Village of New London

Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report

For 2009

Section 1: Introduction

The Village of New London has prepared the following report to provide information to you, the consumer, on the quality of our drinking water.  Included within this report is general health information, water quality test results, how to participate in decisions concerning your drinking water and water system contacts.

 Section 2: Source Water Information.

The Village of New London pumps water into the New London Reservoir from Buck Creek, a branch of the Vermilion River. The Reservoir has a surface area of 220 acres, when full, and has a volume of 1.4 billion gallons.  The average daily production of safe drinking water for 2009 was 308,000 gallons for the approximately 1400 customers we have. 

The Village of New London also has an emergency, auxiliary or back-up connection with Rural Lorain County Water Authority.  An emergency, auxiliary or back-up connection is defined as a connection not meant to be used on a continuous basis and is only used during extraordinary conditions such as drought, source failure, line breaks, fires, and other periods of usually high water demands.  This emergency connection was used for 14 days in 2009 when we made repairs to the water tower.  This report does not contain information on the water quality from R.L.C.W.A. but a copy of their consumer confidence report can be obtained by contacting them at: Rural Lorain County Water Authority, 42401 SR 303, P.O. Box 567, Lagrange, Ohio  44050 or 800-842-1339.

 Section 3: What are sources of contamination to drinking water?

The sources of drinking water both tap water and bottled water includes 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: (A) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife; (B) 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; (C) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses; (D) 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; (E) 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, USEPA 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 must provide the same protection for public health.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.  The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses 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 (1-800-426-4791).

     A Drinking Water Source Assessment Report for the Village of New London was compiled by the Ohio EPA, with the assistance of John Chapin, Supt. of Water, intended to identify drinking water protection areas and provide information on how to reduce the risk of contamination of the waters within those areas.  A copy of this report may be obtained by contacting the Village of New London (419-929-4091).  Below is a copy of the summary of the Drinking Water Source Assessment Report:

Section 4: Who needs to take special precautions?

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 from infection.  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 other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

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.  The Village of New London 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, you 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 water, you may have your water tested.  Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Section 5: About your drinking water.

The EPA requires regular sampling to ensure drinking water safety.  The Village of New London conducted sampling for bacteria, turbidity, pH, chlorine, alkalinity, inorganics, nitrates, synthetic organics, volatile organics, total trihalomethanes,  haloacetic acids,  total organic compounds, dissolved organic compounds, cryptosporidium, and e-coli during 2009, and lead and copper samples in 2008.  Samples were collected for approximately a total of 150 different contaminants most of which were not detected in the New London water supply.  The Ohio EPA requires us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently.  Some of our data, though accurate, are more than one year old.

Section 6: Listed below is information of those contaminants that were found in the Village of New London drinking water.

Section 7: Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of water and is an indication of the effectiveness of our filtration system.  Turbidity has no health effects, however, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide medium for microbial growth.  Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms.  These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. The turbidity limit set by the EPA is 0.3 in 95% of the daily samples and shall not exceed 1.0 NTU at any time.  As reported above the Village of New London’s highest recorded turbidity result for 2009 was 0.19 NTU and lowest monthly percentage of samples meeting the turbidity limits was 100%.

Total organic carbon (TOC) has no health effects, however, it does provide a medium for the formation of disinfection by-products.  These by-products include trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids (HAA's).  Some people who drink water containing, trihalomethanes in excess of the MXL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Section 8: Definitions of some terms contained within this report.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): 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 Contaminant level (MCL): The highest level of contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

Parts per Million (ppm)  or Milligrams per Liter (mg/L) are units of measure for concentration of a contaminant.  A part per million corresponds to one second in a little over 11.5 days.

Parts per Billion (ppb) or Micrograms per Liter (µg/L) are units of measure for concentration of a contaminant.  A part per billion corresponds to one second in 31.7 years.

Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Treatment Technique (TT):  A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG): 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 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.

The “<“ symbol: A symbol which means less than.  A result of <5 means that the lowest level that could be detected was 5 and the contaminant in that sample was not detected.

TOC value reported: The value reported under "Level Found" for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is the lowest ration between percentage of TOC actually removed to the percentage of TOC required to be removed.  A value of greater than on (1) indicates that the water system is in compliance with TOC removal requirements.  A value of less than (1) indicates a violation of the TOC removal requirements.

Section 9:   How do I participate in decisions concerning my drinking water?

Public participation and comment are encouraged at regular meetings of New London Village Council which meets the second and fourth Monday of every month in the Council Chambers at the Village Office, 115 East Main St. New London, Ohio.      For more information on your drinking water contact: John R. Chapin, Water Superintendent (419)-929-8419.