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Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
for
City of Medora, North Dakota
2006

We're pleased to present to you this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the safe clean water we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a 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 ground water from three separate wells drawing from the Fox Hills Aquifer and water from the Southwest Water Pipeline.

The City of Medora is participating in the North Dakota Well Head Protection Program. The North Dakota Department of Health has prepared a source water assessment for the City of Medora. Information on these programs is available on request.

“I'm pleased to report that our drinking water is safe and meets federal and state requirements”, said Mayor Walker. This report shows our water quality and what it means.

Our public water system, in cooperation with the North Dakota Department of Health, has completed the delineation and contaminant/land use inventory elements of the North Dakota Source Water Protection Program. Based on the information from these elements, The North Dakota Department of Health has determined that our source water is not likely susceptible to potential contaminants. No significant sources of contamination have been identified.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Michael Tank at 623-4936 or Sherri Ross at 623-4828.  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 meetings. They are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Medora Community Center. If you are aware of non-English speaking individuals who need help with the appropriate language translation, please call Sherri at the number listed above.

The City of Medora Public Utility System would appreciate it if large volume water customers post copies of the Water Quality Report in conspicuous locations or distribute them to tenants, residents, patients, students, and/or employees, so individuals who consume the water, but do not receive a water bill can learn about our water system.

City of Medora Public Utility System routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The following table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2006. As authorized and approved by EPA, the state has reduced monitoring requirements for certain contaminants to less often than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.  Some of our data [e.g., for inorganic contaminants], though representative, is more than one year old.

The sources of drinking water (both tap 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.

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 stormwater , industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil production, mining or farming.

Pesticides and herbicides, which come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater 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 stormwater 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, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

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:

Not Applicable (N/A) - Does not apply.

ND – None detected.

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 (mg/l) - 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 (AL)-  the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which 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 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.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level – The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal -  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.

Highest Compliance Level -  The highest level of that contaminant used to determine compliance with a National Primacy Drinking Water Regulation.

Range of Detections –  The lowest to the highest result value recorded during the required monitoring timeframe for systems with multiple entry points.

EPA requires us to monitor for over 80 drinking water contaminants and those that were detected are listed in the table below. Test results are from 2005. The State does allow reduced monitoring for certain contaminants because their levels do not change significantly over time. For this reason, some of the test results are more than one year old.

TEST RESULTS FOR CITY OF MEDORA
Contaminant	ViolationYes/No	LevelDetected	Range	Date(year)	UnitMeasurement	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Radioactive Contaminants
1. Gross Alpha, including RA, excluding RN & U	No	3.91	NA	2003	pCi/1	15	15	Erosion of natural deposits
2.  Uranium, combined	No	.237	NA	2003	Ppb	NA	30	Erosion of natural deposits
Volatile Organic Contaminants
1.  Ethylbenzene	No	.72	NA	2004	ppb	700	700	Discharge from petroleum refineries.
1.  Xylenes	No	.0039	NA	2004	ppm	10	10	Discharge from petroleum factories; discharge from chemical factories.
Inorganic Contaminants
1. Copper	No*	0 90th%value	NA	2006	ppm	1.3	AL=1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives
3. Lead	No*	0.78 90th% value	NA	2006	ppb	0	AL=15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits
4. Nitrate – Nitrite	No	0.67	NA	2005	ppm	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
5. Arsenic	No	10	NA	2005	ppb	NA	.05 mg/l	Erosion of natural deposits; Runoff from orchards; Runoff from glass and electronics productions wastes
Disinfection Byproducts
1.  Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	No	10	NA	2006	ppb	NA	60	Byproduct of drinking water disinfection.
2.  Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM)	No	43	NA	2004	ppb	NA	80	Byproduct of drinking water chlorination.
Disinfectants
1.  Chlorine	No	1.37	NA	2004	ppm	MRDLG=4	MRDL=4.0	Water additive used to control microbes.

* Copper and Lead did not exceed Action Level.

The following information is about Southwest Water.

"The beneficial use status of Lake Sakakawea providing source water for the SWA public water system is classified as fully supporting, while the potential contaminant sources in the source water protection area are of low concern.  The SWA public water system is classified as moderately susceptible.  Although the SWA public water system is classified as moderately susceptible to the source water's potential contaminant sources, it should be noted that historically, SWA has effectively treated this source water to meet drinking standards."

The SWA conducts monthly meetings that may pertain to water quality.  These meetings are on the first Monday of each month.  If you are interested in attending, or would like to request agenda time,  please call 701-225-0241 for more information on time and location of meetings.

For answers to questions about the SWA, SWPP water, or the CCR, please feel free to contact Roger Dick, Water Treatment Plant Operator (701-225-9149), or Mary Massad, CFO/Office Administrator, or Ray Christensen at the SWA office (701-225-0241).

SWA TABLE OF DETECTED REGULATED CONTAMINANTS
Contaminant (units)	MCLG	MCL	LevelDetected	DetectionRange	TestDate	Exceedance orViolation?	Major Sources in Drinking Water
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Removal
Total Organic Carbon (ppm) Source water	N/A	TT	3.27	2.42-3.27	2002	N/A	Naturally present in the environment.
Total Organic Carbon (ppm) Finished water	N/A	TT	2.52	1.48-2.52	2002	N/A	Naturally present in the environment.
Microbial Contaminants
Turbidity* (NTU)	N/A	TT = .3	0.13	N/A	2005	100% of samples met turbidity limit	Soil runoff.
Total Coliform Bacteria	0	1					Naturally present in the environment.
Inorganic Contaminants
Barium (ppm)	2	2	0.0132	N/A	2002	No	Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits.
Copper (ppm)	1.3	AL = 1.3					Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives.
Fluoride (ppm)	4	4	1.3	N/A	2002	No	Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive which promotes strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories.
Lead (ppb)	0	AL = 15					Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits.
Nitrate + Nitrite (ppm)	10	10	0.20	N/A	2006	No	Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits.
Selenium (ppb)	50	50	1.57	N/A	2002	No	Discharge from petroleum and metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits; Discharge from mines.
Disinfection By-products
Chloramines (ppm)	MRDLG  = 4	MRDL = 4.0	2.7	2.21-2.94	2006	No	Water additive used to control microbes.
Total Haloacetic Acids (ppb)	N/A	60	12	ND - 13.7	2006	No	By-product of drinking water chlorination.
Total Trihalomethanes (ppb)	N/A	80	6	3.23 - 12.8	2006	No	By-product of drinking water chlorination.
Radioactive Contaminants
Uranium, Combined (ppb)	0	30	0.388	N/A	2003	No	Erosion of natural deposits.
SWA TABLE OF DETECTED UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS³
Alkalinity (ppm) (unregulated)	N/A	N/A	2	ND-2	2006	N/A	Natural erosion, plant activities, and certain industrial waste discharges.
Bicarbonate as HCO3	N/A	N/A	186	176-186	2006	N/A	Natural erosion, plant activities, and certain industrial waste discharges.

* Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water and is monitored because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system.

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 (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.

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).

The City of Medora works around the clock 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.