Is Carmel Tap Water Safe to Drink?

Rain on Main in the

Arts & Design District

Carmel’s Annual Water Event: Rain on Main!

This year, Rain on Main will debut at Allied Solutions’ Meet Me on Main Saturday, August 14. The barrels will remain on Main Street between 1st Avenue NE/SE and 4th Ave NW/SW through the next week for everyone’s enjoyment.

On Saturday, August 21 the barrels will then be re-located to the Carmel Farmers Market where they will be on display and auctioned off to the highest bidders via a virtual silent auction. Net proceeds from the auction will be used to fund water education signage in Carmel Clay Parks. The initial signs have been installed in Founders Park, 116th and Hazel Dell Parkway.

Rain on Main is possible due to main sponsorship by Greenscape Geeks, a landscape

architecture and landscaping company that specializes in sustainable and eco-friendly landscape design, installation and maintenance. The event is also supported by Carmel businesses Tom Wood Collision, White’s Ace Hardware and Sherwin-Williams Automotive. Rain on Main is organized by City of Carmel Utilities, Carmel Department of Storm Water Management and Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District. Rain barrels continue to grow in popularity across the country; beautifully painted rain barrels increase

their desirability and encourage water conservation by the use of recycled rainwater

Rain barrels sit under gutter down spouts to collect and store rainwater from roofs that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains, streams and rivers. The collected water can then be used to water plants in the landscape instead of using treated water which saves water and energy.

More information about the Rain on Main can be found at www.RainOnMain.com or www.Facebook.com/RainOnMain

Our 3-Step Water Treatment Process

Questions?

If you have any questions about this report or concerning

your water utility, please contact Carmel Utilities at 317-571-2443 or go to the Utilities page on the City of Carmel website at www.carmel.in.gov

For maintenance concerns or questions about hydrants, taps or mains, call the water utilities operations facility at 317-733-2855.

EPA’s

Safe Drinking Water

(800) 426-4791

www.EPA.gov

CITY OF CARMEL

Jim Brainard, Mayor

One Civic Square, Carmel, IN 46032

Carmel’s Water Supply Source

Carmel’s water supply comes from a ground water source called an aquifer. The aquifer is commonly referred to

as the Upper White River Basin Watershed. Twenty wells located throughout the city pump water from the aquifer

2020 WATER QUALITY REPORT

We are pleased to report that your

tap water met all

Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA)

and state standards in 2020.

to four water plants for treatment. The production wells range in depth from 49 to 108 feet deep, are 10 to 36 inches in diameter, and have pumping capacities ranging from 175 to 2,800 gallons per minute.

1. Iron Removal–The water treatment plant aerates the water to oxidize the soluble iron found naturally in well water. The oxidized iron adheres to itself forming clumps that are filtered out of the water by iron filters.
2. Water Softened–Then, the iron filtered water passes through a process where the water is softened to eight grains hardness, which is considered moderately hard water. Should you desire water that has been softened to zero (0) grains hardness, a home softener will be needed. During periods of extremely high summer water usage, the level of softening may be decreased to meet customer demand.
3. Chlorine and Fluoride Added–Chlorine is added to destroy any harmful bacteria present and to maintain a level of protection as the water travels through the distribution system. Fluoride is added to help strengthen resistance to cavities in teeth. Following the injection of chlorine and fluoride, the water enters the distribution system to be delivered to Carmel’s homes and businesses.

People with Compromised Immune Systems

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 (800-426-4791).

Source of Carmel Clay’s water supply that comes from Citizens Water

White River supplies two of the four surface water treatment plants: White River and White River North. Morse Reservoir, near Noblesville, stores water to assure a dependable supply in the White River to these plants. Fall Creek is another surface water supply. Geist Reservoir stores water to assure an adequate supply

in Fall Creek for the Fall Creek Treatment Plant.

A number of wells are used intermittently to supplement the supplies to the White River, White River North, and Fall Creek plants. Citizens Water also receives some surface water from Eagle Creek Reservoir which supplies water to the T.W. Moses plant.

Currently, Citizens Water has five groundwater stations that serve smaller portions of its service area. These are White River North, Geist Station, Harding Station, South Well Field, and Ford Road Plant. These groundwater stations treat water pumped from underground water sources called aquifers.

Hoosier Water

Guardian Award

Awarded to communities who go above and beyond the state’s requirements for protecting their drinking water supply.

Groundwater Guardian

Educates people and

inspires action to ensure

sustainable, clean

groundwater for future

generations.

Carmel Utilities 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 1st to December 31st, 2020. As water travels over the land or underground, it can pick up substances or contaminants. The chart below gives quick look at some of the substances that the EPA requires the utility to test for. The contaminant is listed to the left, followed by the maximum amount allowed by regulations and then the amount that we found in our water. The tests are performed on treated or “finished” water (excluding the last three listed in this chart). See the definitions at the bottom of the chart.

Water Purity Information provided by United States Environment Protection Agency

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 (800-426-4791).

(or Micrograms per liter)

Water Contaminants Before Treatment

Testing for Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium is a microscopic organism that lives in the intestines of animals and people. When ingested this microscopic pathogen may cause a disease called cryptosporidiosis, which has flu-like symptoms. Although there has been no cryptosporidium found in treated, finished drinking water, cryp- tosporidium is found in source water such as White River, Fall Creek and Eagle Creek Reservoir. The U.S. EPA has created the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2) for the sole purpose of reducing illness linked with the contaminant Crypto- sporidium and other disease-causing microorganisms in drinking water. The rule will bolster existing regulations and

provide a higher level of protection of your drinking water supply.

Lead in Home Plumbing

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. Carmel Utilities 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 water, you may wish to have your water tested.

Information on lead in drinking water,

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of 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 treat- ment 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 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, storm water runoff, and residential uses.
• Organic chemicals, 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 materials, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regula- tions that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

Lead in Water

Carmel Utilities regularly tests drinking water for lead and takes steps in its treatment process to ensure corrosive elements do not result in elevated levels of lead in customer tap water. Lead exposure comes primarily from water service lines which extend from the water main to the home and/or from interior plumbing components. Homes built before 1950 are more likely to have lead pipes. Homes built before 1986 may have lead soldering. Carmel Utilities lead testing comes exclusively from homes most likely to have lead in its plumbing system. If you would like to determine if your home has lead in its plumbing components or service line, hire a licensed plumber who can best advise you.

testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the

Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.