2011 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

The following yearly report is intended to inform the public about the quality of the drinking water in Glasgow.

City of Glasgow water is surface water pumped from the Missouri River. This raw water pumped into Glasgow is then processed at the City's Water Treatment Facility. The drinking water is treated with a coagulant, which attracts and collects particulate or “dirt” particles in the raw water. The water is then strained through filter beds, which trap all particulate which adhered to the coagulant. After the water has passed through the filtration process it is injected with chlorine gas. After the water has been injected with the chlorine gas, it is stored in a holding tank at the Treatment Plant for a calculated amount of time. This process of holding the water is called “contact time.” Contact time is the calculated time necessary for the chlorine to kill any possible bacteria in the water before it is pumped to the storage reservoirs for your domestic use and consumption. Drinking water produced in Glasgow is safe and meets federal and state requirements. If you have any questions about this report, please contact Robert Kompel, Director of Public Works, City of Glasgow, Montana at 406-228-2476.

The City Of Glasgow routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st6 to December 31^st, 2011. “Some of our data in the tables are more than one year old, since certain chemical contaminants are monitored less than once a year. Our sampling frequency complies with EPA and State drinking water regulations.”

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:

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 – one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

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

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.

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

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

Maximum Contaminant Level – 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 Residual Detection Limit or 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 mocrobial contaminants.

Maximum Residual Detection Limit Goal or MRDLG – The level of a 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.

 3). *Turbidity: The specified limit for our treatment process is 0.5 NTUs. Each month 95% of our measurements must be below the specified limit. This number represents the month with the lowest percentage of a sample meeting this limit. Our water system has met this requirement 100% of the time. Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.

 What does this mean? As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. Out of more than 76 contaminants monitored for in the previous rounds of testing your water supply has had no violations and only some constituents have been detected. 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 constituents have been detected. The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.

“All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by constituents that are naturally occurring or is man made. These constituents can be microbes, organic or inorganic chemicals, or radioactive materials.” 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.

MCLs 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.

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your family with clean, quality water this year. 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.

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).

The Annual Drinking Water Quality Report will not be mailed out to individual water customers. A copy of this report is available by calling or stopping by the City Hall.