Bradford City Water Authority

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2023
DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT
PWSID #6420014

This report contains very important information about your drinking water.  Translate it, or speak to someone who understands it.
Este informe contiene informacion muy importante sobre su agua de beber.  Traduzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.

INTRODUCTION

We're pleased to present you this year's annual drinking water quality report.  Our primary water source is the Heffner surface water reservoir, with secondary backup water sources of the Marilla and Gilbert surface water reservoirs.  All water supplied to our system originates from the protected lands of the Bradford Watershed.  A Source Water Assessment has found that our sources are potentially most susceptible to transportation corridors, storm water runoff, and oil & gas wells.  Overall, our sources have very little risk of any significant contamination.  Summary reports of the Assessment are available by writing to the BCWA office, 28 Kennedy St., Bradford, PA  16701, and will be available on the PA DEP website at www.dep.state.pa.us (Keyword: "source water").  Complete reports were distributed to municipalities, water suppliers, local planning agencies and PA DEP offices.  Copies of the complete report are available for review at the PA DEP Meadville Office, Record Management Unit at 814-332-6945.

MONITORING & REPORTING

BCWA routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws.  The results table within this report shows the outcome of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2023.  The State allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently.  Some of our data is from prior years in accordance with the Safe Water Drinking Act.

We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis.  Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not our drinking water meets health standards.  During 2023, PA DEP issued a late reporting violation for water samples collected for the date of 01/01/2023.  This violation was immediately corrected as soon as it was identified and compliance was achieved.

DEFINITIONS

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:

Parts per million (ppm) - one part per million (corresponds to one minute in 2 years or a single penny in $10,000).
Parts per billion (ppb) - one part per billion (corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years or a single penny in $10,000,000).
Picocuries per liter (pCi/l) - picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
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 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 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.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) - the highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water.  There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG) - the level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contamination.
Minimum Residual Disinfectant Level (MinRDL) - the minimum level of residual disinfectant required at the entry point to the distribution system..

Information about Lead

 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.  Bradford City Water Authority 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.

WATER MONITORING RESULTS

CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS
Contaminate (UOM)	MCL	MCLG	Average	Range	Date	Violation	Major Sources in Drinking Water
Chlorine (ppm)	MRDL=4	MRDLG=4	0.74	0.65-0.82	2023	N	Water additive used to control microbes.
Haloacetic Acids Five (HAA5) (ppb)	60	n/a	19.4	15.1-29.5	2023	N	By-product of drinking water disinfection.
TTHMs (Total Trihalomethanes) (ppb)	80	n/a	37.6	18.2-63.4	2023	N	By-product of drinking water chlorination.
Nitrate (ppm)	10	10	0	0	2023	N	Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural deposits.
Barium (ppm)	2	2	0.0166	0.0166	2023	N	Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits.

ENTRY POINT DISINFECTANT RESIDUAL
Contaminate (UOM)	MinRDL	Lowest	Range	Date	Violation	Major Sources in Drinking Water
Chlorine (ppm)	0.20	0.66	0.66-1.34	2023	N	Water additive used to control microbes.

LEAD & COPPER RULE
Contaminate (UOM)	Action Level (AL)	MCLG	90th Percentile	# of Sites above AL	Date	Violation	Major Sources in Drinking Water
Lead (ppb)	15	0	1.53	2 of 30	2023	N	Corrosion of household plumbing; Erosion of natural deposits.
Copper (ppm)	1.3	1.3	0.041	2 of 30	2023	N	Corrosion of household plumbing; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from wood preservatives.

MICROBIAL
Contaminate	MCL	MCLG	Highest # of Positive Samples	Violation	Major Sources in Drinking Water
Total Coliform Bacteria	More than one positive sample	0	0	N	Naturally present in the environment.

TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON (TOC)
Contaminate	% Removal Required	Range of % Removal Achieved	Qtrs out of Compliance	Violation	Major Sources in Drinking Water
TOC	35%	47-56%	0	N	Naturally present in the environment.

TURBIDITY
Contaminate (UOM)	MCL	MCLG	Level Detected	Date	Violation	Major Sources in Drinking Water
Turbidity (NTU)	TT = 1 NTU for a single measurement	0	0.043 NTU	2023	N	Soil runoff.
	TT = at least 95% of monthly samples <= 0.3 NTU	0	100%	2023	N

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).

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE The original water commission was created in 1882.  Year 2023 marked the 70th year anniversary of the articles of incorporation of the Bradford City Water Authority.  Over the past three decades, over 70 million dollars has been invested in improvements to the Bradford water system. BCWA serves the City Bradford, the Townships of Bradford, Foster, and Lafayette and also the Borough of Lewis Run. We continue to maintain our three water impoundments. In 2022, the Authority took a proactive approach to begin eliminating all of its known lead service lines.  All active customer records were evaluated and all those showing lead components were identified for replacement.  To fund the project, the Water Authority requested and was awarded an $8.52 million dollar grant for lead service line replacements, funded by PENNVEST utilizing Water Infrastructure Funding Transfer Act (WIFTA) funds.  Our customers will not carry any financial burden from the project. This project was successfully completed in 2023.

CONCLUSION

We are proud of the efforts that have been made to meet or exceed all Federal and State drinking water quality requirements.  We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some contaminants have been detected.  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.

We at the Bradford City Water Authority 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.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Steve Disney at the BCWA office, 814-362-3004.  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 held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 12:00 pm in the conference room of the Bradford City Water Authority office, 28 Kennedy Street, Bradford, PA,  16701.

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