Public Water System ID: CO0134530
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We are pleased to present to you this year’s water quality report. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. Please contact CHARLES SMITH at 970-247-4062 with any questions or for public participation opportunities that may affect water quality.
General Information
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 (1-800-426-4791) or by visiting
epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water.
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immunocompromised 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 of infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, or to receive a copy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and microbiological contaminants call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (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: viruses and bacteria that may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and
- Inorganic contaminants: salts and metals, which can 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: may come from a variety of sources, such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential
- Radioactive contaminants: can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining
- Organic chemical contaminants: including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and also may come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment prescribes regulations limiting the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.
Lead in Drinking Water
If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems (especially for pregnant women and young children). It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. 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. Additional information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) or at
epa.gov/safewater/lead.
Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP)
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment may have provided us with a Source Water Assessment Report for our water supply. For general information or to obtain a copy of the report please visit
wqcdcompliance.com/ccr. The report is located under “Guidance: Source Water Assessment Reports”. Search the table using 134530, LAKE DURANGO WA, or by contacting CHARLES SMITH at 970-247-4062. The Source Water Assessment Report provides a screening-level evaluation of potential contamination that
could occur. It
does not mean that the contamination
has or will occur. We can use this information to evaluate the need to improve our current water treatment capabilities and prepare for future contamination threats. This can help us ensure that quality finished water is delivered to your homes. In addition, the source water assessment results provide a starting point for developing a source water protection plan. Potential sources of contamination in our source water area are listed on the next page.
Please contact us to learn more about what you can do to help protect your drinking water sources, any questions about the Drinking Water Quality Report, to learn more about our system, or to attend scheduled public meetings. We want you, our valued customers, to be informed about the services we provide and the quality water we deliver to you every day.
Our Water Sources
| Sources (Water Type – Source Type) |
Potential Source(s) of Contamination |
| LAKE DURANGO RESERVOIR (Surface Water-Intake) |
Row Crops, Pasture / Hay, Deciduous Forest, Evergreen Forest, Septic Systems, Road Miles |
Terms and Abbreviations
- Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) − The highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking
- Treatment Technique (TT) − A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking
- Health-Based − A violation of either a MCL or
- Non-Health-Based − A violation that is not a MCL or
- Action Level (AL) − The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment and other regulatory
- 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 Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) − The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.
- Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG) − The level of a drinking water disinfectant, below which there is no known or expected risk to MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
- Violation (No Abbreviation) − Failure to meet a Colorado Primary Drinking Water
- Formal Enforcement Action (No Abbreviation) − Escalated action taken by the State (due to the risk to public health, or number or severity of violations) to bring a non-compliant water system back into compliance.
- Variance and Exemptions (V/E) − Department permission not to meet a MCL or treatment technique under certain
- Gross Alpha (No Abbreviation) − Gross alpha particle activity compliance It includes radium-226, but excludes radon 222, and uranium.
- Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) − Measure of the radioactivity in
- Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) − Measure of the clarity or cloudiness of Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the typical person.
- Compliance Value (No Abbreviation) – Single or calculated value used to determine if regulatory contaminant level (e.g. MCL) is Examples of calculated values are the 90th Percentile, Running Annual Average (RAA) and Locational Running Annual Average (LRAA).
- Average (x-bar) − Typical
- Range (R) − Lowest value to the highest
- Sample Size (n) − Number or count of values (i.e. number of water samples collected).
- Parts per million = Milligrams per liter (ppm = mg/L) − One part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.
- Parts per billion = Micrograms per liter (ppb = ug/L) − One part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.
- Not Applicable (N/A) – Does not apply or not
- Level 1 Assessment – A study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water
- Level 2 Assessment – A very detailed study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why an E. coli MCL violation has occurred and/or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasions.
