2.4 ERMUSR 05-11-2021______________________________________________________________________________
Page 1 of 1
UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
ERMU Commission
FROM:
Dave Ninow – Water Superintendent
MEETING DATE:
May 11, 2020
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
2.4
SUBJECT:
2020 Consumer Confidence Report
ACTION REQUESTED:
Receive and file the 2020 Consumer Confidence Report
DISCUSSION:
The ERMU Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also known as Water Quality Report, for the
2020 testing year has been added to our website and a notice that it is available to water
customers will be included as a bill print message on the June bills. An email notification to
paperless customers has also been scheduled for June. We have once again opted to utilize the
web version to satisfy the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) notification requirement.
We are required by the MDH to include specific text on water quality and health information.
Beyond the scope of water testing, we have the option of adding further topics for customer
education and awareness.
Link to the 2020 CCR: https://www.ermumn.com/services/water/water-quality-report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None
ATTACHMENTS:
• 2020 Consumer Confidence Report
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Presented By
PWS ID#: 1710004Image: Hillside Tower Resurfacing Project (2020)56
Quality First
Once again, we are pleased to present our annual water quality report covering all testing performed
between January 1 and December 31, 2020. As in years past, we are committed to delivering the
best-quality drinking water possible. To that end, we remain vigilant in meeting the challenges of new
regulations, source water protection, water conservation, and community outreach and education, while
continuing to serve the needs of all our water users. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve
you and your family.
We encourage you to share your thoughts with us on the information contained in this report. After all,
well-informed customers are our best allies.
Questions?For more information
about this report, or for any
questions related to your drinking water, please call the Elk
River Municipal Utilities at (763) 441-2020, or go to www.
ermumn.com/services/water/water-quality-report if you’d like
to view this report in a digital format.
Important Health Information
Some people may be more vulnerable to contami-
nants in drinking water than the general population.
Immunocompromised 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 may be particularly at risk
from infections. These people should seek advice about drink-
ing water from their health care providers. The U.S. EPA/CDC
(Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention) guidelines on appro-
priate means to lessen the risk of
infection by Cryptosporidium and
other microbial contaminants are
available from the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791
or http://water.epa.gov/drink/
hotline.
Tips and Reminders for Irrigation
• Consider a SMART irrigation controller; often, they
can pay for themselves in 1-3 years by their water-saving
abilities. And your grass will be healthier when the
controller is set up properly. Most are more user-friendly
than the regular types as well.
• Check/change your rain sensor batteries at the start and
mid-sprinkling season to ensure you’re not irrigating when
moisture level is already high. (State Statute:103G.298—
required to have a working rain sensor).
• City of Elk River: Do not
water from 10 a.m.—6 p.m.,
and there are even and odd
per address requirements (if
your address ends in an odd
number, you water on odd
days of the month, and vice
versa). It’s best to water in the
early a.m.; between 2 a.m. and
4 a.m. is prime for our area!
• Cycle your zones. “Soak and Cycle” *Short periods of
time, more often*. Typical flat ground needs between
15-30 minutes during the middle of irrigation season; try
to break them into two or three cycles. So, if it’s spring
and moisture is high, sprinkle for three five-minute
intervals to make the full 15 minutes. Add time when
not sufficient (noticeable difference). If the watering zone
has moderate to major slope, be sure to reduce sprinkling
times, or you’re just creating unused runoff water, which
takes away nutrients from the topsoil. This goes for sandy
soil as well. Water a bit less, or the water runs right past
the roots. Instead, you want to promote deeper root
growth by doing shorter watering more often. Each
month or trend of the season may need your continual
evaluation if you do not have a SMART controller. So,
you should change your times/water durations every 2-4
weeks to fit the changes. It may help to find out at what
threshold your lawn starts to turn less green (lacking
water), so you can find your minimum watering time as
an annual standard, if the season seems average in rainfall/
heat. This can help to assess your lawn’s needs.
• More watering means more mowing, but not generally
healthier grass. So, less maintenance and happier grass.
• Check your system heads often. One broken head can
make a huge difference in water waste.
Feel free to let us know if you have questions on these tips.
Source Water Assessment
A Source Water Assessment Plan (SWAP) is now
available at our office, or you may search “Elk
River” at www.health.state.mn.us/communities/envi-
ronment/water/swp/swa.html . This plan is an assess-
ment of the delineated area around our listed sources
through which contaminants, if present, could migrate
and reach our source water. It also includes an inven-
tory of potential sources of contamination within the
delineated area, and a determination of the water sup-
ply’s susceptibility to contamination by the identified
potential sources.
About 90% of our drinking water supply management
area (DWSMA) is considered non-vulnerable and less
than 10% is vulnerable. Our Wellhead Protection
Plan has many items that address limiting or stopping
potential contamination.
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Backflow Prevention Devices – What They
Do and Why They Are Important
Backflow prevention is essential in keeping our water safe.
Most homes and businesses have backflow-prevention devices
in place, to stop the chance of contaminating the community
water supply via a building’s internal plumbing, or from water
that has been released, for use, being drawn back into a building’s
plumbing system. If there is a loss of pressure within a plumbing
system, which has no backflow prevention device, water that has
been released may be drawn (sucked) back into the plumbing and
could contaminate water that is being held in the plumbing sys-
tem. Consumption of this now contaminated water could result
in severe illness. Once a plumbing system is contaminated, the
contamination could be pulled back into the primary water system
(community water system) and compromise water for many others.
It is imperative for backflow-prevention devices, such as a pressure
vacuum breaker (PBV/RPZ), to be checked by a certified backflow
assembly tester. It is important to note that this certification is more
than just a plumbing license.
