DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT
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Dear Consumer:
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) is pleased to provide you this Annual Water Quality Report with information about your drinking water – where it comes from, what’s in it,and how it’s treated and distributed. The Report also contains required public notifications. We distribute a product that is essential for life. WASA is committed to providing the highest qualitydrinking water by first ensuring that the water we deliver meets or surpasses federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards, and secondly by providing the most reliable service we can. WASA has focused a significant amount of attention on addressing District drinking water quality, forexample, the issues raised by elevated lead levels in the tap water samples of some homes. Federalregulations require that drinking water corrosion treatment processes minimize lead and copperconcentrations at the tap. The Washington Aqueduct’s change in its water treatment chemistry has resultedin a significant and measurable drop in lead levels since August 2004 – a positive trend that has continued.In fact, in 2005 the District’s drinking water did not exceed the lead action level under federal regulations, which indicates that the change in water chemistry is having positive results. We are fulfilling the promises made in our Community Water Pledge to go beyond federal regulations toensure clean and high quality drinking water. WASA is spending more than $400 million to replace the public portion of all known lead service lines leading from the main in the street to the home with copper pipe.Even more important, WASA continues to enhance its effort to maintain the distribution system byfocusing on water quality and system reliability. Over $250 million is being invested in the 1,300-miledistribution system with new mains, valves, hydrants and other equipment. In addition to EPAcompliance monitoring, WASA monitors water quality at key locations throughout the District andsamples are collected and analyzed on a daily basis. WASA also performs routine and special mainflushing based on water quality parameters to ensure that the water distributed to consumers is of thehighest quality. We are responsible for providing an essential service for residents, businesses and visitors in the District,and the quality of the product continues to be our number one priority.I am confident that you will find the 2005 Water Quality Report informative.Jerry N. Johnson,
General Manager
District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
Our Water Treatment andDistribution System
The DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA)distributes water to residences and businesses throughout the District for drinking, fire fighting andother uses. WASA purchases the drinking water from the US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington Aqueduct. The Washington Aqueduct (WA) withdraws approximately 180 million gallons of watereach day from the Potomac River at the Great Fallsand the Little Falls intakes, and then treats the waterat the two water treatment plants, Dalecarlia and
McMillan (see the water treatment diagram above).The key treatment processes at the Dalecarlia andMcMillan facilities include sedimentation, filtration,fluoridation, pH adjustment, primary disinfectionusing free chlorine, secondary disinfection withchloramines through the addition of ammonia toconvert the chlorine to chloramine, and finallycorrosion control with orthophosphate. Thisorthophosphate treatment process began system-widein August 2004 to reduce the tendency of the metal in the pipe to corrode. The effectiveness of the treatment was confirmed by test results of tap water samples in2005 that were at or below the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) lead action level.
Chloramine As OurWater Disinfectant
As of November 1, 2000, chloramine, added by the Washington Aqueduct, is being used as a disinfectant to maintain protection against microbial (bacteria or viruses) contamination in the water distributionsystem. The change in disinfectant from chlorine tochloramine is an effort to reduce the concentrations of “disinfectant byproducts” called trihalomethanes(THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). This change was an effective response to more stringent nationalstandards established by the EPA. Chronic exposure to high concentrations of these disinfection byproductsis considered potentiallycarcinogenic (cancer-causing). Since the treatment change tochloramine, there has been a significantreduction of THMsand HAAs in thedrinking water. WASA continues toadvise facilities providing kidneydialysis treatment,individuals and businesses maintainingfish tanks, and laboratories and businesses affected by chloraminated water that their pretreatment steps must remove chloramine.Chloramine fact sheets are available upon request bycalling our Water Quality Office at 202-612-3440.
DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT
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Environmental Protection Agency: wqr2005
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| Upload Date: | 01/25/2008 |
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