Cold Spring Water Department

Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

The Board of Water Commissioners is pleased to present this year’s Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. The information in this report relates to the results of tests performed in the year 2001.

The Cold Spring Water Department supplies potable and fire supply waters to the residents of the villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville.

Source of Water Supply

We operate from a 3 reservoir, surface water system. That means that we rely solely on annual precipitation in the form of rain and snow to maintain our supply of approximately 14 Million Gallons. The upper & middle reservoirs are located on Lake Surprise Road - approximately 3.5 miles northeast of the villages. From the middle reservoir the supply flows via the Foundry Brook to the lower reservoir along Fishkill Road. At this point water is pumped into the Foundry Brook Water Treatment Plant, processed, and stored in two tanks (whose total capacity is approximately 500,000 gallons) from which the Distribution System is gravity fed.

How to Contact Us

The Cold Spring Water Department is located at 200 Fishkill Road, and can be reached by phone at (845) 265-7986, by fax at 265-2695, or by e-mail at vcswater@bestweb.net. The billing and mailing address for the Department is 85 Main Street, Cold Spring, NY 10516. The Water Superintendent for the District is Gregory R. Phillips. Operating hours are 7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. In the event of an emergency, contact may be made through the Cold Spring Police Dept., at 265-3407, or 265-9551.

Monitoring

The Cold Spring Water Department routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water, according to Federal and State Laws. Sampling sites include: residences, restaurants, public facilities, as well as the reservoir and filtration plant. The following table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1^st to December 31^st 2001.

All drinking water, including bottled water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. It is important to remember that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.

In this 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) - lab analysis indicates that the contaminant 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.

Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/l) - one part per billion. Corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

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.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - the highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water. MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

TEST RESULTS

Contaminant

Violation Y/N

Level Detected

Unit of Measure

MCLG

MCL

Likely Source of Contamination

Microbiological Contaminants - 3 x Monthly (Turbidity monitored daily)

1. Total Coliform Bacteria	NO	ND	Presence/ Absence	0	Presence of coliform bacteria in 5% of Monthly Samples	Naturally present in the environment
2. Fecal Coliform & E. coli	NO	ND	Presence/ Absence	0	a routine sample & repeat sample are total coliform positive and one is fecal coliform, or E. Coli, positive	Human and Animal fecal waste
3. Turbidity	NO	0.27* 11/30/01	NTU	n/a	not to exceed 0.50 NTU at entry point to the system	Soil runoff

*The highest reported turbidity for the year (total of 1,155 measurements) was 0.27 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units) which is below the 0.50 NTU MCL for our treatment technology. The average measurement, for the year, was 0.0518 NTU.

Inorganic Contaminants - Annually (Nitrate monitored Quarterly; Lead & Copper - annually)

4. Antimony	NO	ND	ppb	6	6	Discharge from petroleum refineries; fire retardants; ceramics; solder; electronics
5. Arsenic	NO	ND	ppb	n/a	50	Erosion of natural deposits
6. Barium	NO	ND	ppm	2	2	Erosion of natural deposits
7. Beryllium	NO	ND	ppb	4	4	Discharge from metal refineries and coal burning factories; Discharge from electrical, aerospace, & defense industries
8. Cadmium	NO	ND	ppb	5	5	Corrosion of galvanized pipes; runoff from waste batteries & paints
9. Chromium	NO	ND	ppb	100	100	Erosion of natural deposits
10. Cyanide	NO	ND	ppm	2	2	Discharge from steel/metal factories; Discharge from plastic & fertilizer factories
11. Fluoride	NO	ND	ppm	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth
12. Mercury	NO	ND	ppb	2	2	Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from landfills
13. Nickel	NO	ND	ppb	n/a	n/a	Erosion of natural deposits
Contaminant	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Unit of Measure	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
14. Nitrate	NO	ND	ppm	10	10	Runoff from fertilizers; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
15. Nitrite	NO	ND	ppm	1	1	Runoff from fertilizers; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
16. Selenium	NO	ND	ppb	50	50	Erosion of natural deposits
17. Sulfate	NO	15.3	ppm	n/a	250	naturally occurring
18. Thallium	NO	ND	ppb	0.5	2	Leaching from ore processing sites; Discharge from electronics, glass and Drug factories
19. Lead 5^th Round	NO	8.1	ppb	15	90^th percentile below 15	Corrosion of household plumbing; erosion of natural deposits
20. Copper 5^th Round	NO	.344	ppm	1.3	90^th percentile below 1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives

Disinfection Byproducts -Total Trihalomethanes - TTHM - Quarterly

21. TTHM 1^st Qtr.	NO	44.75	ppb	0	100	By product of drinking water chlorination
22. TTHM 2^nd Qtr.	NO	44.5	ppb	0	100	By product of drinking water chlorination
23. TTHM 3^rd Qtr.	NO	43.25	ppb	0	100	By product of drinking water chlorination
24. TTHM 4^th Qtr.	NO	44	ppb	0	100	By product of drinking water chlorination

Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether - MTBE - Annually

25. Ketones / MTBE

NO

ND

ppb

50

n/a

Releases from gasoline storage tanks. An octane enhancer in unleaded gasoline

Other Parameters

Additional chemicals which were tested for, but Not-Detected (ND), other than those mentioned above, included Principal Organic Contaminants (POCs). A complete listing of those chemicals is available at the Village Office, or by phoning the Water Department – (845) 265-7986.

Lead & Copper

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 construction. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s water, you may wish to have your water tested and/or 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).

What does all of this mean?

As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We’re proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some contaminants have been detected. The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.

All 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 the 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 at 1-800-426-4791.

MCL’s are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated contaminants, 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.

Who Is Most Vulnerable?

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 (1-800-426-4791).

Water Conservation

How Can I Help?

Please remember that daily conservation measures in the home will not only save you money on your next water bill, but will help the whole community through times of drought, or low precipitation. The following are some suggestions for your consideration:

ü Water plants, gardens, lawns, etc., in the morning or evening. Watering during full sun will not only evaporate faster, but may damage the intended target.

ü Use a pressure washer for cleaning cars, decks, etc. You will use less water and get a better result.

ü When using machines for clothes and dishwashing – be sure to have full loads.

ü Have a licensed plumber check the pressure coming into your home. Pressures in excess of 65 –70 psi, can put added strain on fixtures, valves, etc. Installing a reducing valve, where needed, is an inexpensive means of protecting your system.

ü Shut off the tap while you are brushing your teeth.

Final Thought

We here at the Cold Spring Water Department work very hard to provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all of our customers help us to protect and conserve our water resources, which are the heart of our community, our lives and our children’s future.