5.3 ERMUSR 05-14-2024Elk River
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
FROM:
ERMU Commission
Dave Ninow —Water Superintendent
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
May 14, 2023
5.3
SUBJECT:
2023 Consumer Confidence Report
ACTION REQUESTED:
Receive and file the 2023 Consumer Confidence Report
DISCUSSION:
The ERMU Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also known as Water Quality Report, for the
2023 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 2023 CCR: https://www.ermumn.com/services/water/water-quality-report.
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• 2023 Consumer Confidence Report
Page 1 of 1
179
ANNUAL WATER
UALITY
REPORT
Reporting Year 2023
Presented By
Elk Riv
Municipal Utilities
PWS ID#: 1710004
01' Our Commitment
We are pleased to present to you this year's annual water quality report. This report is a snapshot of last year's water qual-
ity covering all testing performed between January 1 and December 31, 2023. Included are details about your source
of water, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. Our constant goal is to
oneM` 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 providing you with this information because
informed customers are our best allies.
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 drink-
ing 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 two 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, test-
ing methods, and steps you can
take to minimize exposure is available from the
Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or
epa.gov/safewater/lead.
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 particu-
larly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice
about drinking water from their health care providers. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
?A)/Centers for Disease Control
d Prevention (CDC) guidelines on
propriate means to lessen the risk of
section by cryptosporidium and other
microbial contaminants are avail-
able from the Safe Drinking Water
Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or
water.epa.gov/drink/hotline.
Adopt -a -Hydrant -
A City of Elk River Program
Our friends over at the City of Elk River have a new pro-
gram that creates a fun way to be mindful of hydrants
that may be obstructed by snow just outside of our front door.
Visit elkrivermn.gove/1842/Adopt-a-Hydrant, and select a
hydrant - or several - that you would like to clear snow from
to ensure that firefighters have access to water in the event of a
fire. A hydrant should have a three-foot radius that is clear of
snow to allow first responders to safely turn water on and off.
We appreciate your commitment to help your community. All
our adoptive hydrant parents did an excellent job of shoveling
out hydrants this last winter! Wait - did we get snow? Oh, yes,
we did - in the spring!
Where Does My Water Come From?
Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) wells are supplied
from the Mt. Simon -Hinckley Aquifer. ERMU maintains
eight wells, four water towers, over 125 miles of water main,
1,319 fire hydrants, and just under 3,000 valves. In 2023
ERMU pumped over 1,004,271,000 gallons of water. We are
proud to serve over 5,500 water customers.
QUESTIONS?
For more information about this report, or for any questions
relating to your drinking water, please call Elk River
Municipal Utilities at (763) 441-2020 — Dave Ninow, Water
Superintendent. You may review this report online at https://
www.ermumn.com/services/water/water-quality-report
181
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 contaminants 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
Z
plants, septic systems, agricultural
livestock operations, or wildlife;
Inorganic Contaminants, such as
x
salts and metals, which can be
naturally occurring or may result
from urban stormwater 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 stormwater 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 stormwater 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. EPAs Safe Drinking Water Hotline
at (800) 426-4791.
F
Source Water Assessment
Advanced Metering Infrastructure
(AMI) Project
�/�/With the assistance of Allegiant Utility Services, ERMU
began installing new AMI meters in April 2024. Please
visit ermumn.com/about-us/news-education/featured-news/
elk-river-municipal-utilities-ami-ready for information and
updates throughout the project.
Reducing Water Waste
We aim to reduce water loss, which is cal-
culated by measuring the water pumped
from the ground (at the well) and subtracting the
amount of treated water accounted for by custom-
ers' meters. Loss generally occurs through quality
and maintenance -based practices, such as hydrant
flushing and backwashing (well filter cleaning).
On occasion, a water leak may go unidentified for
some time. In the event of a water main break, we
can lose a large volume of water in a few seconds.
There is an allowable percer
for loss each year, beyond v
may incur fines. It is our I
serve the Elk Rive communi
quality, on-deman water. W
to limit water aste throe
community education anc
best practices to maintain
our water system with great
financial stewardship. A
ASource Water Assessment Plan (SWAP) is now available at our office, or you may search for "Elk River" online at https://
www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/swp/swa.html. This plan is an assessment of the delineated area
around our listed sources through which contaminants, if present, could migrate and reach our source water. It also includes an
inventory of potential sources of contamination within the delineated area and a determination of the water supply's susceptibil-
ity to contamination by the identified potential sources.
About 90 percent of our drinking water supply management area is considered non -vulnerable; less than 10 percent is
vulnerable. Our wellhead protection plan has many items that address limiting or stopping potential contamination.
182
What Your Water Bill Goes Toward
ERMU serves a population of over 26,000. Just over 5,000 customers are residential connections, and over 650 are commer-
cial connections. It is always our goal to promote limiting water waste, because water is our fundamental lifeline. We charge
in increments of 1,000 gallons; our first tier is $2.02 per 1,000 gallons. At our local stores, it costs about $1.50 for one gallon
of water and around the same for a single -serving, 16-ounce bottle of water. That's quite a price difference for an equivalent
volume, and water from ERMU comes right into your home.
