2009

ANNUAL DRINKING

WATER QUALITY REPORT

CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF IRONWOOD

GOGEBIC COUNTY, MICHIGAN

PWS ID: M3430
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF IRONWOOD

ANNUAL DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT

2009

We are pleased to present you with this year’s Annual Water Quality Report.  This report is designed to inform you about the quality of 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 distribution and transmission systems in our township.

If your have any questions about this report or concerning your water quality, please contact Kim Mattson, township supervisor, or our water system operator, Mike Bastman,  at N10892 Lake Road, Ironwood  MI 49938 or by calling the township office at 906-932-5800 during regular office hours.  We want our customers to be informed about their water quality.  If you want to learn more, attend any of our regularly scheduled township board meetings.  They are held at the township hall on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 4:30 p.m.

Ironwood Township purchases water for sale and distribution to our customers from the City of Ironwood. The City of Ironwood supplies the water we purchase from two glacial aquifers, which serve the Big Springs and Spring Creek Well Fields.  There are six wells located in this well field ranging from 54 to 140 feet deep.  The City of Ironwood recently completed a State of Michigan approved Wellhead Protection Plan.

Last year your tap water met all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Michigan State safe drinking water health standards. The City of Ironwood and Ironwood Township routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  This report shows the monitoring results for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2009.  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.  More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 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.

1.         Microbial Contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

2.         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.

3.         Pesticides and Herbicides, which may come form a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses.

4.         Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can, also, come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.

5.         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 (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

6.         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.  Ironwood Township 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, your 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 drinking water, you may have your water tested.  Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize your exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 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 form infections.  These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.  EPA/ Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other  microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

            WATER QUALITY DATA

The following table lists all of the drinking water contaminants that were detected during sampling by your water source during the calendar year  of this report.  The presence of contaminants in the water does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health threat.  Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done the calendar year of the report.  The EPA or the State requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentration of these contaminants do not change frequently.  Some of the data, though representative of water quality, may be more than one year old.

In the following table you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with.  To help you better understand these terms we have provided the following definitions.

NON-DETECTS (ND) - laboratory analysis indicates that the contaminant was not present

PARTS PER MILLION (ppm) – one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.

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.

ACTION LEVEL (AL) – the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a system must follow.

TREATMENT TECHNIQUE (TT) – a treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of contaminant in drinking water.

MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL (MCL) – the “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCLs are set as close to the MCLG as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL GOAL (MCLG) – the “Goal” (MCLG) is a level of contaminant in drinking water below which there is no expected risk to health.

MAXIMUM RESIDUAL DISINFECTANT LEVEL (MRDL) – means 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 GOAL (MRDLGs) – means the level of drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectant to control microbial contaminants.

PICOCURIES PER LITER (pCi/L) – a measure of radioactivity.

WATER QUALITY DATA TABLE

*The City of Ironwood (your water source) routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws.  This table shows the results of their monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2009.

** Coliform are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other potentially harmful bacteria may be present.

INORGANIC CONTAMINANTS

Copper – copper is an essential nutrient.  Few individuals who drink water with copper in excess of the action level over a relatively short amount of time may experience gastrointestinal distress.  Individuals who drink water with copper in excess of the action level over many years may suffer liver or kidney damage.  People with Wilson’s disease should consult their personal physician.

Fluoride – Individuals who drink water with fluoride in excess of the MCL over many years may get bone disease, including pain and tenderness of the bones.  Children may also get mottled teeth.

Nitrate  and Nitrite – Infants below the age of six months who drink water with nitrate / nitrite in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die.  Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue baby syndrome.

Trihalomethane (TTHM) – Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

WHAT THIS MEANS

As you can see by the table, our system had no violations.  We are 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.

MCLs are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated contaminants, one 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.

This report will not be automatically mailed to individual utility customers; however a copy of this report may be obtained from the Charter Township of Ironwood, N10892 Lake Road, Ironwood MI 49938 or by calling the township office at 906-932-5800.

For information about safe drinking water visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web site at www.epa.gov/safewater/.

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing you with clean, quality water this year.  Our water system is constantly monitored and overseen by trained water system operators for your protection. In order to maintain a safe and dependable water supply, we often need to make improvements to our system that benefits all of our customers.  These improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments.  We ask all our customers to help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community.