Questions regarding water quality or other water related issues should be directed to:

Scott Schweda, Superintendent of Utilities

Village of Arlington Heights

222 N. Ridge Avenue

Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005

Phone (847) 368-5800 Fax (847) 577-5930

In keeping with our continuing efforts to be environmentally responsible, the Village will offer this report on the Village web site (www.vah.com). Your water bill will inform you of the availability of the report. A printed copy will be available upon request (847-368-5800).

A BRIEF COMMENT CONCERNING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT

The replacement of water related infrastructure is constantly being performed within the Village of Arlington Heights. This includes both above and underground infrastructure.

The Village of Arlington Heights has ten water storage tanks that require painting every twenty five to thirty years. The maintenance of water pumping stations is an ongoing task that requires proper planning and coordination to ensure the uninterrupted flow of potable water to our customers. Maintenance of the Village’s emergency wells is an ongoing task as well.

The Village of Arlington Heights has over two hundred and one miles of water main. Seventy miles of water main are over sixty years old. The failure of water main includes many factors such as poor soil conditions, stray electrical current, depth of bury and poor pipe quality. The prioritization of replacement is based upon many factors which include critical customers, rate of failure, scheduled road replacement and ease of construction.

Arlington Heights continues to maintain existing infrastructure on an annual basis as part of our ongoing Capital Program. As such, the planned water main replacement this year will entail the replacement of existing mains on Verde Drive; Cambridge

to Allegheny; Plymouth Court; Lexington Street, Verde Drive to Roanoke; Concord Drive; Roanoke Drive, Wilke Road to Verde Drive; Williamsburg Drive, Lexington to 2301 N. Maude Avenue, Arlington Heights Road to Douglas Avenue; Lynwood Avenue, Arlington Heights Road to Douglas Avenue; Belmont Avenue, Maude Avenue to Thomas Street; Pine Avenue, Maude Avenue to Thomas Street; Haddow Avenue, Maude Avenue to Lynwood Avenue; Haddow Avenue, Thomas Street to South end; Thomas Street, Belmont Avenue to Dryden Avenue.

WATER MONITORING, TESTING AND ANALYSIS

This year, as in past years, the Village of Arlington Heights and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) have initiated and implemented significant measures which safeguard your drinking water. Drinking water in Arlington Heights is monitored and tested in accordance with United States Environmental Protection Agency standards and regulations. Each year the Village and IEPA perform over 1200 analytical tests in order to assure water quality. These analytical tests are an integral part of a monitoring program that detects and quantifies over 120 contaminants and microbials.

A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT WATER SYSTEM SECURITY AND VULNERABILITY

The official title of this document is “Consumer Confidence Report”. One

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essential element which contributes to the confidence level of our water customers is water system security. Our customers demand and expect that their drinking water is safe and plentiful. Water system security and protection is the cornerstone of any municipal water supply.

It is not appropriate to disseminate the specific mitigation measures developed for the Arlington Heights water system in this publication. However, appropriate plans and measures have been developed and are constantly refined as time an technology allow. The Village President and Board of Trustees, the Village Manager and the Water Utility Operations staff are unalterably committed to preventing attack and intrusion and to developing emergency measures to counter any event or act which threatens the delivery of plentiful, reliable, and safe drinking water to customers in the Village of Arlington Heights.

WATER SOURCE AND DELIVERY SYSTEM

It should be noted that the source water for customers in Arlington Heights is Lake Michigan. Beginning in 1985, the Village Water Utility changed from deep well ground water to Lake Michigan surface water. Although the Village maintains 6 deep wells for emergency purposes, the sole water source for Arlington Heights is Lake Michigan water treated by the City of Evanston.

INTERESTING STATISTICS

Miles of public water main (4”-30”) 201+. Number of metered customers, 20,788. Average day water pumpage, 7.3 million gallons.

Number of public fire hydrants, 3315+. Number of water storage reservoirs, 10. Pumping capacity, 31,050 gallons/minute.

WATER TREATMENT

The City of Evanston is responsible for all required treatment of our drinking water. The Evanston water filtration plant provides the following treatment processes: Flocculation, Sedimentation, Rapid Sand Filtration, and Disinfection.

The Evanston plant adds fluoride and chlorine to the water in accordance with State and Federal guidelines. Additionally, the Evanston plant adds Polyorthophosphate as a corrosion inhibitor to guard against lead and copper contamination of the drinking water supply. The Village monitors the levels of chlorine disinfectant in the treated, finished water and adds chlorine as needed in order to maintain a disinfectant residual as required by State and Federal Regulations. Northwest Water Commission collects water from the Evanston plant and distributes the water to Arlington Heights.

SOURCE WATER ASSESSMENT AND PROTECTION

In accordance with the 1996 Amendments to the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has performed and completed a “Source Water Assessment” for the Village of Arlington Heights water supply. The “source water” for Arlington Heights is Lake Michigan at Evanston, Illinois. The City of Evanston provides complete water treatment and filtration of all water supplied to Village of Arlington Heights municipal water customers.

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Regulated Contaminants

Collection

Date

Highest

Level

Detected

Range

of Levels

Detected

MCLG

MCL

Units Violation Likely Source of Contaminant

EDUCATIONAL STATEMENTS 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 USEPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

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, people 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. USEPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the USEPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791.

