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Northampton Borough Municipal Authority
 1 Clear Springs Drive
P.O. Box 156
Northampton, PA
18067-0156
610-262-6711
(Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
610-262-6796 (fax)
610-262-6711
(after-hours emergencies)
nbmawater@aol.com
NORTHAMPTON BOROUGH MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
2007 ANNUAL WATER QUALITY REPORT
The Board of Directors,
Management, and Employees of the Northampton Borough Municipal Authority
(NBMA) are very pleased to provide you this drinking water quality report for
the calendar year 2007. The main purpose of this report is to familiarize the
customers of the quality of water they consume daily and to inform you of
NBMA services and the effort we put forth to ensure quality drinking water is
delivered to all NBMA customers. NBMA serves the Boroughs of Northampton,
North Catasauqua, Coplay, portions of Allen
Townships in Northampton
County and portions of Whitehall Township
and North Whitehall
Townships in Lehigh County.
WATERSHED AND
TREATMENT:
The NBMA system has two
surface water sources. The Lehigh River is
the major source and supplies approximately 3,000,000 gallons daily to the
NBMA system consisting of about 40,000 customers. Spring Mill Dam, our
secondary source, is located immediately west of the filtration plant in Cementon, and it supplies approximately 300,000 gallons
of water per day. The water from these sources is blended at the NBMA Water
Filtration Plant, located at 5200
Second Street, Coplay (Cementon),
PA. The filtration plant is designed and permitted to produce up to 8,000,000
gallons of drinking water per day. Treatment includes: raw water pumping;
addition of chemicals for adsorption of organic contaminants and coagulation
of colloidal solids; clarification and filtration to remove suspended solids
and microbiological contaminants; disinfection with ultraviolet technology
and chlorine; and finally adjustment of pH and alkalinity to protect the
distribution system from corrosion.
We are pleased to
announce that our drinking water, as a result of our reliable treatment
process, meets Federal and State requirements. No exceeded contaminant levels
were experienced by NBMA in 2007.
CONTACT LIST:
If there are any questions
concerning this report or NBMA in general, call the main office. Non-English
copies of this report can be obtained by contacting the main office. Las copias espanolas de este informe pueden ser obtenidas entrando en contacto con la oficina principal.
Public Water System ID # - 3480057
Main Office: 1 Clear Springs Drive Northampton,
PA. 18067
TEL - (610) 262-6711
FAX - (610)-262-6796
Filtration Plant: 5200 Second Street, Coplay, PA 18037
(610) 262-6792
Web Site: www.nbma.org Email: nbmawater@aol.com
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Board Meetings are held
the second Tuesday of every month at the NBMA Headquarters
Building, 1 Clear Springs Drive, Northampton. Tours of the filtration plant for special
interest groups and schools can be scheduled by calling the Authority office.
WATER ANALYSIS:
NBMA routinely tests for
contaminants in your drinking water to meet Federal and State set
regulations. To ensure that it is potable, filtration plant operators test
the drinking water every two hours, twenty-four hours a day, in our Pennsylvania State certified laboratory. A detected
contaminant testing matrix table including data from January 1 to December
31, 2007 (unless otherwise noted) is attached for your information. All
drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to
contain at least a small amount of some contaminants. The presence of
contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.
For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, contact
the EPA' s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
1-800-426-4791.
The sources of drinking
water (both tap and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds,
reservoirs, 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 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 storm water
runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharge, or farming.
- Pesticides and Herbicides which come from agricultural,
urban storm water runoff and agricultural uses.
- Organic Chemical Contaminants
(synthetic
and volatile) which are by-products of industrial processes, and can
come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
- Radioactive Contaminants which can be naturally
occurring.
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA
prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in
water provided to the public. Food and Drug Administration regulations
establish limits for contaminants in bottles of water which must provide the
same public health protection.
DEFINITIONS:
This
table and descriptive information may present terms or symbols that are
unfamiliar to you. Here are some definitions for your information.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)- 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 level of a contaminant in
drinking water below which there is no known or expected health risk. MCLG's allow for a margin of safety.
Parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter
(mg/l)-
One ppm corresponds to one minute in two years.
Parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per liter (ug/l)- One ppb
corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L)- A measure
of the radioactivity in water.
MRDL- Maximum residual disinfectant level. The highest level of a
disinfectant allowed in drinking water.
MRDLG- Maximum residual disinfectant level goal. The level of a
drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected health
risk. MRDLG’s do not reflect the benefits of
the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
Treatment Technique- A required process intended to reduce the level
of a contaminant in drinking water.
Action Level- The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded,
triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
Raw Water- Water directly from the source, prior to treatment.
Finished Water- Water after treatment and disinfection and ready for
distribution.
NTU- Nephelometric turbidity units.
NA- Not Applicable
NON-DETECTED CONTAMINANTS:
NBMA
also tests for many other contaminants that are not listed on the contaminant
testing table. They were not included on the main table because they were not
detected in our water. These include twenty-one volatile organic
contaminants; fifteen synthetic organic contaminants; nine inorganic
contaminants; and three microbiological contaminants.
UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS:
NBMA
has also monitored the source water for Crytposporidium.
This is a commonly found microbial parasite in surface water. It is capable
of causing a disease called crytposporidiosis.
Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and nausea. Healthy individuals
usually can overcome the illness in a few weeks. However, immunocompromised
individuals are at greater risk of developing serious, chronic illness. Cryptosporidium
must be ingested to develop disease, and there are many ways other than
drinking water that this parasite can be spread. Our monitoring concludes
that Cryptosporidium is present in the raw source. At present, there
is absolutely no evidence indicating that our customers should be concerned
with Crytposporidium.
NBMA has also tested for other unregulated contaminants that were not
detected. For information regarding unregulated contaminant monitoring
results, contact our main office at 610-262-6711.
HEALTH INFORMATION:
Some
individuals may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the
general population. These include immunocompromised
persons such as those 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 reduce the
risk of infection by Crytposporidium and other
microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
1-800-426-4791.
EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION:
Occasionally,
some slight tastes and odors can be detected in the drinking water. These are
due to occasional higher levels of naturally occurring organic compounds in
the raw water. Powdered activated carbon is added to minimize these tastes
and odors and at no time does this affect the quality of water.
Northampton
Borough Municipal Authority continually strives to improve and upgrade the
filtration plant and distribution system facilities in order to meet state
and federal standards.
Disinfection By-Products
|
Contaminant
Name
|
MCL in
mg/L
|
multiply
by...
|
MCL in
CCR Units
|
MCLG in
CCR Units
|
NBMA's
Result
|
Violations?
|
Source
of
Contaminant
|
|
TTHM's
|
0.08
|
1000
|
80 ppb
|
NA
|
45.5
ppb *
|
No
|
By-product
of drinking water chlorination.
|
|
HAA5's
|
0.06
|
1000
|
60 ppb
|
NA
|
49.6
ppb *
|
No
|
By-product
of drinking water chlorination.
|
This
Data is from 2007. NBMA is required to monitor for DPB's
annually. Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and Haloacetic Acids (HAA5's) are tested quarterly (four
times a year). The range of results for TTHM's
are from 25.6 to 45.4 ppb. Range of results for HAA5's are from 11.4
to 52.8 ppb.
* This result is a running annual average for 2007.
Inorganic Contaminants (IOC)
|
Contaminant
Name
|
MCL in
mg/L
|
multiply
by...
|
MCL in
CCR Units
|
MCLG in
CCR Units
|
NBMA's
Result
|
Violations?
|
Source
of
Contaminant
|
|
Nitrate
|
10
|
------
|
10 ppm
|
10 ppm
|
0.85 ppm
|
No
|
Runoff
from fertilizer use, leaching from septic tanks and sewage, erosion of
natural deposits.
|
|
Barium
|
2
|
------
|
2 ppm
|
2 ppm
|
0.022 ppm
|
No
|
Discharge
of drilling wastes. Discharge from metal refineries. Erosion of natural
deposits.
