2023 Water Quality Report
Letter to Our Customers
Dear Customer:
We are pleased to present you with this year's Water Quality Report. The First Taxing District Water Department has again achieved the goal of meeting the very stringent water quality standards set by federal and state regulatory agencies. This report covers water testing performed throughout 2023.
Our top priority is to provide a safe and reliable supply of drinking water to all of our customers. Each year the water department's laboratory processes thousands of water quality analyses for compliance purposes. This testing includes the source water, the treated water as it leaves the filtration plant and well field, and the water as it travels through the distribution system pipes and into your homes and businesses.
Water quality and water usage have continued to be topics of interest in Norwalk and throughout our region. This report contains important information on water quality issues like lead, PFAS, and other contaminants. The droughts experienced in 2020 and 2022 have brought renewed attention to water usage. As a result, the District enacted Mandatory Sprinkler Landscape Irrigation Conservation Measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of our water resources.
You are always welcome to attend our monthly Board of Commissioners meetings in person at our main office, 12 New Canaan Avenue, Norwalk 06851, or remotely through ZOOM. The times and dates of meetings are posted on our website at firstdistrictwater.org/2024-public-meetings. Please also feel free to call or write to us and to visit our website at www.firstdistrictwater.org for additional information.
Sincerely,
Commissioners, First Taxing District
Elsa Peterson Obuchowski, Chairwoman
Jalin T. Sead, Sr.
Thomas Cullen, Esq.
2023 Water Sampling
During 2023 the FTDWD staff has taken thousands of water samples in order to determine the presence of biological, inorganic, volatile organic and synthetic organic contaminants. These samples were taken at the reservoirs, the treatment plant, and the well field, and also at representative sample sites around the distribution system. The table below shows only those regulated substances that were detected in the treated water. All of the substances found meet all state and federal standards. The most recent year sampled is noted in the table.
Footnotes
1 - Amount detected; ranges are monthly averages.
2 - There is no federal MCL for sodium but Connecticut has established a notification level of 28 mg/L. If you have been placed on a sodium-restricted diet please inform your physician of the sodium content in our water. For people on a regular diet this level of sodium is very low.
3 - Turbidity is a measure of the clarity of the water. It is monitored because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of the filtration system. 95% of the samples need to be less than 0.3 NTU. The District met the regulation requirements 100% of the time. Amount is an average of the highest monthly readings.
4 - The District’s water met the required removal rate 100% of the time.
5 - By-product of chlorinating drinking water. Amount is the running annual average of quarterly measurements in the distribution system. The range represents the results of the individual monitoring sites.
6 - Tap water samples were collected for lead and copper analyses from 50 homes throughout the service area. The lead and copper results at the 90th percentile did not exceed the AL. No samples exceeded the AL.
7 - Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral that can cause a black/brown residue on plumbing fixtures. There is no enforceable standard for manganese, but EPA has established a Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level of 0.05 mg/L for aesthetic concerns and CT DPH has established an Action Level of 0.3 mg/L for health concerns.
8 - Hardness in water is a measurement of the calcium and magnesium (both nontoxic minerals) content in the water. Hardness is not a regulated substance but many customers ask about the hardness level of our water because dishwasher and hot water heater manuals may ask for this information, usually in gpg.
9 - Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) 5 sampling began in November 2023 and will continue into 2024 and will monitor for 29 PFAS Chemicals and Lithium. EPA uses the UCMR data for contaminants that are suspected to be present in drinking water and do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Acronyms and Definitions
AL (Action Level): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
CNL: State of CT Customer Notification level.
gpg (grains per gallon): unit of measure for hardness in water.
HAL (Health Advisory Level): An estimate of acceptable drinking water levels for a chemical substance based on health effects information. This is not a legally enforceable Federal standard, but serves as technical guidance.
MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): 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.
MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal): 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.
NA: Not Applicable.
ND (Non Detect): Results below the method detection limit.
NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units): Measurement of the clarity, or turbidity, of water. Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
ppm (parts per million): One part substance per million parts water (or milligrams per liter).
ppb (parts per billion): One part substance per billion parts water (or micrograms per liter).
ppt (parts per trillion): One part substance per trillion parts water (or nanograms per liter).
TT (Treatment Technique): A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Compound Sources
Barium: Erosion of natural deposits
Chlorine: Water additive used to control microbes
Copper: Corrosion of household plumbing systems
Fluoride: Additive for strong teeth; erosion of natural deposits
Lead: Corrosion of household plumbing systems
Nitrate: Fertilizer runoff; leaching from septic tanks and sewage; erosion of natural deposits
Sodium and Chloride: Water treatment processes; road salt runoff; erosion of natural deposits
Turbidity: Sediment particles; naturally occurring iron and manganese; soil runoff
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States, since the 1940s. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they do not break down and they can accumulate over time. In April of 2024, the EPA finalized their proposed PFAS rule setting MCLs and MCLGs for 5 PFAS chemicals and a combined Hazard Index for mixtures containing two or more of certain PFAS chemicals. Water utilities will be required to monitor for these PFAS beginning in 2027 and will have until 2029 to implement solutions that reduce these PFAS if monitoring shows that drinking water levels exceed the MCLs. The Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) also recently updated their guidance on PFAS in drinking water and developed Action Levels for ten PFAS chemicals. Consuming water with PFAS concentrations greater than the CT DPH Action Levels over a long period of time may increase your risk of developing a variety of health effects. The CT DPH Action Levels are non-regulatory and not enforceable, rather they are guidelines that may be used to prompt protective measures.
The FTDWD has adopted operational measures to minimize PFAS levels in the finished water and has implemented an extensive monitoring program of our water. The majority of FTDWD water comes from surface water sources with low PFAS levels, with groundwater sources being used to supplement in times of high demand and dry weather, making up just 8.6% of our total water production in 2023. The FTDWD has plans to build a treatment system to remove PFAS from groundwater sources and is currently waiting for approval from CT DPH, along with securing grant funding before beginning this project.
More Information on PFAS
For more information on PFAS, including possible health outcomes, you may visit these websites:
• Connecticut Department of Public Health Frequently Asked Questions about PFAS: https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Environmental-Health/PFAS/PFAS
• The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s website: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html
• Basic information and links to informational resources:
https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained
• Fact Sheet: Reducing PFAS in Your Drinking Water with a Home Filter
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/water-filter-fact-sheet.pdf
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