Consumer Confidence Report

 2009 - 2010

Water Quality Report for the Drinking Water Supply

City of Slater, Saline County, Missouri 

Introduction: The Missouri State Board of Health Laboratory began investigating Missouri water supplies in 1902. The April 1904, Bulletin of the Missouri State Board of Health reported Slater’s source of supply to be a deep well and a sample collected at the hotel on January 29, 1904 indicated that the water was hard. But, it was very clear, produced no odor or growth of bacteria, and had no bad effect on a Guinea Pig. Water analysis methods and water quality standards and reporting have improved greatly over the past ninety-five years and so has the quality and reliability of Slater’s water supply.

The City of Slater believes the best way to assure that your drinking water is safe and reliable is to provide you with accurate facts. The Consumer Confidence Report for the year January 2009 to December 2009 will explain where your water comes from and Slater’s water treatment process. Slater’s water supply staff conducts thousands of routine analysis each year to assure that only the highest quality of drinking water is made available for your use. Additional analyses are conducted on Slater’s water at State and Federal designated laboratories. We are proud to report that Slater’s drinking water meets or exceeds all quality standards set by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MO DNR).

Source of Supply: Slater’s water supply is pumped from three wells that draw from the sand and gravel formation beneath farmland in the Missouri River Bottoms seven miles east of Slater. This alluvial formation is filled with water to within 20 feet of the surface. The new wells, constructed in 1995 and 1997, are 65 feet deep and can each pump up to 600 gallons per minute through stainless steel screens, which hold back the sand and gravel. According to water plant records 120,000,000 gallons of water were distributed in 2008 verses 141,794,100 in 2001. The untreated raw water from this source would be safe to drink, but highly undesirable to use in your household. The raw water is hard (scale forming) and contains nearly 40 times the iron levels (red staining) recommended for a water supply.

Treatment: Slater’s first lime softening plant built in 1934 to treat this source of water was replaced in 1967 with the current 500 gpm lime softening and iron removal plant. The treatment plant underwent a major upgrade in 1993-1995 to correct problems with the original facility, modernize controls and to assure compliance with all regulations.

Slater’s water treatment process include: aeration to convert the iron to a solid form; lime additions to convert dissolved calcium hardness to a solid form; polymer feed and mechanical mixing to produce a settle-able floc of the iron and hardness; sedimentation to separate the floc from the clear water; CO2 recarbonation to reduce scale forming; filtration to remove missed solids; chlorine disaffection to assure that the water does not deteriorate after it leaves the treatment plant and fluoridation to prevent tooth decay.

The water is then stored at the treatment plant for an hour or two before it is pumped into distribution system for your use. Through the treatment plant the hardness is reduced from 400 mg/1 to approximately 120 mg/1 and iron from 11 mg/1 to 0.1 mg/1 or less by these treatment process. The secondary standard for iron is 0.3 mg/1.

Operational control of the treatment process required that the plant operator conduct a battery of at least five chemical analysis on the treated water every two hours, additional analysis every four hours and raw water and sludge analysis once per shift. This is more than 20,000 test per year in addition to the five bacteriological monitoring samples with chlorine analysis taken each month on the distribution system and the more than 80 possible drinking water contaminates that we are also required to test for. The Slater water plant staff have certified as competent to operate the facility by the MO DNR.

The finished water is pumped from the treatment plant clear well storage to Slater’s 850,000-gallon ground storage tank through seven miles of 12-inch cast iron waterline, 5½ miles of which was constructed in 1917. Interconnecting along this line include the City of Gilliam and Public Water Supply District No. 2 of Saline County. The water is pumped from ground storage into Slater’s distribution system. Slater has two towers of 200,000-gallons and 300,000-gallon capacity, respectively. Slater serves five more interconnections with PWSD No. 2 of Saline County, which serves the Village of Arrow Rock. Both Gilliam and Arrow Rock provide their own local elevated water storage.

