Jay Water Works

2003 Water Quality Report

 

2003 was the beginning of change for Jay Water Works (JWW). New construction and rehabilitation projects began in the latter half of 2003 and will be completed by mid 2004. These projects will enable JWW to meet and exceed stricter regulations.

One of these projects expands filter size, replaces filter media, and installs a new type of underdrain. Underdrains are the mechanism which support the media and allows filtered water to exit the filter. The new underdrains allow for the use of less media while increasing filter flow.            

A new construction project will add air scouring to the filters. This pumps large quantities of air bubbles through piping at the bottom of the filter media. These air bubble will aid in cleaning the media when backwashing the filters and allow less water use during the backwash process. This project entailed the addition of two air blowers and piping.

Another addition to the backwash process will be filter-to-waste piping. This allows us to redirect the filtered water passing out of the filter to the decant pond. The first 15 minutes of water processed after a filter has been backwashed tends to have a high turbidity.

The addition of two booster pumps and the redesigning of the distribution system will kill two birds with one stone. The new system uses the stand pipe behind the plant as a clearwell, allowing for longer retention time to enhance the effectiveness of the chlorine added after filtration. The water will return to the plant from the stand pipe and be pumped to the town via the two new 20 hp booster pumps. The booster pumps will maintain a steady supply of water to the consumer and reduce or eliminate low pressure problems during peak flow periods.

All air actuated valves will be replaced with electrically actuated valves, eliminating the need for noisy and troublesome air compressors. This will be accompanied by new control panels operating the filters.

A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system will be installed. This system enables greater control of the plant from an on site computer and also from remote computers. It will also increase data collection from online instrumentation and allow greater ease when correlating data.                                                   

The work being done on the plant is coming just in time for the new regulations going in to effect in 2004 and the following years. One of these new regulations concerns the addition of chlorine and its by-products. Our plant will begin testing for Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM), consisting of 4 chlorine by-products, and Total Organic Carbon (TOC), which is an indicator of the amount of organic material in the water which can react with chlorine to produce the by-products. All of the new regulations will help ensure that you receive the healthiest water possible.

 

JWW treats surface water drawn from Lake Eucha, 5 miles south of Jay to supply high quality water for Jay, Oakhill, and RWD 1. This report is online at http://www.brightok.net/~jayh2o . If you have any questions concerning this report or your water in general contact Bill Jones by phone at (918) 253-4790, or stop by our plant at 2329 S. Main in Jay, OK. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month in the Jay City Hall at 6:00 p.m.

 

 

                                                             Microbiological Contaminants

Substance

MCL

Maximum Level Detected

EPA MCLG

Violations

Possible Sources of Contamination

Turbidity (NTU)

TT = 5.0

0.41 NTU in June

n/a

NONE

Geology, Soil runoff

Turbidity (NTU)

TT ≤ 0.5 NTU in 95% of monthly samples

100 % samples ≤ 0.5 NTU  -  November

n/a

NONE

Geology, Soil runoff

 

 

 

 

 

Total Coliform Bacteria

One sample per month testing positive for coliform

One sample on July 7, 2003 tested positive

No samples per month testing positive for coliform

NONE

Naturally present in the environment

 

 

 

 

Radionuclides

Substance

 

MCL

Maximum Level Detected

EPA MCLG

 VIOLATION

Possible Sources of Contamination

Alpha Emitters∞

15 pCi/L

0.55 pCi/L

0 pCi/L

NONE

Geology

Beta / Photon Emitters∞

50 pCi/L

2.54 pCi/L

0 pCi/L

NONE

Geology

 Inorganic Contaminants

Substance

MCL

Maximum Level Detected

EPA MCLG

VIOLATIONS

Possible sources of Contamination

Nitrite-Nitrate as N

10 ppm

0.627 ppm

10 ppm

NONE

Runoff from fertilizer use, septic tanks, sewage

Fluoride

4 ppm

1.26

4ppm

NONE

Erosion of natural deposits, added at JWW

Barium‡

2 ppm

.041 ppm

2 ppm

NONE

Erosion of natural deposits; mining

Copper (Regulated at customer tap)

Substance

Action Level

90 % of samples below this level

EPA

MCLG

 VIOLATIONS

Possible Sources of Contamination

Copper

1300 ppb

36 ppb

0 ppb

NONE

Corrosion of home water pipes

‡ This test last performed in 1995

∞ This test last performed in 2000

 

Definitions:

 

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) -The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in the drinking water. MCL's are set as close to the MCLG's as feasibly possible using the best available treatment technology.

Maximum Containment Level Goal (MCLG)  - The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLG's allow for a margin of safety.

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

Parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/L) - One part of contaminant per million parts of water.

Parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per liter (ug/L) - One part of a contaminant per billion parts of water.

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) - A measure of the clarity of water. A Turbidity of 5.0 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.

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

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

 

 

JWW 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 1st to December 31st, 2003.  (Some of our data may be more than one year old because the state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less often than once per year.)

There are seventy-six regulated contaminants that community water systems are required to test for including microbiological, radioactive, inorganic, synthetic organic including pesticides and herbicides, and volatile organic contaminants.  We are exempt from testing for synthetic organic contaminants based upon a vulnerability assessment conducted by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.  The table above shows only those contaminants that were detected.

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 water poses a health risk.  More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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.

We have a source water protection plan available from our office that provides more information such as potential sources of contamination. Lake Eucha watershed scored 53 points out of 100 for susceptibility, 45 of which were automatic for any surface water and 8 points for non-point source land use such as agriculture.

 

 

Water Conservation is becoming more and more important as populations increase and source water quality deteriorates. Here are some ways to help conserve water (and save some money) .

  • Water your lawns in the evening. As the sun goes down less water is evaporated and more water is absorbed into the soil.
  • Water used for cooking vegetables or pasta can be used to water plants (after cooling), and often will contain nutrients lost from the vegetable.
  • Check for leaks. According to American Water Works Association, leaks account for 14% of indoor water use.

 

 

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial contaminants – such as viruses and bacteria, which may com 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 storm water 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 and residential uses.

Radioactive contaminants – which are naturally occurring

Organic chemical contaminants – including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems

 

 

Jay Utilities Board

Wayne Dunham - Chairman

Bill Stuart -  Vice Chairman

Morris Van Court  -  Member

Sally Baker  -  Member

Les Newkirk -  Member