Water Department

Why am I receiving this report?

In compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, the City of Fairmont is providing its customers with this annual water quality report. This report explains where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. The information in this report shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2010 or earlier if not on a yearly schedule.

If you have any questions concerning this report, you may contact David C. Sago, Utility Manager, 304-366-6231. If you have any further questions, comments or suggestions, please attend any of our regularly scheduled City Council meetings held on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM in the Public Safety Building, 500 Quincy Street, Fairmont, WV.

Where does my water come from?

Your drinking water source is surface water from the Tygart River.

Source Water Assessment

A Source Water Assessment was conducted in 2008 by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WVBPH). The intake that supplies drinking water to the City of Fairmont has a higher susceptibility to contamination, due to the sensitive nature of surface water supplies and the potential contaminant sources identified within the area. This does not mean that this intake will become contaminated; only that conditions are such that the surface water could be impacted by a potential contaminant source. Future contamination may be avoided by implementing protective measures. The source water assessment report, which contains more information, is available for review or a copy will be provided to you at our office during business hours or from WVBHP 304-558-2981.

Why must water be treated?

All drinking water contains various amounts and kinds of contaminants. Federal and state regulations established limits, controls, and treatment practices to minimize these contaminants and to reduce any subsequent health effects.

Contaminants in Water

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided to public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits of contaminants in bottled water, which provided 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 these 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 Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

The source of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) includes rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of 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.

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 production, mining, 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 by-products 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 the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

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 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 microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline

(800-426-4791).

Water Quality Data Table

Definitions of terms and abbreviations used in the table or report:

· MCLG - Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, or 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.

· MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level, or 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 technique.

· MRDLG – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal, or the level of drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect benefits of use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

· MRDL – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level, or the highest level of disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of disinfectant is necessary to control microbial contaminants.

· TT- Treatment Technique or a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Abbreviations that may be found in the table:

· ppm – parts per million or milligrams per liter.

· ppb – Parts per billion or micrograms per liter.

· NTU – Nephelometric Turbidity Unit, used to measure cloudiness in water.

· NE – not established.

· N/A – not applicable.

The City of Fairmont routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws. The tables below show the results of our monitoring for contaminants.

Contaminants	Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Unit of measure	MCLG	MCL	Likely source of contamination
Microbiological Contaminants
*Turbidity	N	0.04 (High) 100% of monthly samples < .3	NTU	0	TT	Soil runoff
Inorganic Contaminants
Fluoride	N	.87	ppm	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits; water additive that promotes strong teeth; discharge from aluminum and fertilizer factories
Nitrate	N	.34	ppm	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use
Copper* Fairmont Country Club Estates Rayford Acres	N	0.122 0.6 0.59	ppm	1.3	AL=1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Lead* Fairmont Country Club Estates Rayford Acres	N	3.1 0.55 0.65	ppb	0	AL=15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits

Chlorine	N	1.5 (Yearly average) (Range – High 1.6 Low 1.4)	ppm	4 MRDLG	4 MRDL	Water additive used to control microbes
Haloacetic Acids (HAA5’s)	N	29.8 (Yearly average) (Range – High 61.6 Low 10.4)	ppb	NA	60	By-product of drinking water disinfection
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs)	N	35.6 (Yearly average) (Range – High 73.6 Low 5.8)	ppb	NA	80	By-product of drinking water chlorination

* Copper and lead samples were collected from 30 Fairmont area residents, 5 Rayford Acres area residents and 5 Country Club Estates residents. Only the 90% percentile is reported. Samples were collected on September 1, 2010. None of the samples exceeded the MCL.

WE ARE PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE CITY OF FAIRMONT HAS MET FEDERAL AND STATE WATER STANDARDS FOR THE REPORTING YEAR 2010.

* Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness in water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may have not received this notice directly (for example). People in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses).

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The City of Fairmont is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your drinking water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

On July 19 2003 The City of Fairmont Water Filtration plant became the largest ultra membrane water treatment plant east of the Mississippi. This "zeeweed” process technology produces high quality treated water by drawing raw water through immersed hollow fiber membrane modules that have nominal and absolute pore size of 0.035 and 0.1 microns respectively. This ensures that particulate matter greater than 1 micron in size, including Giardia Cysts and Cryptosporidium oocycts cannot enter the treated drinking water.

At this time the plant can produce a maximum of 10 million gallons per day using 4 "zeeweed" trains. This capacity can be immediately increased to 12 mgd, and eventually upgraded to 15 mgd. A programmable logic controller automates the operation of the process. The flow of treated water through the system is regulated according to the water level in the clear wells. The level in the clear wells are measured by a pressure sending unit and the flow rate from the permeate pump s are adjusted using a Variable frequency drive units to match the water demand from the distribution system. The treated water flows from each zeeweed process tank membrane compartment through the membrane modules assisted by the VFD controlled permeate pumps that generate a low pressure vacuum that draws the permeate "treated water" through the membranes. If the water level in the clear wells decrease the pump capacities increase. And conversely if the water levels in the clear wells increase the pump capacities decrease.

The City of Fairmont’s new 10.0 MGD water treatment facility at Morris Park along Pleasant Valley Road is a new state of the art facility, which features immersed ultra filtration membrane technology. The new plant was constructed adjacent to the existing treatment plant, of which portions are in excess of 100 years old. Membrane technology provides nearly a 100% barrier against waterborne pathogens, including cryptosporidium, and it produces high quality, aesthetically pleasing, safe drinking water.

The new plant has immediate expansion capabilities to 12.0 MGD, and an ultimate expansion capacity of 15.0 MGD with the installations of additional membrane units. The immersed membrane operates under a low negative pressure (vacuum) system in an open tank design. This facility is one of the largest immersed membrane potable water treatment plants in the United States.

All treatment units for the new plant are contained under roof in a 2-story concrete and split-faced masonry structure with a standing seam metal roof. The new plant is being constructed within the footprint of the existing in-ground clearwell which was recently replaced with a new 1.5 MG pre-cast pre-stressed concrete tank constructed adjacent to the existing 1.5 mg welded steel clearwell tank.

The facility went on-line on July 16, 2003 by Michel, Inc., Bridgeport WV at a cost of $5,929,000. The City pre-purchased the membrane equipment form Zenon Environmental Systems, Inc. at a cost of $4,129,377, which includes a 10-year membrane replacement program. Natgun Corporation constructed the new clearwell at a cost of $887,400. The new plant and clearwell were part of the City’s $24 million water system improvement project, which initially began construction in late 1999. Construction of over 12 miles of 16” and 12” water transmission mains from the new plant to the northeast and southern portions of the system was part of the improvement project.