Detected Contaminants
LAKE DURANGO WA routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The following table(s) show all detections found in the period of January 1 to December 31, 2019 unless otherwise noted. The State of Colorado requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year, or the system is not considered vulnerable to this type of contamination. Therefore, some of our data, though representative, may be more than one year old. Violations and Formal Enforcement Actions, if any, are reported in the next section of this report.
Note: Only detected contaminants sampled within the last 5 years appear in this report. If no tables appear in this section then no contaminants were detected in the last round of monitoring.
Disinfectants Sampled in the Distribution System
TT Requirement: At least 95% of samples per period (month or quarter) must be at least 0.2 ppm OR
If sample size is less than 40 no more than 1 sample is below 0.2 ppm
Typical Sources: Water additive used to control microbes |
| Disinfectant Name |
Time Period |
Results |
Number of Samples Below Level |
Sample Size |
TT
Violation |
MRDL |
| Chlorine |
December, 2019 |
Lowest period percentage of samples meeting TT requirement: 100% |
0 |
2 |
No |
4.0 ppm |
| Lead and Copper Sampled in the Distribution System |
| Contaminant Name |
Time Period |
90th Percentile |
Sample Size |
Unit of Measure |
90th
Percentile AL |
Sample Sites Above AL |
90th Percentile AL
Exceedance |
Typical Sources |
| Copper |
08/20/2019 to
08/23/2019 |
0.27 |
10 |
ppm |
1.3 |
0 |
No |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits |
| Lead |
08/20/2019 to
08/23/2019 |
1.4 |
10 |
ppb |
15 |
0 |
No |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits |
| Disinfection Byproducts Sampled in the Distribution System |
| Name |
Year |
Average |
Range Low – High |
Sample Size |
Unit of Measure |
MCL |
MCLG |
MCL Violation |
Typical Sources |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) |
2019 |
46.45 |
18.1 to 76.1 |
4 |
ppb |
60 |
N/A |
No |
Byproduct of drinking water disinfection |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) |
2019 |
46.06 |
25 to 72.9 |
5 |
ppb |
80 |
N/A |
Yes |
Byproduct of drinking water disinfection |
| Disinfection Byproducts Sampled in the Distribution System |
| Name |
Year |
Average |
Range Low – High |
Sample Size |
Unit of Measure |
MCL |
MCLG |
MCL Violation |
Typical Sources |
| Chlorite |
2019 |
0.36 |
0.07 to 0.7 |
9 |
ppb |
1.0 |
.8 |
No |
Byproduct of drinking water disinfection |
| Summary of Turbidity Sampled at the Entry Point to the Distribution System |
| Contaminant Name |
Sample Date |
Level Found |
TT Requirement |
TT
Violation |
Typical Sources |
| Turbidity |
Date/Month: Nov |
Highest single measurement:
0.38 NTU |
Maximum 1 NTU for any single measurement |
No |
Soil Runoff |
| Turbidity |
Month: Dec |
Lowest monthly percentage of samples meeting TT requirement for our technology: 100 % |
In any month, at least 95% of samples must be less than 0.3 NTU |
No |
Soil Runoff |
| Inorganic Contaminants Sampled at the Entry Point to the Distribution System |
| Contaminant Name |
Year |
Average |
Range Low – High |
Sample Size |
Unit of Measure |
MCL |
MCLG |
MCL
Violation |
Typical Sources |
| Arsenic |
2019 |
1.1 |
1.1 to 1.1 |
1 |
ppb |
10 |
0 |
No |
Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and electronics production wastes |
| Barium |
2019 |
0.06 |
0.06 to 0.06 |
1 |
ppm |
2 |
2 |
No |
Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from |
| Inorganic Contaminants Sampled at the Entry Point to the Distribution System |
| Contaminant Name |
Year |
Average |
Range Low – High |
Sample Size |
Unit of Measure |
MCL |
MCLG |
MCL
Violation |
Typical Sources |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits |
| Fluoride |
2019 |
0.23 |
0.23 to 0.23 |
1 |
ppm |
4 |
4 |
No |
Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories |
| Nitrate |
2019 |
0.29 |
0.29 to 0.29 |
1 |
ppm |
10 |
10 |
No |
Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits |
| Secondary Contaminants**
**Secondary standards are non-enforceable guidelines for contaminants that may cause cosmetic effects (such as skin, or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, or color) in drinking water. |
| Contaminant Name |
Year |
Average |
Range Low – High |
Sample Size |
Unit of Measure |
Secondary Standard |
| Sodium |
2019 |
6.19 |
6.19 to 6.19 |
1 |
ppm |
N/A |
Violations, Significant Deficiencies, and Formal Enforcement Actions
| Health-Based Violations
Maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations: Test results for this contaminant show that the level was too high for the time period shown. Please read the information shown below about potential health effects for vulnerable populations. This is likely the same violation that we told you about in a past notice. We are evaluating, or we already completed an evaluation, to find the best way to reduce or remove the contaminant. If the solution will take an extended period of time, we will keep you updated with quarterly notices.
