Presented By

WATER TESTING PERFORMED IN

ANNUAL

QUALITYWATER

REPORT

PWS ID#: 1710004

Substances That Could Be in Water

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. EPA prescribes regulations limiting the amount

of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of these contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.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 dissolves naturally occurring minerals, in some cases, radioactive material, and substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Substances 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, or wildlife;Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or may result from urban stormwater 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 stormwater runoff, and residential uses;Organic Chemical Contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production and may also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems;Radioactive Contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or may be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, call the U.S. EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Our Mission Continues

We are proud to present once again our annual water quality report covering all testing

performed between January 1 and December 31, 2014. Most notably, last year marked the 40th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This rule was created to protect public health by regulating the nation’s drinking water supply. We celebrate this milestone as we continue to manage our water system with a mission to deliver the best quality drinking water. By striving to meet the requirements of SDWA, we are ensuring a future of healthy, clean drinking water for years to come.Please let us know if you ever have any questions or concerns about your water.

Important Health Information

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population.

Immunocompromised 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 may be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. The U.S. EPA/CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or http://water.epa.gov/drink/hotline.

The New and Improved of 2014

In the fall of 2014, ERMU put in new water main from our well house on the corner of Line Avenue

& County Road 13 (Twin Lakes Parkway). We were able to connect the preexisting water main at that intersection down to the intersection of County Road 12 and County Road 13. This will allow us to enhance our infrastructure with our future plans of adding another well to the current well-house site. The water main expansion allows for better water flow in our water distribution system.

QUESTIONS?For more information about this report, or for any questions relating to your drinking water, please call Eric Volk, Water Superintendent, at (763) 441-2020.

Hydrant Safety and Access

Take a look out your front window...Can you see something red near the road? Do you have a hydrant in your yard? If so, what’s around it? There’s a good chance that branches,

rocks, plants, and the most prevalent item... snow (not this time of year of course, we HOPE) are looming around your hydrant. We know that hydrants may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but they are there for your safety. They protect your home, belongings, and your loved ones. Please take time to clear hindrances away from them. In the event of an emergency, seconds matter. It also allows our firefighters to stay safe while rushing to your aid. Snow should be cleared, rocks kept to a flat safe-standing surface, and gardening and branches clear from the front and side hydrant nozzles. Thanks for being mindful! Keep it safe, keep it accessible.

Join Us in celebrating our 100th Anniversary!Our Community Celebration will take place on:

Thursday, August 27, 2015 • 4:00 PM - 8:00 PMLocation: The Sherburne County Fair Grounds

We will have music, food, and entertainmentfor the entire family!

More information will be available on our Web site at http://www.elkriverutilities.com.

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. We are 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, 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.We sample for lead and copper every third year with the help of our customers. Water customers give us a water sample from their home. If you are interested in being a sample volunteer, please call our offices to be placed on our list. It only takes a few minutes to provide a sample. Our next sampling period will be held in the summer of 2016. We will need volunteers that have a nonfiltered/softened sample source.

Wellhead Protection and Well Sealing Cost-Share Program

Wellhead Protection is mandated by the Minnesota Department of Health. We have a 20-year program to ensure we are completing best practices to keep our community

drinking water safe. This includes investigating potential contamination sources and educating our community on wellhead protection items. As a part of our Wellhead Protection Program, we have joined with Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District to provide a Well Sealing Cost-Share Program. If you have an unused well, you may qualify for assistance in sealing it. Every open well poses a potential contamination site. Check with the county to either seal your well or obtain a well maintenance permit.Cost-Share Rate:Maximum cost-share rate for non-high-priority wells within the wellhead Protection Area is up to 50% of eligible costs, not to exceed $800 per well. The maximum cost-share rate for high-priority wells is up to 75% of eligible costs not to exceed $1,000. Those interested in the cost-share must have the well sealing preapproved by ERMU & the Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District. We will not be able to assist projects that have already taken place or have started. Please check our Web site or call for more information.

Harley-Davidson H.O.G.S - Hydrant Volunteers

We want to give a huge thank you to the men and women of Zylstra’s H-D H.O.G’s (Harley Owners Group), Chapter #2222!

Over the years, they have put in countless hours of shoveling snow from around hydrants. This past year, they have begun painting the hydrants in order to bring back the lustrous fire engine red, for visibility. This type of maintenance takes a lot of hard work and time. Please join us in saying thanks! H.O.G.’s, we appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for the Elk River Community!

