2021 Consumer Confidence Report - Water

Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2021

City of Negaunee Water Utility

March 7th, 2022

The City of Negaunee is pleased to present to you this year's Annual Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water. The City of Negaunee purchases its water from the Negaunee/Ishpeming Water Authority (NIWA), which draws water from wells in the N. Carp River Aquifer and the Cooper Lake Road Aquifer. Negaunee/Ishpeming Water Authority (NIWA) treats the water through chemical clarification, and filtration for the removal of manganese and iron, and adjusts the pH for lead and copper corrosion control. The water treatment plant is operated by certified treatment plant operators employed by NIWA.   

NIWA has completed a source water protection plan, which provides detailed information on groundwater flow and potential sources of contamination. This plan is available for review at the water treatment plant.

I'm pleased to report that our drinking water is safe and meets federal and state requirements.

Drinking water delivered by the City of Negaunee is safe and meets federal and state requirements.  Because the City purchases water produced by the Negaunee/Ishpeming Water Authority, questions regarding quality can best be addressed by Jake Forchini, Plant Manager at 486-8399. 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. They are held on the third Wednesday of the month at 4:00 PM at the water treatment plant’s conference room located at 1800 North Road, Ishpeming, Michigan.  Questions about water distribution within the City, utility policies, and rates should be directed to the Negaunee City Manager at 475-7700 Ext. 11 or the Negaunee City Council which meets the second Thursday of each month at the Negaunee Senior Center, 410 Jackson Street.

The water treatment plant staff and the City of Negaunee routinely monitors for regulated and unregulated contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. Unregulated contaminant sampling for NIWA was completed in 2009. A large facility requirement, mandated by the EPA and the Safe Drinking Water act. The water quality data gathered through the unregulated sampling requirement is used in the development of future drinking water quality standards. Copies of the unregulated sampling test results are available for review at the water plant. The following table shows the results of our regulated monitoring for the period of January 1^st to December 31^st, 2021.  As water travels over the land or underground, it can pick up substances or contaminants such as microbes, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances.  All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some constituents.  It's important to remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

• Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.
• Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming.
• Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture and residential uses.
• Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
• Organic chemical 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 stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

In this 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:

Non-Detects (ND) - laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.

Picocuire per liter (pCi/L) is a measure of radioactivity in the water.

Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/l) - one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

Nanogram per Liter (ng/l) - one thousand parts per trillion.

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

Maximum Contaminant Level - The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is 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 - The “Goal” (MCLG) is 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.

1 The data presented in the report are from the most recent testing done in accordance with drinking water regulations.

²E. coli MCL violation occurs if: (1) routine and repeat samples are total coliform-positive and either is E. coli-positive, or (2) the supply fails to take all required repeat samples following E. coli-positive routine sample, or (3) the supply fails to analyze total coliform-positive repeat sample for E. coli.

³ Sodium is not a regulated contaminant.

⁴ Dioxin sampling was conducted regarding an updated sampling survey to evaluate whether certain contaminants are emerging as a concern. AECOM conducted sampling

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. The City of Negaunee 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 have a lead service line it is recommended that you run your water for at least 5 minutes to flush water from both your home plumbing and the lead service line. 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.

Infants and children who drink water containing lead could experience delays in their physical or mental development. Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.

Our water supply has unknown lead service lines and a unknown amount service lines of unknown material out of a total of 1839 service lines.

Monitoring and Reporting to Michigan Department of Environment, Great lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Requirements: The state of Michigan and the USEPA require us to test our water on a regular basis to ensure its safety. WE met all the monitoring and reporting requirements for 2021.

We will update this report annually and will keep you informed of any problems that may occur throughout the year as the happen. Copies are available at City Hall or @city of Negaunee.com. This report will not be sent to you.

We invite public participation in decisions that affect drinking water quality. They are held on the third Wednesday of the month at 4:00pm at the water treatment plant’s conference room located at 1800 North Road, Ishpeming Michigan. For more information about your water or the contents of this report, contact Negaunee city manager at 475-7700 ext. 11 or the Negaunee city council which meets the second Thursday of each month at the Negaunee Senior Center, 410 Jackson Street.