System Upgrades: The City of Slater is proud of the improvements made during the 90’s to the water supply to assure your reliance on a safe water supply. This includes: a filter backwash water recycle system; sludge storage and treatment facilities; three new alluvial wells replacing those dated back to the 30’s; and a complete treatment plant renovation to a condition better than when it was new in 1967. Distribution system improvements include a 300,000-gallon water tower and more than 9,600 feet of 8-inch waterline and 5,000 feet of 6-inch waterline. The net result of this distribution system project is a seventy five percent increase in the average output from the City of Slater’s 106 fire hydrants from 408 gpm in 1990 to 713 gpm in 1997. The older 200,000-gallon water tower was painted in 1999 for $75,000 with the ground storage being refurbished in 2002, for $114,000.00.  The cost of these projects exceeded $1,600,000.  The vast majority of which has been paid for with State and Federal grants.  The 5 ½ miles of 12-inch, cast iron, water line constructed in 1917, was replaced in September 2001, at a cost of $651,000.00  The City of Slater received a $400,000.00 Community Development Block Grant to help fund this project. In November 2003, the City received notice that our fire rating improved from a 7 to a 6.  Slater’s water improvement project was a 6” line loop from Central Street to the East end of Grandview.  This improvement increased the flow and pressure in this area as well as alleviating numerous dead end lines.  Total cost was $50,000.00.

Slater’s latest water plant improvement was the refurbishing of the clarifier and some plant control modification.  Total cost was $400,000.  This work was completed in the spring of 2009.  A rate increase of .25 per 1,000 gallons was necessary to cover the lease/purchase agreement to make these improvements.  In 2009 the City received a $10,000 DNR grant for a complete system evaluation that will be completed in early 2010.

Quality Data: All drinking water, whether bottled or tap water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least a small amount of contaminates. Of the more than (129 unregulated plus 76 regulated) 205 possible drinking contaminates Slater is required to test for, these were detected.  The City of Slater had no monitoring violation in 2007.  There are no additional required health effects violation notices or other notices.

In this table you will find many terms and abbreviation 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 (ug/l) – one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

Maximum Contaminant Level – The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal – The “Goal” (MCJG) is 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.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources – State of Missouri regulatory agency that oversees the monitoring and regulation of public drinking water systems.

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.  Records marked with *, though representative, are more than one year old.

Regulated

Inorganic                Units                        Units        MCL        MCLG     Level Found            Range of Detection Violation                 Sources

Chromium                                               ppb          100          100         1.24                         nd-1.24                    No                           Discharge from steel and pulp

mills; Erosion of natural deposits

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arsenic Dissolved*                 ppb          10            n/a           6.4300                     3.64-7.47                 No                           Erosion of

natural deposits; Runoff from Orchards; runoff from glass and electronics Production wastes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Barium, Dissolved*                 ppm         2              2              .3375                       .0281-.445                               No                           Discharge of drilling wastes;

                                                                                                                                                                                                Discharge from Metal refineries;

                                                                                                                                                                                                Erosion of natural deposits.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fluoride                                   ppm         4              4              .9867                       .91-1.19                   No                           Erosion of natural deposits; water

                                                                                                                                                                                                Additive which promotes strong

                                                                                                                                                                                                Teeth; Discharge from fertilizer

                                                                                                                                                                                                And aluminum factories.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nitrate+Nitrite as N                  ppm         10            10            .0600                       .06                           No                           Runoff from fertilizer use;

                                                                                                                                                                                                Leaching from septic tanks,

                                                                                                                                                                                                Sewage; Erosion of natural

Nitrate  (as N)                          ppm         1              1              .0600                       .06                           No                           Deposits.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Selenium, Dissolved*                              ppb          50            50            1.420                       1.42                         No                           Discharge from petroleum and

Metal refineries, erosion of

(2004) Natural deposits; Discharge from mines.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Volatile Organic                     Units        MCL        MCLG     Level Found            Range of Detection                 Violation                 Sources

Total Halvaccetic*                   ppb          60            0              26.27                       10.5-51.1                 No                           By-product of drinking water

(HAA5)                                                                                                                                                                                   Disinfection

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Trihalomethanes*           ppb          80            N/A          77.05                       63.1-98.1                 No                           By-product of drinking water

(TTHM)                                                                                                                                                                                   chlorination                                            

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Carbon Tetrachloride*             ppb          5              0              0.167                       nd-0.5                      No                           Discharge from chemical plants

(2004)                                                                                                                                                                                     And other industrial activities

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Copper levels at customer’s taps were tested at .0126 ppm which is _11 times lower than the EPA limit of 1.3 ppm. Lead levels, which are measured in parts per billion have an EPA maximum contaminant level goal of 0 ppb with the maximum contaminant level allowed of 15 ppb.  The average of samples tested from customer taps was 3.1 ppb. The next lead & copper test will be conducted in the summer of 2011.

Quick fact—Bottled water at 4.50 per case would cost $2,000 per thousand gallons vs. $6.00 per thousand gallons of tap water from the City of Slater.

The City of Slater issued no boil orders for city customers in the 2009 year, and had no violations.

