2009 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
Honey Brook Borough Authority
PWSID # 1150127

                We’re pleased to present to you this year’s Annual 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 safe and 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 ground water sources include five deep wells.  “Este informe contiene informacion muy importante sobre su agua beber.  Traduzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.”

                We at Honey Brook Borough Authority work around the clock 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 the community, our way of life and our children’s future.  Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your family with clean, quality water this year.  In order to maintain a dependable water supply we sometimes need to make improvements that will benefit all of our customers.  These improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments.  Thank you for your understanding.  

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Mr. Michael Shuler, Authority Manager at (610) 273-7830 or MAB Environmental Services at (215) 721-2392.  We want our valued customers to be informed about their Water Utility.  If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings.  They are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at the Honey Brook Borough Authority office located at 91 Pequea Avenue.  If you would like free additional copies of this report to distribute to employees, renters, etc., please contact the Authority at the number provided.

                Honey Brook Borough Authority routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  The enclosed table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2009 for contaminants that were detected.  We are pleased to report that our drinking water meets federal and state requirements.

                In this table, you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with.  To help you better understand these terms, please refer to the “Definitions” in the back of this report.

                As noted on the table, nitrates have been detected but have not exceeded the MCL (maximum contaminant level).  Monitoring is ongoing and if nitrate levels should begin to approach or exceed the MCL, you will be informed immediately.  We are required to inform you of the health effects of nitrate, as follows:  Nitrate in drinking water at levels of about 10 ppm is a health risk for infants of less than six months of age.  High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome.  Nitrate:  Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrate in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die.  Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.  Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of rainfall or agricultural activity.  If you are caring for an infant, you should ask advice from your health care provider.

                We constantly monitor for various constituents in the water supply to meet all regulatory requirements.  As you can see by the table, our system had no exceeded levels in 2009.  We have learned through our monitoring and testing that no MCL limits set by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were exceeded.        

                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 water poses a health risk.  More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

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. Honey Brook Borough Authority is responsible for providing drinking water that meets all federal and state standards, 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 the water and using only cold water for drinking or cooking. Information on lead in drinking water and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

                Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population.  Immune-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 crypotosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

The sources of drinking water (both tap 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 materials 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 from 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 of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff and septic systems.
• Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

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.  Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

        MCL’s are set at very stringent levels for health effects.  To understand the possible health effects described for many of the regulated contaminants, 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.

        A Source Water Assessment of our source(s) was completed in 2005 by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP).  Overall, our source(s) had little risk of significant contamination.  Summary reports of the Assessment are available by writing to Honey Brook Borough Authority office at 91 Pequea Avenue and will be available on the PADEP website at www.depweb.state.pa.us (Keyword: “source water”).  Complete reports were distributed to municipalities, water supplier, local planning agencies and PADEP offices.  Copies of the complete report are available for review at the PADEP Southcentral Regional Office, Records Management Unit at (717) 705-4700.

DEFINITIONS

Non-Detects (ND) – laboratory analyses indicates that the constituent is not present.

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/L) – one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.00.

Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter – one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.00.

Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) – picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.

Action Level –  the concentration of a contaminant, which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements, which a water system must follow.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) – The “Goal” (MCLG) is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below, which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MCLG’s 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 is 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.  MRDLG’s do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contamination.

NTU- Nephelometric Turbidity Unit – nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water.  Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.

TEST RESULTS

Microbiological Contaminants

Inorganic Contaminants

Disinfectant and Disinfectant By-Products

Radioactive Contaminants

Inorganic Contaminants

Volatile Organic Contaminants