2002 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

 We’re pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.  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.  We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water.  The source of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) includes 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, can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animal or from human activity.  Our source is surface water from the Ouachita River.

 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, or 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 be  the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

 The Arkansas Department of Health completed a Source Water Vulnerability Assessment for Malvern Waterworks.  This assessment summarizes the potential for contamination of our source of drinking water and can be used a basis for developing a source water protection plan.  A report explaining the assessment process and results can be obtained from the Malvern Waterworks office, or accessed through the Arkansas Department of Health’s website atwww.healthyarkansas.com/eng/pwslist0.htm

 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.

 Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water that the general population.  Immune-compromised persons such as persons with cancer under going 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 form 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).

 If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Howard Hoover, System Studies Coordinator, at 501-33-3634.  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 third Monday of each month at 5:30 PM in Malvern Waterworks business office.

 Malvern Waterworks routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1^st to December 31^st, 2002.  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:

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) – One part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or 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, 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.
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – Nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water.  Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
Treatment technique (TT) – A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.