ALERTS:
POSSIBLE DISCOLORED WATER
& LOW PRESSURE
ATTENTION ALL CUSTOMERS
Posted:
January 28, 2010
The Passaic Valley Water
Commission will be performing routine maintenance at our Little Falls Water
Treatment Plant that may impact customers within our system. The work is scheduled for February 4,
2010. During this period of time, your
water will be supplied through other sources.
This may produce discolored water or lower pressure at any time during
the work period.
Passaic Valley Water
Commission assures all customers that the water will be safe for use during
this period; however, customers are cautioned to determine if the water is
clear before washing clothes (or any other processing) as staining may occur.
Passaic Valley Water
Commission regrets any inconvenience this may cause its customers.
LEAD IN DRINKING WATER
Attention All PVWC Customers
Posted December 9, 2009
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT LEAD IN YOUR DRINKING WATER
Passaic Valley Water Commission found elevated
levels of lead in drinking water in some homes/buildings in our community. Lead
can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and children 6
years and younger. Please read the
following notice closely to see what you can do to reduce lead in your drinking
water and to learn what Passaic Valley Water Commission is doing to address
this problem.
Call us at
973-340-4300 for more information.
December 2009.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT LEAD IN YOUR DRINKING
WATER
Passaic Valley Water
Commission found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in some
homes/buildings. Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for
pregnant women and children 6 years and younger. Please read this notice
closely to see what you can do to reduce lead in your drinking water.
This notice is brought to you by Passaic Valley Water
Commission, Public Water System ID # NJ1605002.
December 2009.
HEALTH
EFFECTS OF LEAD
Lead can cause serious health problems if too
much enters your body from drinking water or other sources. It can cause damage
to the brain and kidneys, and can interfere with the production of red blood
cells that carry oxygen to all parts of your body. The greatest risk of lead exposure is to infants, young children, and
pregnant women. Scientists have linked the effects of lead on the brain
with lowered IQ in children. Adults with
kidney problems and high blood pressure can be affected by low levels of lead
more than healthy adults. Lead is stored in the bones and it can be
released later in life. During pregnancy, the child receives lead from the
mother’s bones, which may affect brain development.
SOURCES
OF LEAD
Lead is a common metal found in the environment. Drinking
water is one possible source of lead exposure. The main sources of lead
exposure are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust or soil, and some
plumbing materials. In addition, lead can be found in certain types of pottery,
pewter, brass fixtures, food, and cosmetics. Other sources include exposure in
the work place and exposure from certain hobbies (lead can be carried on
clothing or shoes).
New brass faucets, fittings, and valves, including those
advertised as “lead-free,” may contribute lead to drinking water. The law
currently allows end-use brass fixtures, such as faucets, with up to 8 percent
lead to be labeled as “lead free”. However, plumbing fixtures labeled National
Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certified may only have up to 2 percent lead.
Consumers should be aware of these options when choosing fixtures and take
appropriate precautions.
Lead has not been detected in Passaic Valley
Water Commission’s finished water sources. When water is in contact with pipes
[or service lines] or plumbing that contains lead for several hours or more,
the lead may enter drinking water. This
means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning, or later in the
afternoon after returning from work or school, can contain fairly high levels
of lead. Homes built before 1986 are
more likely to have plumbing containing lead. New homes may also have lead;
even “lead-free” plumbing may contain some lead.
EPA estimates that 10 to 20 percent of a person’s
potential exposure to lead may come from drinking water. Infants who consume
mostly formula mixed with lead-containing water can receive 40 to 60 percent of
their exposure to lead from drinking water.
Don’t forget about other sources of lead such as lead
paint, lead dust, and lead in soil. Wash your children’s hands and toys often
as they can come into contact with dirt and dust containing lead.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE YOUR EXPOSURE TO LEAD IN YOUR WATER
1. Run your water to flush out lead. Run water for 15-30 seconds or until it
becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or
cooking, if it hasn’t been used for several hours. This flushes lead-containing
water from the pipes. Flushing usually uses less than one or two gallons of
water and costs less than 30 cents per month.
2. Use cold water for cooking and
preparing baby formula. Do not
cook with or drink water from the hot water tap; lead dissolves more easily
into hot water. Do not use water from the hot water
tap to make baby formula.
3. Do
not boil water to remove lead. Boiling
water will not reduce lead.
4. Look for alternative sources or treatment of water. You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter. Read the package to be sure the filter is approved to reduce lead or contact NSF International at 800-NSF-8010 or www.nsf.org for information on performance standards for water filters. Be sure to maintain and replace a filter device in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions to protect water quality.
5. Test your water
for lead. Call PVWC at 973-340-4300 to find out how to get your water
tested for lead and for a list of local laboratories that have been certified
by EPA for testing water quality. The following
is a list of some State approved laboratories in your area that you can call to
have your water tested for lead.
●Passaic Valley Water
Commission ● All-Test Laboratories, Div of QC
Laboratories
1525 Main Avenue, Clifton
NJ 07011 196 Paterson Avenue, East Rutherford, NJ
07073
973-340-4300 201-288-6511
6. Get your child tested.
Contact your local health department or healthcare provider to find out how you
can get your child tested for lead if you are concerned about exposure.
