We are pleased to present to you this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.  This report is a snapshot of last year’s water quality.  Included are details about your source(s) of water, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies.  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 and to providing you with this information because informed customers are our best allies.  If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water, please contact the Albemarle Public Utilities Dept. at 704-984-9605.  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.  The Albemarle City Council meets on the first and third Monday of each month at City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

 

What EPA Wants You to Know

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 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 (800-426-4791).

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 microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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 Albemarle 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. 

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 activity. 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 storm water 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, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses; 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 storm water runoff, and septic systems; and 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. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

When You Turn on Your Tap, Consider the Source

The City of Albemarle obtains its drinking water from two surface water sources. The first source is the Narrows Reservoir located at the end of Pumphouse Road. The second source is the Tuckertown Reservoir located in a cove near the bridge on NC Hwy 49 near the Stanly County/Davidson County line. The water from the Narrows Reservoir is sent to the Hwy 52 Water Treatment Plant to produce drinking water. The water from the Tuckertown Reservoir is sent to the Jack F. Neel Water Treatment Plant to produce drinking water. The water from both plants is blended together in the distribution system near the Hwy 52 Water Treatment Plant. A few customers in the northern part of Albemarle get their water solely from the Hwy 52 Water Treatment Plant. A distribution line between the Jack F. Neel Water Treatment Plant and a pump station on Highway 49 allows The City of Albemarle to supply The City of Concord with drinking water as well.

Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) Results

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Public Water Supply (PWS) Section, Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) conducted assessments for all drinking water sources across North Carolina. The purpose of the assessments was to determine the susceptibility of each drinking water source (well or surface water intake) to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs). The results of the assessment are available in SWAP Assessment Reports that include maps, background information and a relative susceptibility rating of Higher, Moderate or Lower. The relative susceptibility rating of each source for City of Albemarle was determined by combining the contaminant rating (number and location of PCSs within the assessment area) and the inherent vulnerability rating (i.e., characteristics or existing conditions of the well or watershed and its delineated assessment area). The assessment findings are summarized in the table below:

Susceptibility of Sources to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs)

View the complete SWAP Assessment Report for City of Albemarle. Note that because SWAP results and reports are periodically updated by the PWS Section, the results available on this web site may differ from the results that were available at the time this CCR was prepared. If you are unable to access your SWAP report on the web, you may mail a written request for a printed copy to: Source Water Assessment Program – Report Request, 1634 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1634, or email requests to swap@ncdenr.gov. Please indicate your system name, number, and provide your name, mailing address and phone number. If you have any questions about the SWAP report please contact the Source Water Assessment staff by phone at 919-707-9098.

It is important to understand that a susceptibility rating of “higher” does not imply poor water quality, only the system’s potential to become contaminated by PCSs in the assessment area.

Help Protect Your Source Water

Protection of drinking water is everyone’s responsibility.  We have implemented the following source water protection actions:  You can help protect your community’s drinking water source(s) in several ways: (examples:  dispose of chemicals properly; take used motor oil to a recycling center, volunteer in your community to participate in group efforts to protect your source, etc.).

Water Quality Data Tables of Detected Contaminants

We routinely monitor for over 150 contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The tables below list all the drinking water contaminants that we detected in the last round of sampling for each particular contaminant group.  The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done January 1 through December 31, 2023.  The EPA and the State allow us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.  Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.

Unregulated contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water standards. The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA in determining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether future regulations are warranted.

Important Drinking Water Definitions

Not-Applicable (N/A) – Information not applicable/not required for that particular water system or for that particular rule.

Non-Detects (ND) - Laboratory analysis indicates that the contaminant is not present at the level of detection set for the particular methodology used.

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.

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.

Parts per trillion (ppt) or Nanograms per liter (nanograms/L) - One part per trillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000,000.

Parts per quadrillion (ppq) or Picograms per liter (picograms/L) - One part per quadrillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000,000 years or one penny in $10,000,000,000,000.

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

Million Fibers per Liter (MFL) - Million fibers per liter is a measure of the presence of asbestos fibers that are longer than 10 micrometers.

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) - Nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.

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

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

Maximum Residual Disinfection 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 Disinfection 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.

Locational Running Annual Average (LRAA) – The average of sample analytical results for samples taken at a particular monitoring location during the previous four calendar quarters under the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule.

Level 1 Assessment - A Level 1 assessment is a study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system.

Level 2 Assessment - A Level 2 assessment is a very detailed study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why an E. coli MCL violation has occurred and/or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasions.

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 using the best available treatment technology.

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.

Tables of Detected Contaminants

Total Coliform Rule

(Samples Taken January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023)    

Microbiological Contaminants in the Distribution System - For systems that collect less than 40 samples per month.

*Coliform bacteria are organisms that are present in the environment and in the feces of all warm-blooded animals and humans. Coliform bacteria will likely not cause illness. However, their presence in drinking water indicates that disease-causing organisms could be in the water system.

Turbidity*

*Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system. The turbidity rule requires that 95% or more of the monthly samples must be less than or equal to 0.3 NTU.

Inorganic Contaminants

Nitrate/Nitrite Contaminants

 

Synthetic Organic Chemical (SOC) Contaminants Including Pesticides and Herbicides

Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC) Contaminants

Lead and Copper Contaminants

Radiological Contaminants

* Note:  The MCL for beta/photon emitters is 4 mrem/year.  EPA considers 50 pCi/L to be the level of concern for beta particles.

 Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

Disinfectant Residuals Summary

Stage 2 Disinfection Byproduct Compliance - Based upon Running Annual Average (RAA)

For TTHM: Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

For HAA5: Some people who drink water containing haloacetic acids in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

The PWS Section requires monitoring for other misc. contaminants, some for which the EPA has set national secondary drinking water standards (SMCLs) because they may cause cosmetic effects or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, and/or color) in drinking water. The contaminants with SMCLs normally do not have any health effects and normally do not affect the safety of your water.

 

 

Unregulated Contaminants

Unregulated contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water standards. The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA in determining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether future regulations are warranted.

   

Other Miscellaneous Water Characteristics Contaminants

 

As part of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) published December 16th 2021, The EPA requires that all water systems develop an inventory of all water service line connections.

After a comprehensive study of historical records and on-site material line verifications, The City of Albemarle is proud to say, “with 95% confidence we can conclude we have fewer than 1% of service lines containing lead.” Click here to learn more.