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Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for

Town of Palmer Lake

The Town of Palmer Lake routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1^st to December 31^st, 1999. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some constituents. It's important to remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk. Further information on this subject can be obtained by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or at www.epa.gov/safewater on the Internet.

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.

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. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which provides the same protection for public health. In this table you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we've provided the following definitions:

TEST RESULTS The state requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year, or the system is not considered vulnerable to this type of contamination. Some of our data (e.g., for organic contaminants), though representative, is more than one year old.
Contaminant	Sample Date	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Unit Measure- ment	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Microbiological Contaminants
1. Total Coliform Bacteria	N/A	N	Absent	P/A	0	presence of coliform bacteria in 5% of monthly samples	Naturally present in the environment
2. Fecal coliform and E.coli	N/A	N	Absent	P/A	0	a routine sample & repeat sample are total coliform positive, & one is also fecal coliform or E.coli positive	Human and animal fecal waste
3. Turbidity     Percent of readings below MCL	N/A	0 100%		NTU	N/A	TT	Soil runoff
Radioactive Contaminants
4. Beta/photon emitters High Range	2/10/98	N	5.4 .2 - 5.4	pCi/l	0	50	Decay of natural and man-made deposits
5. Alpha emitters	2/10/98	N	5.0	pCi/l	0	15	Erosion of natural deposits
Inorganic Contaminants
6. Antimony	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	6	6	Discharge from petroleum refineries; fire retardants; ceramics; electronics; solder
7. Arsenic	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	N/A	50	Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and electronics production wastes
8. Barium High Range	3/1/99	N	.16 ND-.16	PPM	2	2	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits
9. Beryllium	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	4	4	Discharge from metal refineries and coal-burning factories; discharge from electrical, aerospace, and defense industries
10. Cadmium	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	5	5	Corrosion of galvanized pipes; erosion of natural deposits; discharge from metal refineries; runoff from waste batteries and paints
11. Chromium	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	100	100	Discharge from steel and pulp mills; erosion of natural deposits
12. Copper - 90° Percentile Action Level	1/1/98 - 12/31/98	N	.88	PPM	1.3	AL =1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives
13. Fluoride     High Range	3/1/99	N	1.4 .4 -1.4	PPM	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories
14. Lead - 90° Percentile Action Level	1/1/98 - 12/31/98	N	10	ppb	0	AL =15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
15. Mercury (inorganic)	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	2	2	Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from refineries and factories; runoff from landfills; runoff from cropland
16. Nitrate/Nitrite (as Nitrogen)	3/1/99	N	ND	PPM	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
17. Selenium	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	50	50	Discharge from petroleum and metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits; discharge from mines
18. Thallium	3/1/99	N	ND	ppb	0.5	2	Leaching from ore-processing sites; discharge from electronics, glass, and drug factories
Unregulated Inorganic Contaminants
19. Nickel	3/1/99	N	ND	PPM	N/A	N/A
20. Sodium    High Range	3/1/99	N	7 4 - 7	PPM	N/A	N/A
21. Sulfate	3/1/99	N	7	PPM	N/A	N/A

Chemicals, which were tested for, but not detected, include all of the Volatile Organic Contaminants, all of the Synthetic Organic Contaminants, as well as all of the contaminants listed in the table as ND (not detected).

The Town of Palmer Lake is proud to report no violations in 1999.

EPA is reviewing the drinking water standard for arsenic because of special concerns that it may not be stringent enough. Arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations. Arsenic levels above 25 ppb warrant public concern.

Nitrate in drinking water at levels above 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 levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of rainfall or agricultural activity. If you are caring for an infant, and detected nitrate levels are above 5 PPM, you should ask advice from your health care provider.

Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in 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. Flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general public. 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 of 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 cryptosporidium and microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe drinking Water Hotline above.

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