7.
Identify if your plumbing fixtures contain lead. New brass faucets, fittings, and
valves, including those advertised as “lead-free,” may contribute lead to
drinking water. The law currently allows end-use brass fixtures, such as
faucets, with up to 8% lead to be labeled as “lead-free.” Visit the National
Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Web site at www.nsf.org
to learn more about lead-containing plumbing fixtures.
WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT IS BEING DONE?
Tap water
monitoring results from our most recent monitoring study, which took place
during September and October of 2009, revealed elevated lead levels in some
homes/buildings in Clifton, Passaic, Paterson and Prospect Park.
We are continuing
our efforts to correct the problem, such as:
·
·
·
Monitoring the system twice per
year through voluntary public involvement in accordance with EPA/NJDEP
requirements.
·
·
·
Replacement of over 60,000 commercial/residential meters with “lead
free” models between 1997 and 2007.
·
·
·
Replacement of 84 lead service lines in 2009.
·
·
·
Retained an outside Consultant in 2007
to evaluate optimization steps to reduce the corrosion rates that included a
change in the primary treatment chemical in August 2008. The next phase of
these efforts is to evaluate additional options for blending of our two
finished water supplies to reduce corrosion rates.
·
·
·
Continued work on the engineering design phase of additional
improvements to stabilize other water quality parameters, such as free chlorine
residual, in the distribution system.
·
·
·
Initiated a feasibility study in
November 2009 to evaluate long-term corrosion control treatment alternatives as
part of our Storage Improvement Project.
Find
out if your home plumbing has lead. A licensed plumber can check to see if your
home’s plumbing contains lead solder, lead pipes, or pipe fittings that contain
lead. The public water system that
delivers water to your home should also maintain records of the materials
located in the distribution system.
Find out whether your service line is made of lead. Determine whether or
not the service line that connects your home or apartment to the water main is
made of lead. The best way to determine
if your service line is made of lead is by either hiring a licensed plumber to
inspect the line or by contacting the plumbing contractor who installed the
line. You can identify the plumbing contractor by checking the city’s record of
building permits which should be maintained in the files at your local building
department.
If the service line that connects your
dwelling to the water main contributes more than 15 ppb to drinking water,
after our comprehensive treatment program is in place, we are required to
replace the portion of the line we own.
If the line is only partially owned by Passaic Valley Water Commission,
PVWC is required to provide the owner of the privately-owned portion of the
line with information on how to replace the privately-owned portion of the
service line, and offer to replace that portion of the line at the owner’s
expense.
If we replace only the portion of the line
that we own, we also are required to notify you in advance and provide you with
information on the steps you can take to minimize exposure to any temporary
increase in lead levels that may result from the partial replacement; to take a
follow-up sample at our expense from the line within 72 hours after the partial
replacement; and to mail or otherwise provide you with the results of that
sample within three business days of receiving the results. Acceptable replacement alternatives include
copper, steel, iron, and plastic pipes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information, call us at
973-340-4300, or visit our website at www.pvwc.com.
For more information on reducing lead exposure around your home/building and
the health effects of lead, visit EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/lead or contact your health care
provider.
Your family doctor or pediatrician can
perform a blood test for lead and provide you with information about the health
effects of lead.
Your local building/code department can provide you with information about
building permit records that should contain the names of plumbing contractors
that plumbed your home. Please call the
following numbers:
Residents of Clifton:
Clifton Building Department at 973-470-5809
Residents of Passaic:
Passaic Code Enforcement at 973-365-5549
Residents of Paterson
& Prospect Park:
Paterson Building Department at 973-321-1232
For additional copies of this pamphlet please contact
Passaic Valley Water Commission at 973-340-4300.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
ATTENTION RESIDENTS OF LODI: Tests Showed Coliform Bacteria in Lodi Water
Posted:
October 19, 2009
The Lodi water system recently violated a
drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our
customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did to correct
this situation.
We routinely monitor for drinking water contaminants. We took 53 samples to test for the presence of coliform bacteria during September. Three of the 53 samples, or greater than 5%, of our samples showed the presence of total coliform bacteria. The standard is that no more than 5% of samples per month may do so.
What should I do?
You do not need to boil your water or take
other corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns,
consult your doctor.
People with severely compromised immune
systems, infants, and some elderly persons
may be at increased risk.
These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
What does this mean?
This is not an emergency. If it had been you would have been notified immediately. Coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves. Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially-harmful, bacteria may be present. Coliforms were found in more samples than allowed and this was a warning of potential problems.
Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the system’s treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we do follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E.coli, are present. We did not find any of these bacteria in our subsequent testing.
What is being done?
A site inspection was conducted at the location where the bacteria were observed and the faucet was replaced with a type that better represents the quality of the water being supplied to the area. Chlorine residuals in the area were reviewed and found to be of sufficient concentration to provide adequate distribution system disinfection.
For more information, please contact our Customer Service Department at 973-340-4300.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
This notice is being sent to you by Passaic
Valley Water Commission-Lodi PWSID No.NJ0231001
Date distributed: October 19, 2009