The City of Park Falls Wisconsin

2002 Consumer Confidence Report for 85101302 PARK FALLS WATERWORKS

Water System Information

If you would like to know more about the information contained in this report, please contact Dennis Wartgow at 762-2436 ext 305.

The Board of Public Works meets on the first and third Wednesday's of every month at City Hall at 4:30 p.m.

Health Information

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. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune systems 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 microbial contaminants are available from the Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water hotline (800-426-4791).

Source(s) of Water

Source id	Source	Depth (in feet)
4	Groundwater	86
5	Groundwater	102
6	Groundwater	112

A source water assessment will be required for all public water systems by December 30, 2004. The assessment will identify land areas that contribute water to each system, significant potential contaminant sources within those areas, and the susceptibility of the drinking water systems to contamination. A summary of the susceptibility of each system will become available on the DNR web site as the assessments are completed.

Educational Information

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 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 can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff and septic systems.
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 that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which shall provide the same protection for public health.

Number of Contaminants Required to be Tested

This table displays the number of contaminants that were required to be tested in the last five years. The CCR may contain up to five years worth of water quality results. if a water system tests annually, or more frequently, the results from the most recent year are shown on the CCR. If testing is done less frequently, the results shown on the CCR are from the past five years.

Contaminant Group	# of Contaminants
Inorganic Contaminants	17
Microbiological Contaminants	1
Radioactive Contaminants	1
Synthetic Organic Contaminants including Pesticides and Herbicides	26
Unregulated Contaminants	33
Volatile Organic Contaminants	20

Inorganic Contaminants

Contaminant (units)	MCL	MCLG	Level Found	Range	Sample Date (if prior to 2002)	Violation	Typical Source of Contaminant
BARIUM (ppm)	2	2	.021 (average)	.015- .026		NO	Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits
CADMIUM (ppb)	5	5	.0 (average)	nd- .1		NO	Corrosion of galvanized pipes; Erosion of natural deposits; Discharge from metal refineries; runoff from waste batteries and paints
COPPER (ppm)	AL=1.3	1.3	.456	.456		NO	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives
FLUORIDE (ppm)	4	4	1.1 (average)	nd- 1.7		NO	Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive which promotes strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories
LEAD (ppb)	AL=15	0	3.56	3.56		NO	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits
MERCURY (ppb)	2	2	.1 (average)	nd- .2		NO	Erosion of natural deposits; Discharge from refineries and factories; Runoff from landfills; Runoff from cropland
NITRATE (N03-N) (ppm)	10	10	.78 (average)	.66- .90		NO	Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits
NITRITE (N02-N) (ppm)	1	1	.002 (average)	nd- .003		NO	Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits
SODIUM (ppm)	n/a	n/a	11.87 (average)	9.64- 14.10		NO	n/a

Radioactive Contaminants

Contaminant (units)	MCL	MCLG	Level Found	Range	Sample Date (if prior to 2002)	Violation	Typical Source of Contaminant
GROSS ALPHA, EXCL. R & U (pCi/l)	15	0	.1	.1		NO	Erosion of natural deposits
GROSS BETA PARTICLE ACTIVITY (pCi/l)	n/a	n/a	.8 (average)	.7- .9		NO	Decay of natural and man-made deposits. MCL units are in millirem/year. Calculation for compliance with MCL is not possible unless level found is greater than 50 pCi/l.