as on the tip of faucets, and can collect particles like a secondary disinfectant and fluoride sediment and minerals resulting in a decreased flow to promote strong teeth. We also add from the faucet. Clean and disinfect the aerators or a corrosion inhibitor to keep us in screens on a regular basis. compliance with federal regulations. Finally, the finished water is pumped Check with your plumber if you find particles in the into the distribution system which faucet screen as they could be pieces of plastic from delivers the water to your home or the hot water heater dip tube. Faucet gaskets can break business. down and cause black, oily slime. If you find this slime, replace the faucet gasket with a higher-quality product. White scaling or hard deposits on faucets and shower heads may be caused by hard water or water with high levels of calcium carbonate. Clean these fixtures with vinegar or use water softening to reduce the calcium carbonate levels for the hot water system. UESTIONS Water Filtration/Treatment Devices Q ? A smell of rotten eggs can be a sign of bacteria on If you have any questions about this report the filters or in the treatment system. The system or your drinking water quality, please call our can also become clogged over time so regular filter Water Quality Engineer, Henrico County, replacement is important. (Remember to replace Department of Public Utilities, at (804) your refrigerator filter!) 727-8700. Also, you can view this report on our Web site at http://henrico.us/pdfs/ utility/CCReport14.pdf. ou may not be aware of Yit, but every time you Source Water Assessment pour fat, oil, or grease (FOG) FOG down your sink (e.g., bacon he Safe Drinking Water Act mandated that grease), you are contributing Tthe Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to a costly problem in the sewer perform source water assessments for all public collection system. FOG coats water sources. The assessment reports consist of the inner walls of the plumbing in your house as maps showing the source water assessment area, an well as the walls of underground piping throughout inventory of known land-use activities of concern, the community. Over time, these greasy materials and documentation of any known contamination build up and form blockages in pipes, which can lead within the last five years from the date of the to wastewater backing up into parks, yards, streets, assessment. The VDH assessed our system in 2002 and storm drains. These backups allow FOG to and determined that the source water for our contaminate local waters, including drinking water. system, the James River, was highly susceptible to Exposure to untreated wastewater is a public health contamination. As a result, both Richmond’s and hazard.