Plumbing & Water Issues In The Home

If you experience any water or plumbing issues that you have questions about, please do not hesitate to call on us. We will try to help troubleshoot the issue. Your plumbing is

something that either you or a plumber would need to fix, but if you have questions or run into something that may be causing water issues, we are just a phone call away. At times a pressure reducer or water softener may fail and cause your water pressure to drop. If you have an unreasonably high water reading, we may also have a few things that you could check to see if simple fixes could bring your usage back down to a reasonable range. We are here to help and will try to assist you to the best of our ability.

Water Conservation Tips

Here at ERMU, we strive to save our customers money. There are numerous ways to save water so your bill stays low.

Biggest $aver Fixes:• Running Toilets: A toilet can run over 12,000 gallons in a day if

there is a leak. That’s more than double the typical use for an entire household in a month. Be sure your toilet isn’t running. If you need help identifying a leak, you could take a couple of drops of food coloring and put them in the tank of the toilet. If, after a few minutes, no food coloring has seeped into the toilet bowl, there is no leak. If the food coloring transfers into the bowl, there is a leak. Some toilets are intermittent with their leaks. If you hear running water longer than a minute after a flush, you may want to investigate.

• Leaking Faucet: This may seem minimal, but it can add up fast! Get those drips fixed. At least put a cup below it to pour on your thirsty plants.

• Overirrigation: This is the number one waste of water, but it’s generally the easiest to fix. You can have green grass without excessive watering. Check out our Web site for irrigation tips and other information on our SMART Irrigation Rebate.

Elk River’s Water Source & System

Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) customers are supplied

with water from eight wells ranging from 225 to 454 feet in depth. Our wells draw ground water from the Mt. Simon Hinckley aquifer. ERMU’s water system contains more than 109 miles of water mains, which serve approximately 4,700 customers. Our treatment facilities provided more than 782 million gallons of clean drinking water in 2014. We currently have four water towers that have a total storage capacity of 4,000,000 gallons of water. There are 1,210 hydrants in our water system that are used for fire protection and water quality.

Sampling Results

During the past year we have taken hundreds of water samples in order to determine the presence of any radioactive, biological, inorganic, volatile organic or synthetic organic contaminants. The table below shows only those contaminants that were detected in the water. The state requires us to monitor for certain substances less than once per year because

the concentrations of these substances do not change frequently. In these cases, the most recent sample data are included, along with the year in which the sample was taken.

REGULATED SUBSTANCESSUBSTANCE(UNIT OF MEASURE)

YEARSAMPLED

MCL[MRDL]

MCLG[MRDLG]

AMOUNTDETECTED

RANGELOW-HIGH VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE

Barium (ppm) 2012 2 2 0.02 NA No Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural depositsChlorine (ppm) 2014 [4] [4] 0.7 0.6–0.85 No Water additive used to control microbesFluoride (ppm) 2014 4 4 1.35 1.1–1.4 No Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive which promotes strong teeth; Discharge

from fertilizer and aluminum factoriesHaloacetic Acids [HAA]–Stage 1 (ppb) 2014 60 NA 10.2 1.7–10.2 No By-product of drinking water disinfectionNitrate (ppm) 2014 10.4 10 2 ND–2 No Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural depositsTTHMs [Total Trihalomethanes]–Stage 1 (ppb) 2014 80 NA 10.7 4.4–10.7 No By-product of drinking water disinfectionTotal Coliform Bacteria (# positive samples) 2014 1 positive

monthly sample0 11 NA No Naturally present in the environment

Tap water samples were collected for lead and copper analyses from sample sites throughout the communitySUBSTANCE(UNIT OF MEASURE)

YEARSAMPLED AL MCLG

AMOUNT DETECTED (90TH%TILE)

SITES ABOVE AL/TOTAL SITES VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE

Copper (ppm) 2013 1.3 1.3 0.21 1/30 No Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural depositsLead (ppb) 2014 15 0 2.4 0/30 No Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits

1 One sample was followed up with no contamination present.

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

MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): 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.

MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal): 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.

MRDL (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level): The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

MRDLG (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal): The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

NA: Not applicable

ND (Not detected): Indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis.

ppb (parts per billion): One part substance per billion parts water (or micrograms per liter).

ppm (parts per million): One part substance per million parts water (or milligrams per liter).

Definitions