Town of Geneva
Water Quality Report
2004 Town of Geneva
Annual Water Quality Report
A Public Water Supply ID’s#:
3404511, 3404514, 3404513 and 3430005
Richard
Larsen, Water Superintendent
Town of Geneva
3750 County Road #6
Geneva, NY 14456
Phone: 315-789-6727
The Town of
Geneva annually issues a report describing the quality of
your drinking water. The purpose of this report is to
raise your understanding of drinking water and awareness
of the need to protect our drinking water sources.
Included are details about where your water comes from,
what it contains, and how it compares to state standards .
We want you to be informed about your drinking water.
Where does my water come from, and how is it treated?
This report
shows the water quality for the Town of Geneva Districts
#1, #2, #3 and #10. In sequence they are the Lenox Park
area, West Lake Road area, White Springs Road area, and
State Routes 14A and Routes 5 & 20 area. 2,625 residents
in these areas are supplied with top quality drinking
water from the Town of Geneva Water Department.
The water supply for the Town of Geneva consists of three
drilled wells located at Kashong. Well # 3 is our primary
source with Wells #1 and # 2 used as a back up during
periods of increased demand. The ground water is treated
in a variety of ways prior to entering distribution. The
water is disinfected through the use of chlorine. Fluoride
is added to the water for the promotion of healthy teeth
and gums and orthophosphate is used for corrosion control
purposes.
In general, 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 activities.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
microbial contaminants; inorganic contaminants; pesticides
and herbicides; organic chemical contaminants; and
radioactive contaminants. In order to ensure that tap
water is safe to drink, the State and the EPA prescribe
regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants
in water provided by public water systems. The State
Health Department's and the FDA’s regulations establish
limits for contaminants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for public health.
The NYS DOH has completed a source water assessment for
Geneva water district # 2 based on available information.
Possible and actual threats to this drinking water source
were evaluated. The state source water assessment includes
a susceptibility rating based on the risk posed by each
potential source of contamination and how easily
contaminants can move through the subsurface to the wells.
The susceptibility rating is an estimate of the potential
for contamination of the source water, it does not mean
that the water delivered to consumers is, or will become,
contaminated. See section “Are there contaminants in our
drinking water?” for a list of the contaminants that have
been detected. The source water assessments provide
resource managers with additional information for
protecting source waters into the future.
As mentioned before, our water is derived from 3 drilled
wells. The source water assessment has rated these wells
as having a medium-high susceptibility to microbial
contamination, nitrate, metals, herbicides, pesticides,
petroleum products, halogenated solvents, and other
industrial contaminants. Susceptibility to enteric viruses
was found to be high. These ratings are due primarily to
the close proximity of residential development to the
wells, and the fact that the wells draw from an unconfined
aquifer with high hydraulic conductivity. While nitrate
and other inorganic contaminants were detected in our
water, it should be noted that all drinking water,
including bottled drinking water may be reasonably
expected to contain at least small amounts of some
contaminants from natural sources. The presence of
contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water
poses a health risk. Please note that, while the source
water assessment rates our well as being susceptible to
microbial contamination,
our water is disinfected to ensure that the finished water
delivered into your home meets the New York state drinking
water standards for microbial contamination.
Discussion of Testing Results
As you can
see by the table, our system had no violations. We have
learned through our testing that some contaminants have
been detected; however, these contaminants were detected
below New York State requirements. It should be noted that
the action level for lead was exceeded at one (23 ug/l) of
the nine sites tested. Based on this exceedance we are
required to present the following information on lead in
drinking water: Infants and young children are typically
more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general
population. It is possible that lead levels at your home
may be higher than at other homes in the community as a
result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you
are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s
water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush
your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap
water. Additional information is available from the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
Although nitrate was detected below the MCL, it was
detected at 9.47 mg/l. We resampled in January of 2005 and
nitrate was detected at an acceptable level of 3.33 mg/l,
however the average of the two values is 6.36 mg/l which
is greater than one-half of the MCL. Therefore, we are
required to present the following information on nitrate
in drinking water: Nitrate in drinking water at levels
above 10 mg/l 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 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 for advice from you health care provider.”
Some people may be more vulnerable to disease causing
microorganisms or pathogens 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 from their health care provider about
their drinking water. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate
means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium,
Giardia, and other microbial pathogens are available from
the Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791.
We are pleased to report that the drinking water in the
Town of Geneva met all federal and state requirements. If
you have any questions about this report or concerning
your water utility, please call Richard Larsen, Water
Superintendent, (315)789-6727 or the NYSDOH at
(315)789-3030.
Water Conservation
Water
conservation helps the environment by preserving this
natural resource. You can conserve water by:
-
Checking
for and repairing leaks inside and out.
-
Replacing
older fixtures with water saving showerheads, faucet
aerators, toilet dams or low flush toilets.
-
Using
swimming pool covers to minimize evaporation.
-
Watering
lawns less frequently and preferably early in the
morning or late in the evening.
-
Turning off
the tap when brushing your teeth.
-
If you use
an automatic dishwasher, waiting to run it until it is
loaded to capacity.
Save Water and Money
If your water
usage is higher than you or the Department believes it
should be, please check the following:
#1
Read the water meter the last thing in the evening, after
all water usage for that evening is done, first thing in
the morning, re-read your meter. If there is any change in
the meter reading , this indicates a leak.
#2
Check all toilets for leaks by putting food coloring into
the back of each toilet tank last thing before you go to
sleep. If any coloring appears in the bowl the following
morning this may indicate a leak. Call your plumber to
make the needed repairs. Smaller repairs may be made by
the homeowner.
#3 If
your toilet does not have a leak, please check all faucets
for leaks.
#4 If
you have any out building or underground water lines that
run to those building s or any distant hose bibs shut them
off and try to isolate those fixtures. Now, follow the
instructions under #1. By following the above steps you
can isolate and pinpoint areas where leaks may occur and
locate them with little difficulty.
Annual Water Usage & Cost
Nominal
Capacity of the Water Plant is rated as over 1.66 MGD. The
2004 total production figure was 199,000,000 gallons. The
Town successfully delivered 197,000,000 gallons to
consumers. Our annual “unaccounted for” total was
2,000,000 gallons for 2004. This is approximately 1% of
the total production for the year and is attributed to
main flushing, fire fighting and main breaks. For an
average family water account (using 18,000 gallon per
quarter), the cost of purchasing water was $206.00
annually in 2003. Equating to an annual charge of $2.87
per 1,000 gallons used or about $.58 cents per day
Leak
Detection Assistance
The
department is more than willing to assist its customers in
locating leaks. We will be glad to help you when we have
personnel available. Please call the Department at
315-789-6727 Monday through Friday 7am to 3:30pm.
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