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 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 may 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 also may come from gasoline stations, urban storm water runoff and septic systems.
• Radioactive contaminants which may 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, the USEPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide similar protection for public health.

VIOLATION REPORT SUMMARY

The Village of Arlington Heights water utility is proud to report that no violations of any state or federal standard occurred during the 2020 reporting period.

EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY DEEP WELL’S

The Village owns and operates several deep wells as a source of emergency water supply. Water Quality Data is available upon request. No well water was distributed in 2020.

CRYPTOSPORIDIUM MONITORING – The Village of Arlington Heights does not monitor for cryptosporidium. However, in accordance with the “Long Term Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule” established by USEPA, Evanston is currently monitoring for cryptosporidum monthly. Monthly testing for cryptosporidium began in April 2007. Monitoring performed by Evanston in 2018 did not detect cryptosporidium, giardia, or escherichia coli in the “raw” source water withdrawn from Lake Michigan.

MONITORING DATASUMMARY TABLES

• In addition to the informational section of this water quality report the Village has included several tables for your review. These tables list and quantify contaminants that were detected in your drinking water or were tested for but not detected.
  The following table and data is applicable to Arlington Heights drinking water:

Regulated Contaminants

Collection

Date

Highest Level

Detected

Range of

Levels Detected

MCLG

MCL

Units

Violation

Likely Source of Contaminant

Definitions: MCLG: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, or 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. MCL: Maximum Contaminant Level, or 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. AL: Action Level, or the concentration of a contaminant which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. TT: Treatment Technique or a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Abbreviations: nd – not detectable at testing limits. n/a – not applicable. ppm

• parts per million or milligrams per liter. ppb – parts per billion or micrograms per liter. ppt – parts per trillion, or nanograms per liter. ppq – parts per quadrillion, or pictograms per liter. n/a – not applicable. NTU – Nephelometric Turbidity Unit, used to measure cloudiness in drinking water. %<0.5 NTU – Percent samples less than 0.5 NTU. MFL – Million fibers per liter, used to measure asbestos concentration. mrem/yr – millirems per year, used to measure radiation absorbed by the body. pCi/l – picocuries per liter, used to measure radioactivity. #pos/mo
• number of positive samples per month.

%pos/mo – percent positive samples per month. In most cases, the “Level Found” column represents an average of sample result data collected during the CCR calendar year. The “Range of Detections” column represents a range of individual sample results, from lowest to highest that were collected during the CCR calendar year. If a date appears in the “Date of Sample” column, the Illinois EPA requires monitoring for this contaminant less than once per year because the concentrations do not frequently change. If no date appears in the column, monitoring for this contaminant was conducted during the CCR calendar year.

A Word About Taste and Odor Problems

Periodically, due to changes in the chemical properties of your drinking water, objectionable tastes and/or odors may be present. These “T & O” problems are typically attributable to either the chlorine used to disinfect the water or to algae in Lake Michigan.

Although counterintuitive, the chlorine smell is due to too little chlorine in the water rather than too much. The low chlorine residual is out of balance with the physical and chemical properties of the water resulting in a strong chlorine odor. This problem typically disappears in a day or two.

The second taste and odor problem is related to algae in Lake Michigan. Simply stated, when the algae comes in contact with the chlorine disinfectant an earthy, musty taste and odor is imparted to the water. Although harmless, the earthy, musty taste is highly objectionable to a majority of water customers. The City of Evanston has initiated enhanced water treatment techniques which have helped to mitigate the taste and odor problems when they occur.

Water Testing and Monitoring in Arlington Heights

Water quality and purity is of paramount importance in Arlington Heights. The Village Water Utility Operations staff is on constant vigil to monitor for and guard against microbial and chemical contamination of the drinking water. The following is a brief description of the testing parameters and frequency of testing used in Arlington Heights. (All tests are performed by a private, IEPA certified laboratory or by the IEPA

Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois).

Microbial Testing – Samples are obtained from 20 sites in the Village on a weekly basis. These sites are located strategically throughout the Village and are representative of the entire water distribution network in Arlington Heights. The 20 weekly bacteriological samples are analyzed for chlorine residual value and for bacteriological contamination. Particular emphasis is placed on detecting Coliform bacteria.

Disinfectant Monitoring – The essence of a safe drinking water supply is disinfection. Initial disinfection of our drinking water is done as part of the water treatment process at the

City of Evanston’s water treatment plant. Disinfectant (chlorine) residual content is maintained by both the Northwest Water Commission and by the Village. The Village monitors chlorine residual by using continuous chlorine analyzers. These analyzers instantaneously determine if additional chlorine is needed in order to maintain safe, effective disinfectant levels.

Water Quality Monitoring – The Village samples and tests incoming water supplied by Evanston and the Northwest Water Commission. These tests are conducted on a bi- weekly basis. These samples are obtained from the four Northwest Water Commission water supply entry points to the Village. These samples are analyzed for pH, corrosion inhibitor and related water quality parameters.

history of finished water quality produced Treatment Program. All agencies involved in ensuring the delivery of safe drinking water to consumers in Arlington Heights have developed programs designed to address source water protection issues at the local level.

Specific source water assessment and protection information can be obtained from the IEPA at www.epa,state,il,us/ water/groundwater/source-water and www.epa.state.il.us/cgi-bin/wp/swap-fact- sheets.pl

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the IEPA 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.