CITY OF SELDOVIA

2004 CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORT

The City of Seldovia is pleased to report that its water is safe and the quality exceeds the applicable Federal and State DEC requirements. We're pleased to present to you this year's Annual Consumer Confidence Report, which covers the January-December 2004 period. 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 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. As most of you are aware, the City of Seldovia has been actively working on city water and sewer upgrade for a number of years now.  We are continuing to maintain and repair leaks in the water system.  We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water. 

Our water source is surface water from the upper water reservoir located in the hills east of the airport. For those of you that don't know where the reservoir is located, a copy of the topographical map is available for review at the City office. 

The City of Seldovia has chosen to pursue and comply with the Filtration by Avoidance plan.  This plan is unique from most other surface water systems that must install filtration treatment.  Because of our pristine watershed area, the good water quality and the protection of our watershed, we are allowed to not filter our water.   However if water quality deteriorates, we would be required to install costly filtration equipment.  This is why access to our reservoir and watershed is restricted.

In summary, Seldovia's water reports have consistently met the EPA requirements for the surface water treatment rule which forms the basis of avoiding filtration. The City is successfully achieving compliance for filtration by avoidance. Our last inspection report from the Department of Environmental Conservation stated that "the submitted samples to date meet the required criteria for unfiltered surface water sources" A copy of the criteria for avoiding filtration is available at the city office, or can be reviewed in 18 AAC 80.520. of the State of Alaska Administrative Code, DEC. 

Our water reservoir has one source of susceptibility for potential contamination. The City of Seldovia does not have complete control of the watershed area. 80% of the area is owned by the State of Alaska and is therefore in our control. 20% is owned by the Seldovia Native Association. SNA has stated that they will do nothing with their property that would harm our water supply. The Kenai Peninsula Borough has also provided documentation regarding the regulation of land within the Seldovia "upper reservoir" watershed that will monitor and control detrimental activities occurring in the watershed area. Therefore, control of Seldovia's watershed should not be a problem. 

Water treatment 

Treatment takes place at the chlorination building where chlorine is added to treat the raw water for water born pathogens.  The water is then placed in a 550,000 gallon storage tank. The water moves from the storage tank to the distribution lines serving the city.  The treated water is tested daily for turbidity (clarity), chlorine levels, temperature and pH.  In addition, a weekly fecal Coliform sample from the raw water is tested.  We also check five sites around town where the water is again checked to insure that we maintain chlorine residual adequate to control any water born disease. 

There is approximately 15,840 feet of water pipe within Seldovia's distribution system. The water distribution system starts at the upper reservoir and is piped to the chlorinating building. Chlorine is added as the water moves to the tank, then to the distribution lines to the city. The water system is controlled by over 55 valves, and there are 49 fire hydrants. 

The water system for Seldovia is controlled by the City of Seldovia. At present we have two certified water operators; John Gruber, OIT, and Rance Zeien, level one operator. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact the City of Seldovia at 234-7643. We want our customers to be informed about their water utility. You may also come to the City of Seldovia Council meetings scheduled for the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. The meetings are held in the Multipurpose Room. 

Contaminants 

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. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. It is important to remember that 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 Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800-426-4791). 

Contaminants that may be present in source water include: Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife. Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metal, which can be naturally occurring. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, and residential uses. Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and septic systems. Radioactive contaminants, which ran be naturally occurring or by the result of oil and gas mining activities. 

Water Quality Test Results 

Our water operators routinely monitor for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The State requires us to monitor for many contaminants on different schedules. The monitoring requirements vary depending on the water source and contaminant. The following table shows the results of our monitoring for the 2004 year or for the last sample collected.  We did not sample our water for Pesticides and Herbicides due to a waiver by the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Table of Detected Contaminants - 2004

In this table you will find terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To better help you understand these terms, please review the following definitions: 

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. 

Action Level - the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, baggers 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 contaminants 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. 

Turbidity - Suspended material or cloudiness, measured in NTU'S. Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfecting and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. 

NYU's - Nephelometric Turbidity Unit, units of turbidity indicated by an instrument (nephelometer) that measures refracted light through a water sample. 

Contaminant	Level 
Detected	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination	
1. Turbidity	Highest 0.09 	N/A	.5 NTU Max. 	Soil Runoff	
2. Lead                                    	0	0 of 10 sites ≥ AL	15 (AL)*	Corrosion of Household Plumbing	
3. Copper	 150 ppb	0 of 10 sites ≥ AL	1300 (AL)*	Corrosion of Household Plumbing	
4. Nitrate	1.4 (mgl)	0 mgl	10 mgl	Erosion of Natural Deposits	
5. Total Trihalomethanes 	32.3 ppb	0 ppb	80 ppb	Chlorination by-product	
6. Haloacetic Acid	28.5 ppb	0	60 ppb	Chlorination by-product	
* Compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule is based on 90 percent of the results being less than or equal to the action level (AL).
                                                                                                         
Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791). 
	
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 MV/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). 

Violation

During 2004, the city had one violation which was for not completing the 2003 Consumer Confidence Report before July 1, 2004.  This report and those in the future will be submitted in a timely manner.

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing you with clean, quality water. In order to maintain a safe and dependable water supply we sometimes need to make improvements that will benefit all of our customers. These improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments. Thank you for understanding.