Is Lillington Tap Water Safe to Drink?

What EPA Wants You to Know

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 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 (800-426-4791).

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 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).

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. Harnett County 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, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

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 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 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; and radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities

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

When You Turn on Your Tap, Consider the Source

The Water that is used by this system comes from the Cape Fear River, which is formed by the confluence of the Deep, and Haw River along the border between Chatham and Lee counties. We are a surface water treatment plant located at 310 West Duncan St. in Lillington NC.

Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) Results

The North Carolina Department of Environment Quality (DEQ), Public Water Supply (PWSS) Section, Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) conducted assessments for all drinking water sources across North Carolina. The purpose of the assessment was to determine the susceptibility of each drinking water source (well or surface water intake) to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs).

The relative susceptibility rating for Harnett Regional Water (HRW) was determined by combining the contaminant rating (number and locations of PCSs within the assessment area) and the inherent vulnerability rating (i.e., characteristics or existing conditions of watershed and its delineated assessment area.) The assessment findings are summarized in the table below.

SWAP Result Summary

Harnett Regional Water – Water Treatment Plant Reservoir

The Complete SWAP Assessment report for Harnett Regional Water may be viewed on the website: https://www.ncwater.org/?page=600 Note that because SWAP results and reports are periodically updated by the PWS section, the results may differ from the results on the CCR. To obtain a printed copy of this report, please mail a written request to: Source Water Assessment Program - Report Request, 1634 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1634, or email request to swap@ncdenr.gov. Please indicate System Name (Harnett Regional Water) PWSID (03-43-045), and provide your name, mailing address and phone number. If you have any questions about the SWAP report, please contact the Source Water Assessment staff by phone at 919-707-9098.

It is important to understand that a susceptibility rating of “higher” does not imply poor water quality, only the systems’ potential to become contaminated by PCS’s in the assessment area.

.

2020 was a definitely a year that everyone wants to put in the rear view mirror. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered our world, as we know it. We look forward to a more prosperous and normal year in 2021. Despite the tumultuous happenings in 2020, Harnett Regional Water continued to provide the highest quality water and wastewater services to our residential and commercial customers in Harnett County and the surrounding region. We embarked on an ambitious multi-year water meter upgrade project that is currently underway. HRW is replacing all of our existing water meters with new digital meters that transmit hourly readings to our customer service department. The new system uses wireless and radio frequency technology to transmit the readings eliminating the need for manual reads. This new technology will allow HRW to alert customers to leaks and other possible issues much faster saving them money and conserving water in the process. HRW will continue to keep you informed of the project status and how you can benefit from these improvements.

We are very proud of our record of environmental compliance as evidenced by this water quality report. We did not have any water quality violations and produced excellent water for our customers as always. Contact us by email or phone to get your water treatment questions answered. HRW is very fortunate to have such a fine group of water treatment professionals who strive daily to provide only the best drinking water to all of our citizens. HRW will continue to serve the citizens of Harnett County and the surrounding region by supplying only the best of the most important commodity in the world, water.

Step 1 TOC Removal Requirements

The Harnett County Regional Water Treatment Plant does voluntary quarterly monitoring of its source water for cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium is a microbial parasite, which is found in surface water throughout the United States. Our Monitoring for 2020 had zero detects. Cryptosporidium must be ingested for it to cause disease and may be spread through means other than drinking water. Contact the Safe/Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 for more information. We routinely monitor for over 150 contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The following tables list the contaminants detected in the last round of sampling. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in these tables are from testing done January 1 through December 31 2020. The EPA and the State allow us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old. In these tables 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:

PPM –Parts per Million PPB – Parts per Billion

MCLG – Maximum Contaminant Level Goal

MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level

SMCL – Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level

46. – Treatment Technique AL – Action Level

NTU – Nephelometric Turbidity Unit ND – Non-Detect NA – Not Applicable

MCLG – Maximum Contaminant Level Goal – The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected health risk. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level – The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to MCLGs as feasible using the best available Treatment technology.

46. – Treatment Technique – is a required process intended to reduce the level of contaminant in drinking water.
    AL – Action Level – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
    MFL-Million Fibers per Liter- A measurement of the presence of asbestos fibers that are longer than 10 micrometers
    LRAA – Locational Running Annual Average – The average of sample analytical results for samples taken at a particular monitoring location during the previous four calendar quarters under the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule

Source Water

TOC (Mg/L)

>2.0 – 4.0

>4.0 – 8.0

> 8.0

Source Water Alkalinity Mg/L as CaCO3 ( in

Percentages)

Misc. Water Characteristics Contaminants