Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2024
Village of Cherry Valley
2 Genesee Street, Cherry Valley, NY
Public Water Supply ID# NY3800144
INTRODUCTION
To comply with State regulations, the Village of
Cherry Valley annually issues a report describing the quality of your drinking
water. The purpose of this report is to
raise your understanding of drinking water and awareness of the need to protect
our drinking water sources. Last year,
your tap water met all State drinking water health standards. We are proud to report that our system did
not violate a maximum contaminant level or any other water quality
standard. This report provides an
overview of last year’s water quality.
Included are details about where your water comes from, what it
contains, and how it compares to State standards.
If you have any questions about this report or
concerning your drinking water, please contact Wayne Valentine, DPW
Superintendent, 607-264-3791. We want you to be informed about your drinking
water. If you want to learn more, please
attend any of our regularly scheduled village board meetings on the 3rd
Tuesday of the month. The meetings are held at the Village Office, 2 Genesee
Street, Cherry Valley, NY at 6:30 PM.
WHERE DOES OUR
WATER COME FROM?
In general, 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
activities. Contaminants that may be
present in source water include: microbial contaminants; inorganic
contaminants; pesticides and herbicides; organic chemical contaminants; and
radioactive contaminants. To ensure that
tap water is safe to drink, the State and the EPA prescribe regulations which
limit the number of certain contaminants in water provided by public water
systems. The State Health Departments and
FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for public health.
Our water system serves approximately 600 people with
251 service connections. Our water
source is two drilled wells. The water
is chlorinated prior to distribution.
ARE THERE
CONTAMINANTS IN OUR DRINKING WATER?
As the State regulations require, we routinely test
your drinking water for numerous contaminants. These contaminants include:
total coliform, inorganic compounds, nitrate, lead and
copper, principal organic compounds, total trihalomethanes, halo acetic acids, PFOA’s,
radiological and synthetic organic compounds. The
table presented below depicts which compounds were detected in your drinking
water. The State allows us to test for
some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these
contaminants do not change frequently.
Some of our data, though representative, are more than one year old.
It should be noted that all drinking water,
including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably 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
EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) or the New York State Health
Department, Oneonta District Office at 607-432-3911.
|
Table of Detected Contaminants |
|||||||
|
Contaminant |
Violation |
Date of Sample |
Level Detected |
Unit |
Regulatory Limit (MCL or AL) |
MCLG |
Likely Source of Contamination |
|
Yes/No |
(Avg/Max) |
Measure-ment |
|||||
|
(Range) |
|
||||||
|
Nitrate |
NO |
9/19/24 |
0.12 |
mg/L |
10 |
10 |
runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic
tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits. |
|
Barium |
NO |
8/22/22 |
0.26 |
mg/L |
2 |
2 |
discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from
metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits. |
|
Nickel |
NO |
8/22/22 |
6.7 |
ug/L |
n/a |
n/a |
Erosion of natural deposits |
|
Lead |
NO |
8/31/22 |
3.7* range = ND-7.5 |
ug/L |
AL = 15 |
0 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of
natural deposits |
|
Copper |
NO |
8/31/22 |
0.22* range = 0.017-0.24 |
mg/L |
AL = 1.3 |
1.3 |
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of
natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives. |
|
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs – chloroform,
bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform) |
NO |
9/19/24 |
17.4 |
ug/L |
80 |
n/a |
By-product of drinking water chlorination needed
to kill harmful organisms. TTHMs are formed when source water contains
organic matter. |
|
Haloacetic Acids (mono-, di-, and trichloroacetic
acid, and mono- and dibromoacetic acid) |
NO |
9/19/24 |
5.4 |
ug/L |
60 |
n/a |
By-product of drinking water chlorination needed
to kill harmful organisms. |
|
* During 2022 we collected and
analyzed 10 samples for lead and copper.
The level included in the table represents the 90th
percentile of the 5 samples collected.
A percentile is a value on a scale of 100 that indicates the percent
of a distribution that is equal to or below it. The 90th percentile is equal to
or greater than 90% of the values detected at your water system. The action levels for lead and copper were
not exceeded at any of the 10 sites tested. |
|||||||
Every three years, the Village
of Cherry Valley is required to perform Lead and Copper sampling in accordance
with the Lead and Copper sampling plan from residential kitchen taps. This year, our samples must be collected
between 6/1 and 9/30 by 9/30/25. The
Village will be reaching out to households to perform the sampling by our
deadline.
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.
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.
Action Level (AL):
The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or
other requirements which a water system must follow.
Milligrams per liter (mg/l):
Corresponds to one part of liquid in one million parts of liquid (parts per
million - ppm).
Micrograms per liter (ug/l):
Corresponds to one part of liquid in one billion parts of liquid (parts per
billion - ppb).
Non-Detects (ND):
Laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.
n/a: not
applicable.
WHAT DOES THIS
INFORMATION MEAN?
As you can see by the table, our system had no
violations. We have learned through our
testing that some contaminants have been detected; however, these contaminants
were detected below the level allowed by the State. All community public water systems are
required to provide the following information on lead in drinking water.
Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for
pregnant people and young children. Lead
in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with
service lines and home plumbing. The Village
of
Cherry Valley is responsible for providing high quality drinking water and
removing lead pipes but cannot control the variety of materials used in
plumbing components in your home. You
share the responsibility for protecting yourself and your family from the lead
in your home plumbing. You can take
responsibility by identifying and removing lead materials within your home
plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family’s risk. Before drinking tap water, flush your pipes
for several minutes by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a
load of dishes. You can also use a
filter certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited
certifier to reduce lead in drinking water.
If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your
water tested, contact the Wayne
Valentine, DPW Superintendent at 607-264-3791. Information on lead in drinking water,
testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead
IS OUR WATER
SYSTEM MEETING OTHER RULES THAT GOVERN OPERATIONS?
During 2024, our system followed applicable State
drinking water operating, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
The Village was also in compliance with the Lead and
Copper Rule Revisions. The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) require every
federally defined community and non-transient, non-community water system to
develop a service line inventory (also called a lead service line inventory
(LSLI). A Lead Service Line (LSL) is
defined as any portion of pipe that is made of lead which connects the water
main to the building inlet. An LSL may be owned by the water system, owned by
the property owner, or both. The inventory includes both potable and
non-potable SLs within a system. In accordance with the federal LCRR, our
system prepared a lead service line inventory which was submitted to the NYS
Department of Health in October 2024, and consumer notification letters were
mailed to each household with each’s individualized service line information as
available in November 2024. The LSLI is
publicly accessible in the Clerk’s Office at 2 Genesee Street, Cherry Valley,
N.Y.
Please note our special thank you to the Village of
Cherry Valley Library for displaying a variety of educational materials
regarding the health risks of lead and copper during lead poisoning prevention
week in October 2024.
DO I NEED TO
TAKE SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS?
Although our drinking water met or exceeded state
and federal regulations, some people may be more vulnerable to disease causing
microorganisms or pathogens 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 from their
health care provider about their drinking water. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to
lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other microbial
pathogens are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).
SOURCE WATER
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
The
NYS DOH has completed a source water assessment for this system, based on
available information. Possible and
actual threats to the drinking water sources were evaluated. The state source
water assessment includes a susceptibility rating based on the risk posed by
each potential source of contamination and how easily contaminants can move
through the subsurface to the wells.
The
susceptibility rating is an estimate of the potential for contamination of the
source water, it does not mean that the water delivered to consumers is or will
become contaminated. While nitrates (and other inorganic
contaminants) were detected in our water, it should be noted that all drinking
water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain
at least small amounts of some contaminants from natural sources. The presence
of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health
risk. The nitrate levels in our sources
are elevated in comparison with other sources in this area. See section “Are there contaminants in our
drinking water?” for a list of the contaminants that have been detected.
As mentioned before, our
water is derived from two drilled wells. The source water assessment has rated
these wells as having a very high susceptibility to microbials and nitrates,
and a high susceptibility to industrial solvents and other industrial contaminants. These ratings are due primarily to the close
proximity of permitted discharge facilities (industrial/commercial facilities
that discharge wastewater into the environment and are regulated by the state
and/or federal government) and a pasture within the assessment area. In addition, the
wells draw from fractured bedrock and the overlying soils are not known to
provide adequate protection from potential contamination. While the source water assessment rates our
wells as being susceptible to microbials, please note that our water is
disinfected to ensure that that the finished water delivered into your home
meets New York State’s drinking water standards for microbial
contamination.
WHY SAVE WATER
AND HOW TO AVOID WASTING IT?
Although our system has an adequate amount of water
to meet present and future demands, there are several reasons why it is
important to conserve water:
¨
Saving water saves energy and some of the costs associated with both of
these necessities of life;
¨
Saving water reduces the cost of energy required to pump water and the
need to construct costly new wells, pumping systems and water towers; and
¨
Saving water lessens the strain on the water system during a dry spell
or drought, helping to avoid severe water use restrictions so that essential
firefighting needs are met.
You can play a role in conserving water by becoming
conscious of the amount of water your household is using, and by looking for
ways to use less whenever you can. It is
not hard to conserve water. Conservation
tips include:
¨
Automatic dishwashers use 15 gallons for every cycle, regardless of how
many dishes are loaded. So, get a run for your money and load it to capacity.
¨
Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.
¨
Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to 20 gallons a
day. Fix it and you can save almost
6,000 gallons per year.
¨
Check your toilets for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in
the tank, watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the
bowl. It is not uncommon to lose up to
100 gallons a day from one of these otherwise invisible toilet leaks. Fix it and you save more than 30,000 gallons
a year.
CLOSING
Thank you for allowing us to continue to provide
your household with quality drinking water this year. In order to maintain a
safe and dependable water supply we sometimes need to make improvements that
will benefit all of our customers. The costs of these improvements may be
reflected in the rate structure. Rate adjustments may be necessary to address
these improvements. At this time, we are
finalizing the replacement of the water meters in the Village. At the end of 2024, less than 15 meters were still
in need of replacement. The new meters
will reduce the time staff need to read meters, allow for more accurate
monitoring of water usage, and to potentially alert of leaks in the system
earlier. We ask that all our customers
help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community. Please call our office if you have questions.
