Annual Water Quality Report for 2004

Town of Williston, South Carolina

System No. 0610002

The Town of Williston is pleased to present this year’s Annual Water Quality Report.  This report is intended to transmit important information about the drinking water provided by the Town to its customers.  Our goal is to provide all of our customers with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water.  This report shows our water quality and what it means.

The Town of Williston utilizes ground water as its sole source of water.  The Town is currently supplied by three wells that draw from several aquifers, including the Barnwell and Tuscaloosa.  The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) has assigned each of the Town’s wells a source identification number.  The source identification numbers for the Town’s three production wells are as follows:  G06115; G06147; and G06186.  The Town owns a fourth well, but that well has not been used to produce water since 2003.  That well is not expected to return to service due to mechanical problems.  The source identification number for the fourth well is G06113.

Source Water Assessment Plans were completed for public water systems in South Carolina in 2003.  The primary goal of a Source Water Assessment Plan is to identify potential sources of contamination to drinking water supplies.  The Source Water Assessment Plan for the Town of Williston is available for your review at www.scdhec.net/water/html/srcewtr.html.  If you do not have internet access, please contact Mr. R. Scott Neely at (803) 266-7015 to make arrangements to review this document.

Federal legislation requires each public water system to produce an annual consumer confidence report.  The report you are reading was prepared in compliance with the federal requirement.  The reporting requirement was instituted to educate the public about the quality of water that is produced by each water system.  As part of the education process, the report highlights any contaminants found in the system’s water during the previous calendar year.  The report is also intended to inform the public about potential health effects of any contaminants that may have been detected.

If you have any questions about this report or about your water utility, please contact the following person: Mr. R. Scott Neely, Town Administrator, 13112 Main Street, Williston, SC 29853.  He can also be reached by phone at 803-266-7015.  We want our customers to be informed about their water utility.  If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled Town Council meetings.  The Williston Town Council meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m.  The meetings are held at the Williston Town Hall.

The Town of Williston is subject to state and federal laws that require routine monitoring of drinking water.  The monitoring is designed to detect any contaminants that may exist in the water.  The table below indicates which contaminants were detected in our water last year (January 1 – December 31, 2004).  It is important to remember that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.

Definitions

In the following table you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with.  To help you better understand these terms we have provided the following definitions:

Action Level (AL) – the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that 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.

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

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

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.

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

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

As you can see by the table, our system had no violations.  We are proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all federal and state requirements.  We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected.  The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.  

All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or man made.  These substances can be microbes, inorganic or organic chemicals and radioactive substances.  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 at 1-800-426-4791.

MCLs are set at very stringent levels.  To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants 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 about drinking water from their health care providers.  EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Copies of this report will not be mailed to individual customers.  Complimentary copies are available at the Williston Town Hall during normal business hours.

            The Town of Williston constantly strives to improve the quality of water provided to our customers.  If you have any questions about your drinking water, please contact the Williston Town Hall at (803) 266-7015.