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The Little Egg Harbor Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) is pleased to present to you this year's Annual Drinking 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 witha 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.
We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water. Our water source is wells. Our five wells draw groundwater from the upper and lower Kirkwood Aquifer. Three of the wells are located in the lower Kirkwood Aquifer and are approximately 550 feet deep. The other two wells are located in the upper Kirkwood Aquifer and are approximately 350 feet deep. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is preparing Source Water Assessment Reports and Summaries for all public water systems, which are expected to be complete in 2004. Further information on the Source Water Assessment Program can be obtained at the NJDEP's source water assessment web site by clicking on the link below. You can also contact the NJDEP's Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at (609)292-5550. You may also contact your public water system at (609)296-1168.
NJDEP Source Water Assessment Program
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 Little Egg Harbor M.U.A. routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2002. The state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though representative, are more than one year old.
If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Mark Heinrichs at 609-296-1168. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled MUA meetings at the MUA office, Radio Road. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
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.
In the following 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/1) - 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.
Action Level the concentration of a contaminant, which if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
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 Contaminant Level Goal -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.
The Safe Drinking Water Act regulations allow monitoring waivers to reduce or eliminate the monitoring requirements for asbestos, volatile organic chemicals and synthetic organic chemicals. Our system received monitoring waivers for asbestos and synthetic organic contaminants.
We at the Little Egg Harbor M.U.A. work hard 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. Please call our office if you have questions.
PDF Document of Water Quality Table
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come 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 projection, mining, or farming.
Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses.
Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can, also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
Radioactive contaminants which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.
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.