Radon

Radon is naturally occurring gas present in soil and most ground water in Missouri.  Radon in home indoor air comes mainly from infiltration from soil in contact with foundations, slabs, and basement walls.  EPA recommends that indoor air levels not exceed 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter).  EPA uses a conversion  factor of 10,000 to 1 to determine indoor air contribution from water (see figured below).  Radon poses a risk for lung cancer (estimated at 160 deaths/year nationally from drinking water, 85% of these in smokers), and stomach cancer (5 deaths annually).  However, experts are not sure exactly what the cancer risk is from a given level of radon in drinking water.  If you are concerned about radon in your home, tests are available to determine the exact levels.  Call your local health department for details.

Units                        Level Found                            Range of Detections                                                Indoor Air Contributions

PCI/L                       0.1                                           0.1                                                           0.0015

Optional Monitoring (Not required by EPA)

Monitoring is not required for optional contaminants.

Inorganic                                               Units                                       Level Found                           Range of Detections

Alkalinity, Total*                                    ppm                                         296.5000                                 118-360

Calcium, Dissolved*                               ppm                                         73.5250                                   12.3-94.4

Chloride*                                                                ppm                                         13.2750                                   11-19.3   

Carbon, Total Organic (TOC) * 2004     ppm                                         2.1513                                     1.56-3.3

Iron, Dissolved*                                     ppb                                          .12                                           .12

Magnesium, Dissolved*                         ppm                                         20.850                                     15.4-22.8

Manganese, Dissolved*                          ppb                                          310.2500                                 nd-422

.pH*                                                        ph                                            7.6400                                     7.06-9.18

Potassium, Dissolved*                            ppm                                         4.7050                                     4.52-4.79

Sodium, Dissolved*                                ppm                                         12.100                                     11.9-12.3

Total Alkalinity as CaCO3*                    ppm                                         313.000                                   120-389

Total Dissolved Solids*                          ppm                                         176                                          176         

Hardness, Carbonate*                             ppm                                         269.5250                                 94.1-330

Iron, Total*                                             ppb                                          6282.7250                               10.9-8420

Sulfate                                                     ppm                                         18.325                                     16.2-20.3

Zinc                                                         ppb                                          28.6250                                   nd-46.3

Nitrogen-ammonia (as N)                       ppm                                         .740                                         .71-0.8

Solids (TDS)                                           ppm                                         370.00-7400                            150-447

Volatile Organic                                    Units                                       Level Found                           Range of Detections

Bromochloroacetic Acid*                        ppb                                          7.9480                                     4.76-11.5

Bromodichloroacetic Acid*                     ppb                                          5.4660                                     nd-15.1

Chlorodibromomethane                           ppb                                          16.02                                       12.4-18.8

Chloroform*                                           ppb                                          33.28                                       23.1-46.5

Dibromoacetic Acid*                              ppb                                          5.7660                                     nd-8.46

Dichloroacetic Acid*                               ppb                                          12.732                                     6.34-17.9

Monobromoacetic Acid*  2004               ppb                                          .3030                                       nd-3.03

Tribromoacetic Acid*  2004                    ppb                                          .4170                                       nd-4.17

Trichloroacetic Acid*                              ppb                                          3.3380                                     2.14-5.46

Bromodichloromethane                           ppb                                          23.690                                     19.6-29.4

Bromoform                                             ppb                                          4.0420                                     2.78-5.5

Chlorodibromoacetic Acid                      ppb                                          .9640                                       nd-4.16

Monochloracetic Acid                             ppb                                          4.1580                                     nd-21.4

Gross Beta Particles

                                                                Units                                       Collection Date                      Result
                                                               

                                                                Pci/L                                        03/27/02                                  <1

 Additional Information: This Consumer Confidence Water Quality Report is a requirement of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More information about contaminates and potential health effects may be obtained by calling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

The City of Slater does participate in the wellhead protection program.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminates 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 a particular risk from infections. These people should seek advice of 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 U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) or www.epa.gov/OGWDW.

This report will not be mailed, but will be published in its entirety.

Any citizen interested in learning more about drinking water quality or wishing to express their opinion about our water supply may do so by attending a regular meeting of the City Council, which meet the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM or contacting:

Gene Griffith, Assistant Administrator, City Hall, 232 N. Main, Slater, MO 65349, Phone (660) 529-2271, Fax (660) 529-2593 or e-mail: CityofSlater@galaxycable.net.

Robert Richards, Water Plant Supervisor, Slater Water Plant, Phone: (660) 784-2340