Is Pawtucket Tap Water Safe to Drink?

WATER QUALITY REPORT

Pawtucket Water is pleased to present a summary of the quality of the drinking water provided to you, our customers, dur- ing the past year. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) re- quires all water utilities to issue an annual “Consumer Confi- dence” report to its customers. This is the twenty-third in a series of reports intended to promote increased consumer awareness of the quality of their water and the actions their utility is taking to ensure continued safe drinking water. Our report details where your water originates, what it contains and how it compares to standards established by the federal government. Rest assured, Pawtucket Water and its employees are committed to providing our customers with the safest and most reliable drinking water possible.

If you have any questions concerning this report please feel free to contact the Water Quality Supervisor at the PWSB Water Quality Laboratory, 727-4300 ext.102.

THE WATER IS SAFE TO DRINK

The Pawtucket Water Supply Board (PWSB) ensures the safety of the drinking water provided to the customer through a program of monitoring and testing. The PWSB Water Quality Laboratory and the RI Department of Health (RIDOH) extensively monitor the water both before and after the treatment process. The water quality is monitored even after it goes through the dis- tribution mains and is delivered to the customer. There are nu- merous federal and state regulations that govern drinking water.

These regulations provide structure on how, when and why samples are to be taken. The regulations tell the water supplier what to monitor, how often the tests should be run and how much of something can be present in the water. At the present time, there are over 70 regulated contaminants and over 30 unregulated contaminants that must be monitored by PWSB. The PWSB, with help from RIDOH, tests for over 170 different contaminants in your drinking water. These tests are performed daily, monthly, quarterly, or yearly as required.

The water delivered to the customer is monitored daily for turbidity, pH, color, odor, fluor ide, and bacter- iological contamination. The Water Quality Laboratory collects over 20 samples every day with an average of 600 samples taken each month. By sampling so often we are not only meeting federal and state regulations, we are en- suring that the water we provide our customers is SAFE to drink.

The table included in this report only lists those results that had detectable amounts of a contaminant. All of the results reported are below the maximum contaminant level set by regulations. If you would like a complete listing of all the analysis done on the water, please call the PWSB Water Quality Laboratory at 727-4300 ext. 102. You can also visit our web site at www.pwsb.org to find this listing and other helpful information.

Definitions:

Maximum Contaminant Level or MCL: 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 or MCLG: 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.

Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirement that a water system must follow.

Treatment Technique (TT): a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Variances and Exemptions: State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment technique under certain conditions. The data presented in this report is from the most recent testing done in accordance with regulations.

To Table

AL=Action Level

MCL=Maximum Contaminant Level MCLG=Maximum Contaminant Level Goal NTU = Nephelometric Turbidity Units

ppm = parts per million, or milligrams per liter (mg/l)

ppb = parts per billion, or micrograms per liter (ug/l)

46. = Treatment Technique n/a = not applicable

PAWTUCKET WATER SUPPLY BOARD

The Pawtucket Water Supply Board is a semi- autonomous agency of the City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Pawtucket Water Supply Board operates

1. water system that serves the Cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls and the Valley Falls section of Cum- berland. The Town of Cumberland purchases whole- sale water from the Pawtucket Water Supply Board.
   The Pawtucket Water Supply Board of Directors is comprised of six members. Four of those members are appointed by the Mayor of the City of Pawtucket and confirmed by the Pawtucket City Council. The fifth member is the Finance Director of the City of Paw- tucket, who serves ex-officio. The sixth member is a City Councilor appointed by the Pawtucket City Coun- cil
   The current board is: William Masuck, Chairper- son, James Bradford, Vice Chairperson, Thomas Hodge, Mark Theroux, Joanna L’Heureux, City of Pawtucket Finance Director, and Michael Araujo, Paw- tucket City Councilor.

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

The Pawtucket Water Supply Board (PWSB) is pleased to present this annual Consumer Confidence Report. The PWSB continues to produce and deliver high quality drinking water which meets or exceeds regulations set forth by the Federal Safe Drinking Wa- ter Act (SWDA). The PWSB will continue an aggres- sive capital improvement program which consists of the replacement or cleaning and lining of the distribution system piping network. In 2020, the PWSB replaced or cleaned and lined 2.2 miles of water main. The entire system is expected to be completed by 2022.

