CITY OF BORDENTOWN
WATER UTILITY CUSTOMERS
BORDENTOWN CITY, TOWNSHIP AND FIELDSBORO
Bordentown Water Department - Radionuclide Notice – March 26, 2009
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
In
December the City Water Department issued a third notification to its
water customers that it violated a state drinking water standard. We
are contacting you now to provide additional information gathered since
the previous notice was sent, to keep you fully informed. This notice
is being provided per NJDEP regulations.
As we previously notified you, the February 2008 test samples for the
naturally-occurring “gross alpha particles” and “combined radium 226 &
228”exceeded the allowable Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) threshold for
these particles, creating an NJDEP violation. The MCL for Gross Alpha
Particles is 15 pCi/L (Picocuries per Liter) and the MCL for Combined
Radium 226 & 228 is 5 pCi/L.
The latest quarterly testing was done on December 17th. The
recently received results show a slightly raised level for the “gross
alpha particles” and a continued acceptable level for “combined radium
226 & 228”. The gross alpha particle level was 16.98 pCi/L and the
Combined Radium 226 & 228 was 4.61 pCi/L.
What does this mean?
The February, September and December results are not due to improper water treatment. Radium is a radioactive metal that naturally occurs in trace amounts in rocks, soil and groundwater. Radium readily dissolves in groundwater. As radium decays, it continually releases energy into the environment. This energy is part of the natural radiation to which all living creatures are exposed.
While the latest laboratory results show the present level for “gross alpha particles” to be slightly above the MCL and the “combined radium 226 & 228” to be below the threshold level, the system is still in technical violation for both parameters, since the State threshold is based upon a running annual average (RAA). This “running annual average” is based on the last four samples taken every quarter over the span of a year, meaning that the average is still skewed above the threshold and will require continuing quarterly violation notices like this one until the average drops below the threshold. The current RAA for the Gross Alpha Particle level was 23.15 pCi/L and the Combined Radium 226 & 228 was 6.10 pCi/L.
What should you do?
You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. These radionuclide particles do not pose a health emergency. The estimated health risks from low levels of radium are small, and short-term exposures pose an extremely small level of risk. There are no health risks associated with bathing, washing dishes or doing laundry with water. Some people who drink water containing radium 226 or 228 in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
§ For more information, contact either the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or the NJDEP Division of Water Supply at (609) 292-5550.
What is being done to address this situation?
Test results that were taken at the three operating wells on June 11th and again on September 8th showed continued below-threshold numbers. Results from the water plant were taken again on December 17th and showed a slightly over-threshold result in radium, with Gross Alpha Particle results below threshold. The Water Department has since been utilizing water from three of the wells with the lowest levels and will not utilize the suspected well until it is rehabilitated. The City has authorized a bond issue for the installation of a radium removal treatment system; it is expected to be in place in 2009. The rehabilitation work on the suspected well will be bid and completed in the next few months. We will keep you, our customers, fully informed of the results of our continuing work to address this situation.
Please share this information with those in our water supply area who may not see this notice. You can do this by posting this notice in a public place in your facility or by distributing copies by hand, mail, fax or similar method. For more information, please contact John Walls, Water Superintendent, at 609-585-3332 or the Bordentown Water Department, 324 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown, NJ 08505.
John Walls
Licensed Water Plant Operator
City of Bordentown
City of Bordentown
324 Farnsworth Ave.
Bordentown, NJ 08505
City Of Bordentown, 324 Farnsworth Ave, Bordentown, NJ 08505