1998 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report Strong City, Kansas

We're pleased to present the Annual Quality Water Report for 1998. This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. The City is committed to ensuring the quality of your water. Our water source is three groundwater wells. Our wells draw from the alluvial aquifer, in the drainage basin of the Cottonwood River.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Strong City Water Dept. at 620-273-6345. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our meetings held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

Strong City Water Dept. routinely monitors your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. This report shows monitoring results for the period of January 1st to December 31st 1998. 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.

In the test results 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:

Non-Detects (ND) - laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.

Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) - picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.

Variances & Exemptions (V&E) - State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment technique under certain conditions.

Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Treatment Technique (TT) - (mandatory language) A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water. Maximum Contaminant Level - (mandatory language) The "Maximum Allowed" (MCL) 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 - (mandatory language) The "Goal"(MCLG) 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.

TEST RESULTS
Contaminant	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Unit Measurement	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source Of Contamination
Microbiological Contamination
Total Coliform Bacteria	N	0		0	presence of coliform bacteria in 5% of monthly samples	Naturally present in the environment
coliform and E.coli	N	0		0	a routine sample and repeat sample are total coliform positive, and one is also fecal coliform or E.coli positive.	Human and animal Fecal waste
Radioactive Contaminants
Alpha emitters	N	2	pCi/l	0	15	Erosion of natural deposits
Inorganic Contaminants
Nitrate (as Nitrogen)	N	0.45 0.17	ppm	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage erosions of natural deposits

Testing for inorganic chemicals was done in 1997 and all chemicals were within accepted concentrations. The City will be testing again in 2000.

Volatile organic compounds were tested in 1996 and all were within acceptable limits. The City will be testing again in 2000

The City monitors for nitrates and the testing of our water has shown that Strong City has a very low nitrate level. (Less than 1 part per million).

The City monitored for Lead and Copper in 1997 and was found to be in compliance. The City was not required to monitor in 1998.

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 and faucets. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home's water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

As shown in this report our water system had no violations during 1998. We're proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements.

More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

MCL's are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.

Total Coliform: The Total Coliform Rule requires water systems to meet a strict limit for coliform bacteria. Coliform bacteria are usually harmless, but their presence in water can be an indication of disease-causing bacteria. When coliform bacteria are found, special follow-up tests are done to determine if harmful bacteria are present in the water supply. If this limit is exceeded, the water supplier must notify the public by newspaper, television or radio. To comply with this regulation, we have increased the average amount of chlorine in the distribution system.

Lead: Lead in drinking water is rarely the sole cause of lead poisoning, but it can add to a person's total lead exposure. All potential sources of lead in the household should be identified and removed, replaced or reduced.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. 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 from 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 other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your family with clean, quality water. In order to maintain a safe and dependable water supply we sometimes need to make improvements that will benefit all of our customers. These improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments. Thank you for understanding.

Please call our office if you have questions.

We at Strong City work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life and our children's future.

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