This report contains information and data regarding water quality, health information and financing. PWSB customers can look forward to the continued delivery of high quality drinking water well into the future. I trust that you will find the 2020 Consumer Confidence Re- port to be useful and informative.

William W. Masuck

Chairperson

How Can You Be Involved?

Meetings of the Pawtucket Water Supply Board begin at 5 P.M. on the second Tuesday of every month and are open to the public. Meetings are held in the Board’s conference room at 85 Branch Street head- quarters in Pawtucket.

El informe contiene informacion importante sobre la calidad del agua en su comunidad. Traduzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Pawtucket Water Supply Board (PWSB) is to continue to implement compre- hensive strategies to facilitate a water supply, trans- mission, and distribution system for our customers at an affordable rate that provides a reliable safe supply of potable water, in accordance with Federal and State Safe Drinking Water Act requirements, for domestic, commercial, industrial, municipal, fire flow, and all other needs.

Additional Health Information

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA pre- scribes limits on the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regula- tions establish limits for contaminants in bottled water.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may rea- sonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health risk and effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800) 426-4791.

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 the land or through the ground, it dis- solves naturally-occurring mineral and radioactive mate- rial and can pick up substances resulting from the pres- ence of animals or from human activity.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

1. Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria which may come from sewage treat- ment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock op- erations, and wildlife.
2. 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 and farming.

3. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, storm water runoff and residential uses.
4. Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organics, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff and septic systems
5. Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas pro- duction and mining activities. In order to ensure the tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in wa- ter provided by public water systems.
   Some people may be more vulnerable to contami- nants in drinking water than is the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, persons with HIV/AIDS and/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, Environmental Protec- tion Agency, and/or Center for Disease Control. Guide- lines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infec- tion by Cryptosporidium are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline: (800) 426-4791.

Source Water Assessment

The RI Department of Health and the University of Rhode Island, in cooperation with other state and feder- al agencies, have assessed the threats to PWSB’s wa- ter supply sources. The assessment considered the intensity of development, the presence of businesses and facilities that use, store or generate potential con- taminants, how easily contaminants may move through the soils in the Source Water Protection Area (SWPA), and the sampling history of the water.

Our monitoring program continues to assure that the water delivered to your home is safe and whole- some. However, the assessment found that the water source is at “MEDIUM” risk of contamination. Protec- tion efforts are necessary to assure continued water quality. The complete Source Water Assessment Re- port is now available at http://web.uri.edu/nemo/source -water-protection/.

Pawtucket Water has been delivering safe, de- pendable drinking water 7 days a week, 24 hours a day since February 2, 1878, when water was turned on to the City and its 24 mile distribution system.

Water Conservation Tips

The Pawtucket Water Supply Board strongly en- courages its’ customers to conserve water. By doing so, you will not only save on your water bill, you will also save on sewer and septic system cost. For more infor- mation on water saving appliances, please log on to: www.epa.gov/watersense.

Use water consuming appliances such as dish- washers and washer machines only when neces- sary.

Wash only full loads of clothing and dishes.

Make sure your faucets and toilets do not have any leaks.

Check plumbing for leaks.

Make sure new faucets, toilets and appliances are water efficient models.

Take shorter showers.

Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, shaving or rinsing dishes.

Don’t pour water down the drain if it can be used for other things such as plant watering.

Financing of the PWSB

The PWSB operates as an enterprise fund. As such its costs and expenses including debt service are recovered from user charges. The PWSB is required to maintain its books and records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as applied to government agencies.

The PWSB utilizes the National Association of Regu- lated Utility Commissioners system of accounts. This sys- tem is audited annually.The PWSB is required to file quarter- ly and annual reports with the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission regulates the rates the PWSB charges. Rate increases are granted in the form of gross revenues required to operate the water supply system. The Public Utilities Commission is a three person quasi-judicial body that rules on proposed rate in- creases after considering relevant positions and testimony relative to the proposed rate increase. The Division of the Public Utilities Commission is represented by the State Attorney General’s office as the advocate of the rate payer. From the date the request to increase rates is filed to the granting of an increase takes up to seven months.

Those of you who may have questions may email through www.pwsb.org

and/or contact the Chief Engineer at:

401-729-5001