|
|
Nickel
|
0.1
|
------
|
0.1 ppm
|
0.1 ppm
|
0.003 ppm
|
No
|
Coal
gasification, petroleum refining, and hydrogenation of fats and oils.
|
|
Fluoride
|
2
|
------
|
2 ppm
|
2 ppm
|
0.70 ppm
|
No
|
NBMA
water additive that promotes strong teeth and prevents tooth decay.
|
|
Copper
|
AL= 1.3
|
------
|
AL 1.3 ppm
|
1.3 ppm
|
0.15 ppm*
|
No
|
Corrosion
of household plumbing systems, erosions of natural deposits.
|
|
Lead¹
|
AL= 0.015
|
1000
|
AL 15 ppb
|
0
|
3 ppb*
|
No
|
Corrosion
of household plumbing systems erosions of natural deposits.
|
Lead
and copper was tested in 2007. We are required to monitor lead and copper
once every three years. There are thirty (30) sample sites. No site exceeded
the AL
(action level) for Lead or copper. Nitrate is tested annually, and Fluoride
was last tested for in 2003. Other inorganic contaminants are tested for once
every nine years, the last being in 2003. * 90th percentile
calculation. ¹ While our system did not exceed the lead action level, it
is possible that there may be high lead levels in your home as a result of
materials in your home plumbing. Lead can cause serious health problems,
especially for children under six and pregnant women. If you are concerned
about your home lead level, have your water tested by a certified laboratory.
Additional information is available from the National Lead
Information Center
at 1-800-424-LEAD.
Microbiological Contaminants
|
Contaminant
Name
|
MCL in
mg/L
|
multiply
by...
|
MCL in
CCR Units
|
MCLG in
CCR Units
|
NBMA's
Result
|
Violations?
|
Source
of
Contaminant
|
|
Turbidity
|
TT
|
------
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TT < 0.300 ntu
in 95% of samples
|
NA
|
Highest single yearly
measurement= 0.074; Lowest monthly % of samples meeting turbidity limits=
100%
|
No
|
Turbidity
is the measurement of cloudiness or dirtiness of the water. It is used as
an indicator of filtration performance. Depending on turbidities, operators
may need to make adjustments and changes to ensure that the filters are at
peak performance. The main cause of turbidity is soil runoff, especially
during times of heavy rains.
|
|
Chlorine¹
Chlorine²
|
4 ppm
|
------
|
4 MRDL
|
4 MRDLG
|
1.58 ppm
1.30 ppm
|
No
|
Water
additive used to control microbes.
|
|
TOC
|
TT
|
------
|
TT
|
NA
|
0.92 ppm
|
No
|
Naturally
present in the environment.
|
¹This
chlorine residual is taken from the entry point, or plant
tap and represents the average reading taken in 2007. Range
of results are 0.75 to 2.00 ppm. ²This
chlorine residual is taken throughout the distribution system forty times a
month. This result is a yearly average. Range of results
are 0.11 to 1.90 ppm. TOC is Total Organic
Carbon which contributes to DBP formation when combined with chlorine. It is
tested for quarterly, and range of results are 0.64
to 1.98 ppm.
Radiological Contaminants
|
Contaminant
Name
|
MCL in
mg/L
|
multiply
by...
|
MCL in
CCR Units
|
MCLG in
CCR Units
|
NBMA's
Result
|
Violations?
|
Source
of
Containant
|
|
Alpha emitters
|
15 pCi/L
|
------
|
15 pCi/L
|
0
|
1.57 pCi/L
|
No
|
Erosion
of natural deposits
|
|
Uranium
|
30 ug/L
|
------
|
30 ppb
|
0
|
-0.27
ppb
|
No
|
Erosion
of natural deposits
|
|
Combined Radium
|
5 pCi/L
|
------
|
5 pCi/L
|
0
|
0.74 pCi/L
|
No
|
Erosion
of natural deposits
|
We
are only required to test for natural radiologicals
once every four years. This result is from our last testing done in 2003.
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