One location that these devices are required is on irrigation system
plumbing. You may notice them alongside your home. The
backflow-prevention device protects you by preventing water that
has been released into your irrigation system and lawn from being
drawn back into your home, where you could potentially consume
it or somehow use the already ejected water should there be a loss of system pressure. In time,
you will likely hear more from us on this topic, but we wanted to let you know how backflow-
prevention devices are providing you and the entire community with water quality protection.
All backflow-prevention devices are required by state plumbing code to be tested annually and
rebuilt as needed. Annual inspection results for backflow devices must be reported to the
public water supplier, as they are available for verification by the Minnesota Department of
Health (MDH).
*State of Minnesota Plumbing Code 4714.603.5.23
Stay tuned for ERMU’s PVB Inspection Program details; more information will be delivered to customers soon and information will
be posted on our website.
Where Does My
Water Come
From?
Elk River
Municipal
Utilities’ wells
are supplied
from the Mt.
Simon-Hinckley
Aquifer. There are eight wells, four water towers,
over 121 miles of water main, 1,267 fire hydrants,
and just under 3,000 valves. In 2020, Elk River
Municipal Utilities pumped over 872 million gal-
lons of water. We are proud to serve over 5,400
water customers.
Lead in Home Plumbing
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 associ-
ated with service lines and home plumbing. We
are responsible for providing high-quality drinking
water, but we 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 drink-
ing 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 meth-
ods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is
available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
(800) 426-4791 or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
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ERMU worked together with the City to tend to Lake Orono during the dredging process. ERMU Water Operators regulated
lake levels via the dam for optimal drainage.
Substances That Could Be in Water
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. EPA prescribes regulations limiting the amount of certain contaminants
in water provided by public water systems. U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contami-
nants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health. Drinking water, including bottled water,
may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of these contaminants
does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.
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, in
some cases, radioactive material, and substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Substances
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, or wildlife;
Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or may 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 may also come from gas stations, urban storm-water runoff, and septic systems;
Radioactive Contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or may be the result of oil and gas production and mining
activities.
For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, call the U.S. EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
(800) 426-4791.
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Test Results
Our water is monitored for many different kinds of substances on a very strict sampling schedule. And, the water we
deliver must meet specific health standards. Here, we only show those substances that were detected in our water (a
complete list of all our analytical results is available upon request). Remember that detecting a substance does not mean the
water is unsafe to drink; our goal is to keep all detects below their respective maximum allowed levels.
The State recommends monitoring for certain substances less than once per year because the concentrations of these
substances do not change frequently. In these cases, the most recent sample data are included, along with the year in which
the sample was taken.
REGULATED SUBSTANCES
SUBSTANCE
(UNIT OF MEASURE)
YEAR
SAMPLED
MCL
[MRDL]
MCLG
[MRDLG]
AMOUNT
DETECTED
RANGE
LOW-HIGH VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE
2,4-D (ppb)2017 70 70 0.25 NA No Runoff from herbicide used on row crops
Barium (ppm)2018 2 2 0.02 NA No Discharge of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal
refineries; Erosion of natural deposits
Chlorine (ppm)2020 [4][4]0.74 0.66–0.89 No Water additive used to control microbes
Fluoride (ppm)2020 4 4 0.68 0.59–0.72 No Erosion of natural deposits; Water additive, which
promotes strong teeth; Discharge from fertilizer and
aluminum factories
Gross Alpha (pCi/L)2020 15.4 0 3.6 0–3.6 No Erosion of natural deposits
Haloacetic Acids [HAAs]
(ppb)
2020 60 NA 3.8 3.70–3.8 No By-product of drinking water disinfection
Nitrate (ppm)2020 10.4 10 1.7 0.00–1.70 No Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks,
sewage; Erosion of natural deposits
TTHMs [Total
Trihalomethanes] (ppb)
2020 80 NA 12.3 7.7–12.3 No By-product of drinking water disinfection
Tap Water Samples Collected for Copper and Lead Analyses from Sample Sites throughout the Community
SUBSTANCE
(UNIT OF MEASURE)
YEAR
SAMPLED AL MCLG
AMOUNT
DETECTED
(90TH %ILE)
SITES ABOVE
AL/TOTAL
SITES VIOLATION TYPICAL SOURCE
Copper (ppm)2019 1.3 1.3 0.28 1/30 No Corrosion of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural
deposits
Lead (ppb)2019 15 0 1.8 0/30 No Lead services lines; Corrosion of household plumbing systems,
including fittings and fixtures; Erosion of natural deposits
UNREGULATED SUBSTANCES
SUBSTANCE
(UNIT OF MEASURE)
YEAR
SAMPLED
AMOUNT
DETECTED
RANGE
LOW-HIGH
Manganese (ppb)2019 0.41 0–0.81
Sodium1 (ppm)2020 4.43 2.76–4.43
Sulfate (ppm)2020 16.3 2.45–16.3
1 In-home water softening can
increase the level of sodium in
your water.
Definitions
90th %ile: The levels reported for lead
and copper represent the 90th percentile of
the total number of sites tested. The 90th
percentile is equal to or greater than 90%
of our lead and copper detections.
AL (Action Level): The concentration of
a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers
treatment or other requirements which a
water system must follow.
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.
MRDL (Maximum Residual Disinfectant
Level): 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.
MRDLG (Maximum Residual
Disinfectant Level Goal): 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.
NA: Not applicable.
ND (Not detected): Indicates that the
substance was not found by laboratory
analysis.
pCi/L (picocuries per liter): A measure of
radioactivity.
ppb (parts per billion): One part
substance per billion parts water (or
micrograms per liter).
ppm (parts per million): One part
substance per million parts water (or
milligrams per liter).
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