Treatment technique (TT) violations: We failed to complete an action that could affect water quality. Please read the information shown below about potential health effects for vulnerable populations. This is likely the same violation that we told you about in a past notice. We were required to meet a minimum operation/treatment standard, we were required to make upgrades to our system, or we were required to evaluate our system for potential sanitary defects, and we failed to do so in the time period shown below. If the solution will take an extended period of time, we will keep you updated with quarterly notices. |
| Name |
Description |
Time Period |
Health Effects |
Compliance Value |
TT Level or MCL |
| TOTAL TRIHALOMETHANES (TTHM) |
EXCEEDED THE MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL |
01/01/2018 – 12/31/2018 |
Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer. |
82 UG/L |
80 UG/L |
| Additional Violation Information |
| 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. |
| The Authority undertook extensive flushing, pre -chlorination control, rerouted the return water line to Lake Durango, cycled storage tanks levels and maintained a high reservoir level which resulted in no TTHM violations in 2019. The Authority is currently working with an engineering firm to develop a long-term solution to the formation of distribution by-products. A compliance report and system evaluation was submitted to CDPHE in January 2020. The Authority is now doing additional analysis to determine the most cost effective method for TTHM control. |
| Non-Health-Based Violations
These violations do not usually mean that there was a problem with the water quality. If there had been, we would have notified you immediately. We missed collecting a sample (water quality is unknown), we reported the sample result after the due date, or we did not complete a report/notice by the required date. |
| Name |
Description |
Time Period |
| TOTAL HALOACETIC ACIDS (HAA5), TRIHALOMETHANES (TTHM) |
FAILURE TO EVALUATE METHODS TO LOWER DISINFECTION BYPRODUCT LEVELS |
01/01/2019 – 09/16/2019 |
| Non-Health-Based Violations
These violations do not usually mean that there was a problem with the water quality. If there had been, we would have notified you immediately. We missed collecting a sample (water quality is unknown), we reported the sample result after the due date, or we did not complete a report/notice by the required date. |
| Name |
Description |
Time Period |
| CHLORITE |
FAILURE TO MONITOR AND/OR REPORT |
10/01/2019 – 10/31/2019 |
| Additional Violation Information |
| 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. |
| A Total Haloacetic Acid Operation Evaluation Report was submitted to CDPHE late.
Chlorite analysis for the 4th quarter of 2019 was not completed until January 2020. |
| Formal Enforcement Actions |
| Status Date |
Description |
Associated Violations |
| 2/26/2019 |
SFL – State Administrative Order/Compliance Order issued without penalty. An order issued by the Executive branch of the State government that orders the PWS to come into compliance or to undertake remedial actions. No penalty is assessed. (FRDS-DED 1/93) |
TTHM |
| Additional Enforcement Information |
| A TTHM compliance report prepared by an authorized engineering firm was submitted to CDPHE in January 2020, The Authority is undertaking further analysis to determine the most cost effective and lasting methods to control the formation of THMs. There were no TTHM MCL violations in 2019. |