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Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for
Compliance Year 2002

Town of Palmer Lake
PWSID # CO0121575

We are pleased to present to you this year's Annual Quality Water 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. Our water source is surface water from Monument Creek and well water that draws from the Denver Aquifer.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Steve Orcutt at 719-481-2953. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please call the above contact about the utility or any scheduled public meetings.

The State is conducting source water assessments for all pulic water systems. To find out the status of the source water assessment for our system, call the above contact.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the public in general.

All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. 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. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, or to receive a copy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and microbiological contaminants, call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

The sources of drinking water, both tap water and bottled water, included 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. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

• Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria that 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 that 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 also may come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
• Radioactive contaminants, that 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. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.

The table contains many terms and abbreviations that may be unfamiliar. To help you better understand these terms we've provided the following definitions:

• Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): The "maximum allowed" is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.
• Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): The "goal" is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.
• Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG): The level of a drinking water disinfectant, below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
• 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.
• Million Fibers per Liter (MFL): A measure of the presence of asbestos fibers in water longer than 10 micrometers.
• Non-Detects (ND) or Below Detection Level (BDL): Laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present. ("<" Symbol for less than, the same as ND or BDL)
• Not Tested (NT): Not tested.
• Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (µg/l): One part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or one penny in $10,000,000.
• Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l): One part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or one penny in $10,000.
• Parts per quadrillion (ppq) or Picograms per liter (pg/l): One part per quadrillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000,000 years or one penny in $10,000,000,000,000.
• Parts per trillion (ppt) or Nanograms per liter (ng/l): One part per trillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000 years, or one penny in $10,000,000,000.
• Picocuries per liter (pCi/L): A measure of radioactivity in water.

Contaminants that were tested for, but not detected, include: all of the Regulated and Unregulated Volatile Organic Contaminants and all of the Regulated and Unregulated Synthetic Organic Contaminants sampled on 5/9/2001; all of the Inorganics except for Barium and Fluoride sampled on 1/28/2001. A complete list of these contaminants is available for review in our office.

Violations for reporting year: The Town of Palmer Lake is in exceedance of the Fluoride secondary MCL (SMCL) of 2.0 mg/L. Our readings for Fluoride ranged from .64 - 2.2. Some people who drink water containing fluoride in excess of the MCL over many years could get bone disease, including pain and tenderness of the bones. Fluoride in drinking water at half the MCL or more may cause mottling of children's teeth, usually in children less than nine years old. Mottling, also known as dental fluorosis, may include brown staining and/or pitting of the teeth, and occurs only in developing teeth before they erupt from the gums.

Our system has waiver(s)from monitoring for: dioxin, glyphosate, nitrite, cyanide and asbestos.

Additional Information

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.

While your drinking water meets EPA's standard for arsenic, it does contain low levels of arsenic between the levels of 5 and 10 ppb. EPA's standard balances the current understanding of arsenic's possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water. EPA continues to research the health effects of low levels of arsenic, which is a mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations and is linked to other health effects such as skin damage and circulatory problems.

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. Flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

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