Our goal is to have reliable equipment and infrastructure to provide quality water each time you turn on the faucet. The more
water that's pumped, the harder the equipment runs, and the more maintenance is required to operate wells. Just like a vehicle,
the more miles or hours run, the more equipment ages and fails, and the general wear and tear of pumping day in and day out
adds up. Maximum -capacity pumping should only occur in peak circumstances, such as the hottest days of the year or a severe
drought.
So, what part of our efforts to supply water to your home or business does your water bill cover? Customers that have new
construction or are connecting into the water system are charged a water availability charge (WAC). This is a water connection
and accessibility charge to establish new services, and it goes toward infrastructure build -out, including water mains, hydrants,
booster pumps, wells, and towers.
Rates that are charged for water consumption keep our system operating each day. Rate -based funds are budgeted for regular
maintenance and water production, including purchase of chemicals for water quality, state sampling and documentation, and
valve and hydrant upkeep and labor. We meticulously budget for reliability, quality, and future growth.
You may have wondered why we charge more for higher water use. Tiered rates are one of the few options given by the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for conservation efforts. ERMU must report our annual water pumping
and show our peak (highest) and base (lowest) pumping month. The base pumping month indicates the actual need for water
in the system for consumption and daily use, while most of the water used during the peak pumping month is for irrigation.
That is our number one water use in Elk River.
In 2023 we went from 1,535,000 gallons pumped in January to 6,803,000 gallons pumped in July. That's over a 300-percent
increase in water consumption. Based on our differential from base to peak, we pay the DNR for volume above the base
calculation. This is called a summer surcharge.
Water Conservation Tips
You can play a role in conserving water and save yourself money in the process by becoming
conscious of the amount of water your household is using and looking for ways to use less
whenever you can. It is not hard to conserve water. Here are a few tips:
• Automatic dishwashers use four to six gallons for every cycle, regardless of how many dish
are loaded. So get a run for your money and load it to capacity. '
• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.
• Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to 20 gallons a day. Fix it and you can save
almost 6,000 gallons per year.
• Check your toilets for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank. Watch for a few minutes to see if the
color shows up in the bowl. It is not uncommon to lose up to 100 gallons a day from an invisible toilet leak. Fix it and
you save more than 30,000 gallons a year.
• Use your water meter to detect hidden leaks. Simply turn off all taps and water -using appliances. Then check the meter
after 15 minutes. If it moved, you have a leak.
• It is important to know that the number one use of water is irrigation. Be sure to check your irrigation system and
settings often to be sure that irrigation heads are not broken and that sprinkling times are limited to fit seasonal changes
and actual need. Water your lawn between midnight and 4AM with a cycle -and -soak pattern for better lawn health.
0
r.
183
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 avail-
able 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.
SUBSTANCE
YEAR
* MCL
MCLG
AMOUNT
RANGE
(UNIT OF MEASURE)
SAMPLED
[MRDL1
[MRDLG]
DETECTED
LOW -HIGH
Chlorine (ppm)
2023
[4]
[4]
0.72
0.64-0.81
Fluoride (ppm)
2023
4
/
0.68
0.62-0.76
Gross Alpha Particle Activity (pCi/L)
2020
15.4
0
3.6
ND-3.6
Haloacetic Acids [HAAs]—Stage 1 (ppb)
2023
60
NA
5.70
ND-5.70
Nitrate (ppm)
2023
10
10
1.70
ND-1.70
TTHMs [total trihalomethanes]—Stage 1
2023
80
NA
8.40
3.90-8.40
(ppb)
Xylenes (ppm)
2023
10
10
ND
NA
Tap water samples were collected for lead and copper analyses from sample sites throughout the community
VIOLATION
TYPICAL SOURCE
No
Water additive used to control microbes
No
Erosion of natural deposits; water additive
which promotes strong teeth; discharge from
fertilizer and aluminum factories
No
Erosion of natural deposits
No
By-product of drinking water disinfection
No
Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic
tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
No
By-product of drinking water disinfection
No Discharge from petroleum factories; discharge
from chemical factories
AMOUNT
DETECTED
SITES ABOVE
SUBSTANCE
YEAR
(90TH
AL/TOTAL
17
(UNIT OF MEASURE)
SAMPLED
AL MCLG %ILE)
SITES VIOLATION
TYPICAL SOURCE
Copper (ppm)
2022
1.3 1.3 1 0.23
1 1130 No
Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Lead (ppb)
2022
15 0 1.37
I 0/30 No
Lead service lines; corrosion of household plumbing systems, including
fittings and fixtures; erosion of natural deposits
SUBSTANCE YEAR AMOUNT RANGE
(UNIT OF MEASURE) SAMPLED DETECTED LOW -HIGH TYPICAL SOURCE
Sodium (ppm) i 2023 i 4.29 2.83-4.29 I Naturally occurring; In -home water softening
Sulfate (ppm) 2023 16.50 2.67-16.50 I NA
0
0
184