2007 Water Quality Report

Powdersville Water District Meets All Standards
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Powdersville Water District is very pleased to provide you with the 2007 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. Keeping you, our customer, informed about water quality and the services that we deliver to you every day is of great importance to us. The District’s primary goal is, and always will be, to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Health & Environmental Control (SCDHEC) have established strict standards for drinking water. These standards are in place to protect consumers from bacteria and water-borne illnesses. The District is pleased to report that our drinking water is safe and meets all of the Federal and State standards. We collect hundreds of bacteriological samples each year throughout the system to ensure your drinking water is safe. The samples are analyzed by a private lab that is certified by SCDHEC. In addition, the District continually conducts a System Flushing Program to ensure adequate chlorine residual is maintained throughout the system so that proper disinfection of your drinking water always occurs. The enclosed reports are further indication that the District is meeting the requirements of the law and the bottom line is that you have safe, high-quality drinking water.

Where Does Your Water Come From?
Your drinking water originates from three separate suppliers: Anderson Regional Joint Water System (ARJWS), Easley Combined Utilities, and the Greenville Water System. The District purchases water from these suppliers by means of several connections throughout the system. Each supplier provides filtered surface water to the District that is treated to SCDHEC Drinking Water Standards. ARJWS supplies the District with treated water from Lake Hartwell. Easley supplies their treated water from Saluda Lake. Treated water from Lake Keowee is the third source that is provided by Greenville’s state-of-the-art filtration plant. Each of these water supplies are similar in character and when treated, blend very well together in the Powdersville Water District’s system. We are very fortunate in the Powdersville Community to have several pristine sources of surface water to draw from to provide an adequate water supply for our growing population during normal weather conditions, as well as during drought situations.

How Is Your Water Treated?
As described earlier, the District is a distributor of drinking water that is purchased from three licensed suppliers. Each of the filtration facilities that provide water to the District use similar processes that involve coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. Coagulation is a process by which a chemical, such as alum, is added to help small particles settle out from the source water. The pH is adjusted with very small amounts of sodium hydroxide, or caustic soda, filtration occurs, polyphosphates are added for corrosion control, chlorine and ammonia are added for disinfection, and fluoride is provided to prevent tooth decay. We are fortunate that each of our suppliers has modern facilities that continually provide our community with quality drinking water. In addition, each of our suppliers has a Source Water Assessment on file at SCDHEC. This document summarizes an in-depth survey that was recently performed on the watershed for each of our suppliers. Part of the report outlines an inventory of the potential contaminant sources (PCS) that are located in each watershed. Each PCS is then assigned a level of severity based upon its potential to contaminate the source water. The assessment provides a good planning tool for future growth and is designed to inform public officials and the general public of how our daily living practices may impact our sources of drinking water. In addition, the report outlines measures of protection for each watershed. If you would like to review these documents, they are available online at www.scdhec.net/water/htm/srcewtr.html.

Things You Should Know...
All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or man-made. As source water travels over the land or underground, it can pick up substances or contaminants such as microbes, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be 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. Some people may be more vulnerable to small amounts of contaminants than the general population. Imunno-compromised persons, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant patients, persons with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly people, and infants, can be particularly at risk from infections. Individuals with these conditions should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. More information about contaminants in drinking water and their potential health effects can be obtained from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. As previously stated, the District, as well as our three suppliers, routinely sample for numerous constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State Regulation. As part of the EPA’s requirements, each of our suppliers is required to submit their Annual Water Quality Report to the District.