Annual Drinking
Water Quality Report

Introduction

This report is provided to inform you about the source and quality of your drinking water, and how it compares to national drinking water standards. This report is a snapshot of last year's water quality. Please take a moment to review this important information.

Source Assessment

Source waters for Nikishka Bay Utilities have been assessed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for vulnerability to impurities and contamination. The wellhead received a susceptibility of low and the aquifer received a susceptibility rating of very high. Combining these scores produces a natural susceptibility of medium for the source. In addition, this water system has received the following vulnerability ratings:

High Vulnerability	Medium Vulnerability	Low Vulnerability
Bacteria	Other Organic Chemicals
Viruses	Pesticides
Volatile Organic Chemicals
Heavy Metals

However, ADEC recognizes that these risk assessments have been derived with data and methodologies that have not been entirely verified and may not accurately estimate your drinking water source vulnerability. This source water assessment is available for review at your local DEC office.

Basic Information

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.

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 stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.
• Pesticides and herbicides, which 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 can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
• 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, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

Vulnerability

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. The following people may be more at risk from infections due to water impurities:

• 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
• Elderly Persons
• Infants

These people should seek advice about drinking water from their healthcare 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)

Impurities in the Water

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some impurities. The presence of impurities does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about impurities and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

Testing Waivers

To eliminate unnecessary testing expense, Nikishka Bay Utilities has applied for and received a testing waiver for

asbestos
Because there is no asbestos piping in the system

Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOC)
An SOC waiver was granted in 2016 due to no potential sources of SOC contamination being located within the collection area. Renewal of the waiver is required every 3 years and requires an investigation of the collection area to ensure no sources of contamination exist.

Waivers must be reviewed and renewed periodically at which time any change in impurity sources or new science is applied in the approval process.

Lead

Lead can cause serious health effects in people of all ages, especially pregnant people, infants (both formula-fed and breastfed), and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and parts used in service lines and in home plumbing. The utility is responsible for providing high quality drinking water and removing lead pipes but cannot control the variety of materials used in the plumbing in your home. Because lead levels may vary over time, lead exposure is possible even when your tap sampling results do not detect lead at one point in time.

You can help protect yourself and your family by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family's risk. Using a filter, certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead, is effective in reducing lead exposures. Follow the instructions provided with the filter to ensure the filter is used properly. Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula. Boiling water does not remove lead from water. Before using tap water for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula, flush your pipes for several minutes. You can do this by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a load of dishes. If you have a lead service line or galvanized requiring replacement service line, you may need to flush your pipes for a longer period.

If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, contact the utility using the contact info provided at the end of this report. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead

Water Quality Testing

Because of the numerous potential sources and varieties of impurities, state and federal law mandates the routine testing for all impurities (over 80) known to pose a risk to public health. Some impurities can affect water sources quickly and others are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Thus, testing schedules also vary from monthly to once every nine years, depending on risk and the impurity tested. Your water system is routinely monitored for all applicable hazardous impurities. However, of those impurities, only those detected in routine testing are listed in the Detected Impurities table.

Detected Impurities

Impurity	Year	Units	MCL	MCLG	Reported Value	Range	Violation	Likely Source
Barium	2019	ppb	2000	2000	7.4	N/A	N	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits
1,1,1-Trichloroethane	2019	ppb	200	200	1.3	N/A	N	Discharge from metal degreasing sites and other factories
Chromium (total)	2019	ppb	100	100	1.7	N/A	N	Discharge from steel and pulp mills; erosion of natural deposits
Nitrate (measured as Nitrogen)	2019	ppm	10	10	3.41	N/A	N	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaking from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
Radium 226 and Radium 228 (combined)	2016	pCi/L	5	0	0.13	N/A	N	Erosion of natural deposits
Alpha particles	2016	pCi/L	15	0	0.13	N/A	N	Erosion of natural deposits of certain minerals that are radioactive and may emit a form of radiation known as alpha radiation

Impurity	Year	Units	MCL	MCLG	Reported Value	Samples > MCL	Violation	Likely Source
Lead	2017	ppb	15	0	1.75	0	N	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Copper	2017	ppb	1300	1300	180	0	N	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits

Definitions And Terms

MCL

(Maxiumum Contaminant Level) The highest level of an impurity allowable in drinking water.

MCLG

(Maximum Contaminant Level Goal) The amount of an impurity below which there is no known or expected health risk.

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.

AL

(Action Level) The concentration of an impurity which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.

TT

(Treatment Technique) A required process intended to reduce the level of an impurity in drinking water.

PPM

(Parts Per Million) This measure corresponds to one penny out of $10,000 or one minute out of about 2 years. 1 ppm is essentially one millionth of the total water volume.

Mg/L

(Milligrams Per Liter) This is another way of displaying PPM. See PPM for a definition.

PPB

(Parts Per Billion) This measure corresponds to one penny out of $10 Million or one minute out of about 2,000 years. 1 ppb is essentially one billionth of the total water volume.

µg/L

(Micrograms Per Liter) This is another way of displaying PPB. See PPB for a definition.

PPT

(Parts Per Trillion) This measure corresponds to one penny out of $10 Billion or one second out of about 32,000 years. 1 ppt is essentially one trillionth of the total water volume.

pCi/L

(Picocuries Per Liter) This is a unit of radioactivity corresponding to one decay every 27 seconds in a volume of one liter of water, or 0.037 decays per second in every liter of air. For a comparison, an average banana contains about 520 Picocuries of radiation.

Mrem
/Yr

(Millirems Per Year) a Millirem is a measure of the health effect of low levels of ionizing radiation on the human body. For some perspective, eating a banana every day for a year would expose you to about 3.6 mrem/Yr.

NTU

(Nephelometric Turbidity Units) This is a precise measurement of how cloudy the water is. The higher the number, the cloudier the water is.

Maintenance & Emergency

Your water system is routinely maintained by Northern Utility Services, certified water system operators. If you have any questions or need to report an emergency, Northern Utility Services staff is pleased to assist you. Office hours are 8:00-5:00 Mon-Fri.

Tel: 907-222-4084

Emergency response is available via answering service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.