2007 Water Quality Report

The Village of Grand Rapids encourages public interest and participation in our community’s decisions affecting drinking water. Regular Village Council meetings are held at 7:30 pm every 2nd and 4th Monday of each month, at the Town Hall located at 24282 Front Street. Find out more about the Village of Grand Rapids on the internet at www.grandrapidsohio.com.

The  Village of Grand Rapids and the City of Bowling Green Water Treatment Plant has prepared the following report to provide information to you, the consumer, on the quality of our drinking water.  Included in this report is general health information, water quality test results, how to participate in decisions concerning your drinking water, and water system contacts. The Village of Grand Rapids purchases water from the City of Bowling Green and will notify you if there is any reason for concern about the water. 

Source of Bowling Green’s Water

The City of Bowling Green draws surface water from the Maumee River during periods when the river supply is of high water quality. The water is then stored in the City’s 170 million gallon above-ground reservoir to be used at times when the river water quality is less desirable. The reservoir storage provides a means to supply consistently high quality water to the consumer. The water plant’s operators work around the clock, 7 days a week to assure the quality of your drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. Your drinking water goes through a continuously monitored, 10-step multi-barrier treatment process, that takes several hours to complete.   

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.

The source of drinking water and bottled water includes rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals, and in some cases, radioactive materials, and can pick up substances from the presence of animals or human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

A). Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

B). Inorganic contaminants, such as 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.

C). Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses.

D). Organic 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 storm water runoff, and septic systems.

E). 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 which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health. It's important to remember that the presence of certain contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.

Nitrates in drinking water at levels above 10 ppm is a health risk for infants of less than six months of age. High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome. Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of rainfall or agricultural activity. If you are caring for an infant you should ask advice from your health care provider.

Although there is no detectable lead in our drinking water as it leaves the treatment plant, by the time it reaches your tap, lead levels may increase. Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you are concerned about lead levels in your home’s water, you may wish to have your water tested, and flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

Lead in Drinking Water 

  “ 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.  The City of  Bowling Green 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.”

 Membrane Improvements

The future drinking water treatment process in Bowling Green may include membranes. Water treatment processes employ several types of membranes. They include microfiltration (MF), ultra filtration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and nano filtration (NF) membranes. MF membranes have the largest pore size and typically reject large particles and various microorganisms. UF membranes have smaller pores and can reject bacteria. RO membranes are effectively non-porous and, therefore, exclude particles and even many low molar mass species such as organics.

Source Water Assessment

The City of Bowling Green public water system uses surface water drawn from an intake on the Maumee River. For the purposes of source water assessments in Ohio, all surface waters are readily accessible and can be contaminated by chemicals and pathogens which may rapidly arrive at the public drinking water intake with little warning or no time to prepare. The City of Bowling Green’s drinking water source protection area contains potential contaminant sources such as runoff from agriculture, industrial storm water, gas stations, home construction, feed lots, waste water treatment discharges, airports, cemeteries, auto repair shops, landfills, above ground storage tanks, railroads, roadways, and oil and gas wells.

The City of Bowling Green’s public water system treats the water to meet drinking water quality standards, but no single treatment technique can address all potential contaminants. The potential for quality impacts can be further decreased by implementing measures to protect the Maumee River. More detailed information is provided in the City of Bowling Green’s Drinking Water Source Assessment report, which can be obtained by calling (419)878-6986.

The following table shows the results of our water-quality analysis. Every regulated contaminant that we detected in the water, even in the most minute traces, is listed here. The table contains the name of each substance, the highest level allowed by regulation (MCL), the ideal goals for public health (MCLG), the amount detected, the usual source of such contaminants, and a key to the units of measurement. This table does not show the numerous other contaminants we tested for, and did not detect in our water.

Definitions:

Action Level:
The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL):
The Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) :
The “Goal” (MCLG) is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLG’s allow for a margin of safety.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG):
The level of drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLG’s do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL):
The highest level of disinfectant allowed in drinking water.

There is convincing evidence that the addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

Parts per Million (ppm):
A unit of measure for concentration of contaminant. A part per million corresponds to one second in approximately 11.5 days .

Parts per Billion (ppb)
A unit of measure for concentration of contaminant. A part per billion corresponds to one second in 31.7 years.

Treatment Technique (TT)
A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.