Upper Country Water Improvement District
2023
Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
We’re pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality of the water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water. Our water sources are from springs and have been determined to be from groundwater and are located on the Ashley National Forest.
The Drinking Water Source Protection Plan for Upper Country Water Improvement District is available for your review. It contains information about source protection zones, potential contamination sources and management strategies to protect our drinking water. Our sources are in a remote location, and there are no potential contamination sources in the protection zones, so we consider our sources to have a low susceptibility to potential contamination events. We have also developed management strategies to further protect our sources from contamination. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about our source protection plan.
There are many connections to our water distribution system. When connections are properly installed and maintained, the concerns are very minimal. However, unapproved and improper piping changes or connections can adversely affect not only the availability, but also the quality of the water. A cross connection may let polluted water or even chemicals mingle into the water supply system when not properly protected. This not only compromises the water quality but can also affect your health. So, what can you do? Do not make or allow improper connections at your homes. Even that unprotected garden hose lying in the puddle next to the driveway is a cross connection. The unprotected lawn sprinkler system after you have fertilized or sprayed is also a cross connection. When the cross connection is allowed to exist at your home, it will affect you and your family first. If you’d like to learn more about helping to protect the quality of our water, call us for further information about ways you can help.
I’m pleased to report that our drinking water meets federal and state requirements.
If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Kirk Christensen at 435-823-5243. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings. They are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Upper Country Water Improvement District office. The times are at: 7:00 p.m. during the months of October – April and at 7:30 p.m. during the months of May – September.
Upper Country Water Improvement District routinely monitors for constituents in our drinking water in accordance with the Federal and Utah State laws. The following table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2022, All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some constituents. It’s important to remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk.
In the following table 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:
Non-Detects (ND) – laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.
Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) – one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.
Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/l) – one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
Action Level (AL) – the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
Treatment Technique (TT) – A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is 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.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) – The “Goal” (MCLG) is 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.
Date– Because of required sampling time frames i.e. yearly, 3 years, 4 years and 6 years, sampling dates may seem out-dated.
Waivers (W) – Because some chemicals are not used or stored in areas around drinking water sources, some water systems have been given waivers that exempt them from having to take certain chemical samples, these waivers are also tied to Drinking Water Source Protection Plans.
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. Upper Country Water Improvement District 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.
| TEST RESULTS | |||||||
| Contaminant | Violation
Y/N |
Level
Detected ND/Low-High |
Unit
Measurement |
MCLG | MCL | Date Sampled | Likely Source of Contamination |
| Microbiological Contaminants | |||||||
| Total Coliform Bacteria | N | 0 | N/A | 0 | Presence of coliform bacteria in 5% of monthly samples | 2022 | Naturally present in the environment |
| Turbidity
for Ground Water |
N | .31 |
NTU |
N/A |
5 | 2022 | Soil runoff |
| Radioactive Contaminants | |||||||
| Alpha emitters | N | .18 | pCi/1 | 0 | 15 | 2011 | Erosion of natural deposits |
| Inorganic Contaminants | |||||||
| Arsenic | N | 0.0059 | ppb | 0 | 10 | 2022 | Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and electronics production wastes |
| Copper
a. 90% results b. # of sites that exceed the AL |
N | a. .257
b. 0 |
ppb | 1300 | AL=1300 | 2021 | Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits |
| Fluoride | N | 0.248 | ppb | 4000 | 4000 | 2022 | Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories |
| Lead
a. 90% results b. # of sites that exceed the AL |
N | a. .0009
b. |
ppb | 0 | AL=15 | 2021 | Corrosion of household plumbing systems, erosion of natural deposits |
| Nitrate (as Nitrogen) | N | ND | ppb | 10000 | 10000 | 2022 | Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits |
| Sodium | N | 1.2 | ppm | None set by EPA | None set by EPA | 2022 | Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from refineries and factories; runoff from landfills. |
| Sulfate | N | 50.1 | ppm | 1000* | 1000* | 2022 | Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from refineries and factories; runoff from landfills, runoff from cropland |
| TDS (Total Dissolved solids) | N | 176 | ppm | 2000** | 2000** | 2022 | Erosion of natural deposits |
While your drinking water meets EPA’s standard for arsenic, it does contain low levels of arsenic. EPA’s standard balances the current understanding of arsenic’s possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water. EPA continues to research the health effects of low levels of arsenic which is a mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations and is linked to other health effects such as skin damage and circulatory problems.
MCLs are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.
All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by constituents that are naturally occurring or manmade. Those constituents can be microbes, organic or inorganic chemicals, or radioactive materials. All 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 the 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 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, 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).
We at Upper Country Water Improvement District work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life and our children’s future.