The Town of Woodsboro, Maryland
PWSID # 0100027
June, 2009

We're pleased to present to you this year's Annual Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the water quality 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. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water.

The sources of our drinking water are the Frederick Limestone Aquifer and the Grove Limestone Aquifer. An aquifer is a sort of underground reservoir or deposit of water, which is tapped by drilling wells and pumping the water to the surface for distribution. The earth between surface sources of contamination and this underground river helps to purify the water before it actually reaches the aquifer, making it easier for us to treat before we pump it into your water distribution system. We have 5 wells varying in depth from 200 to 600 feet all located within the corporate limits of the town.

We have a source water assessment plan available from our office that provides more information such as potential sources of contamination. This plan is also available from the Frederick County Public Library or from Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).

This report outlines the quality of our finished drinking water and what that quality means.

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 (8000426-4791).

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Richard Priddey at 301-845-4288. 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 Mayor and Council meetings. They are held on the second Tuesday of every month beginning at 7:00 pm at the Fire Hall on Third Street.

The Town of Woodsboro routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2008, unless otherwise noted. As water travels over the land or underground, it can pick up substances or contaminants such as microbes, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. It's important to remember that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.

In this 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 contaminant is not present.

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 - 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.

Note: Sources are as follows: B = Well # 2; C = Well # 3; D = Wells # 7, 14, & 2A; Test results are for 2008 unless otherwise noted.

Additional contaminants which were detected in our testing but which are not currently regulated are listed in the following table.

“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 Town of Woodsboro 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 EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.”

All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or man made. These substances can be microbes, inorganic or organic chemicals and radioactive substances. All 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.

We constantly monitor for various contaminants in the water supply to meet all regulatory requirements. This past year we received a monitoring violation dated October 10th, 2008 for failure to have our testing results for lead & copper reported to MDE within 10 days of the end of the compliance period, which was September 30th, 2008. We are required by Federal & State Regulations (The Public Notification Rule) to let you know that this occurred. Additionally, our system has requested that one of the sampled sites be replaced with another as there was a problem with the collected sample. This will be completed in 2009 within the appropriate timeframe. This monitoring violation did not pose a threat to the quality of our water supply.

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.

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your family with clean, quality water this year. 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.