Water Department
988 Union Ave. Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please note
that water samples to be tested should be brought in by noon. Phone: 603/524-0901 e-mail:water@city.laconia.nh.us S.S.
Laconia Victory: named for the city; launched March 19, 1945;
ferried troops from Europe to Boston; decommissioned May 1946.
Function:
Seth Nuttelman, Superintendent
Water Payment Pre-Authorization Form
The Water Department operates as an enterprise fund and relies on revenues received only from selling water and not from tax dollars. The department operates a Water Treatment facility to process water that meets all current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.
Tasks performed by the department include changing meters, replacing water mains, repairing leaks, inspecting new installations, and maintaining equipment and property. The department maintains accounts, processing all water and sewer billing. The department also tests water. Residents wishing to have water tested may obtain containers at the Water Department; water samples to be tested should be brought in by Noon during business hours.
The water rates for the City of Laconia and other areas served are well below the state average even though the Water Department is paying for a new water plant which has the most modern technology known today.
The Laconia Water Works was purchased by the City of Laconia in late 1955 from a private water company. The City Council set up Chapter 99 of the Public Ordinances, appointing three Water Commissioners. The Commissioners manage the department which operates as an enterprise fund, relying not on tax dollars but rather on revenues received from selling water. By 1985, the water works were owned with no debt by the City rate payers as the original bond for the purchase of the water works and several subsequent improvement bonds have all been repaid by water works revenues.
In 1989, the Water Department built the new water treatment plant at the cost of 3.1 million dollars to meet all the EPA's rules and regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The only debt the water works now owes is for the new water treatment plant. The new water plant will carry the Water Department's service area many years into the future with good, safe water for all its customers.
The Water Department has a number of personnel in addition to the three Water Commissioners. There are three employees in the administrative office who do the water and sewer billing and the bookkeeping, and who take in payments. The department is one of very few water works using computerized billing for two separate departments at the same time (water and, for Public Works, sewer). In addition, there are five employees on the work crew. This crew performs such tasks as changing meters, repairing leaks, replacing water mains, inspecting new installations, maintaining equipment and property and installing meter-reading phone systems. Finally, there are four state-certified operations employees at the treatment plant who operate both the new treatment plant and the state-certified lab for sampling water.
HOW DOES LACONIA'S WATER MEASURE UP?
Laconia's drinking water has met or exceeded the strict standards set by the State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Laconia Water Department works hard to make sure the water you drink is high quality. This annual report, which covers all of 2007 and previous years, describes the quality of our drinking water, where it comes from, and where you can get more information.
Consumers of Laconia Water Department receive their drinking water from Paugus Bay, our water source. The water is treated and filtered at our treatment facility located at 117 Stark Street. One of the contaminants we monitor for is turbidity. Turbidity is a measure of cloudiness in the water. It is monitored because it is a good indicator of the quality of the water; and the potential for interfering with our disinfection process. The turbidity readings indicate how well our filtration process is working to reduce the turbidity levels. The chemicals used to ensure safe drinking water are chlorine (disinfection), caustic soda (ph control), alum (coagulation), fluoride (dental care), and zinc orthophosphate (corrosion control).
Generally, sources of drinking water include rivers, lakes, streams, natural springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or under the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and radioactive material. It also picks up substances left by animal or human activity as it travels to its destination. For instance, microbial contaminates may come from sewage treatment plants, septic tanks, livestock operations, and wildlife. Pesticides and herbicides come from agricultural runoff and excess residential use. Other contaminates come from urban runoff, petroleum products, mining and industrial wastewater. Radioactive materials can occur naturally or can come from oil and gas production and mining.
The quality of Laconia's drinking water is governed by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The U.S. EPA and the NH Department of Environmental Services implement this very important law. It requires all of the nation's water suppliers to meet certain drinking water standards and to monitor the water regularly. If our test results ever violate one of these standards, or if the department ever fails to report water quality data to the state, the Laconia Water Department will alert you promptly and advise you what to do.
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. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminates 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 of infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care provider. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptospordium and other microbial contaminates are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline. More information about the contaminates and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
The Safe Drinking Water Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1974, and it was updated as recently as 1996. We need your continued help protecting Paugus Bay, our water source. Carefully follow instructions on pesticides and herbicides you use for your lawn and garden, and properly dispose of household chemicals, paints, and waste oil.
The NH Department of Environmental Services completed a drinking water source assessment report for our Water Department. Included in the report is a map of our water protection area, a description of our water system a list of potential contaminant sites (which we inspect on a tri-annual basis), and a high-medium-low susceptibility rating for our raw water source. The ratings were low = 5, medium =5, and high =3. The three high susceptibility areas were two for MTBE detection (recreational watercraft and within our wellhead protection area), and roadways within 1,000 feet of our intakes (the possibility of accidental spills). It should be noted that all of our MTBE Test results for 2006 and 2007 were below detection limits. The main purpose of this report is to show us what vulnerabilities are within our source waters and what we can do to minimize them. Being that the report is extensive, we will keep a report at our business office at 988 Union Ave. for our customers to look over.
We have completed a 2 year required test schedule mandated by the U.S.E.P.A. as part of the Long Term2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. It required us to test our raw water monthly for 24 consecutive months. We chose to test from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007. the microbiological contaminants tested were giardia, cryptosporidium, E.coli and turbidity. As you are aware, giardia and cryptosporidium can create health problems as well as E.coli. We are happy to report that there was no detection of giardia or cryptosporidium in the 24 tests that we took. E.coli was present in some of our testing, but our treatment process eliminated that contaminant. Listed below are definitions of giardia and cryptosporidium.
Giardia: An intestinal parasite that is endemic to the United States that occurs naturally in warm blooded animals such as beavers and muskrats. Infection occurs via ingestion of contaminated food or water.
Cryptosporidium: A single-celled protozoan parasite found in the waste of infected animals (cattle, sheep, etc.) Can be life threatening to people with immune deficiencies.
For more information about Laconia's drinking water, please call Seth Nuttelman, Superintendent at 603-524-0901or Floyd Dungelman, Water Quality Control Supervisor at 524-1096. The Laconia Water Works Board of Water Commissioners meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 8:00 a.m. at the Water Treatment Facility, 117 Stark St., Laconia, NH. The meetings are open to the public.
TEST RESULTS
Updated 5/21/08 for the Year 2007
Definitions:
CONTAMINANT VIOLATION
LEVEL DETECTED/RANGE OF DETECTION
UNIT MEAS.
MCLG
MCL
LIKELY SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION
Microbiological Contaminants Total Coliform N
0
100 ml.
0
0
Naturally present in the environment E. coli N
0
100 ml
0
0
Human and animal fecal waste Turbidity N
.08
NTU
n/a
.5
Soil runoff Volatile Contaminants TTHM N
L-25, H-76, A-48 ug/L
80
By-product of drinking water chlorination. TOC RAW TOC FILTERED
N
N
L-2.1, H-2.4, A-2.2 L-1.2, H-1.6, A-1.4
ppm
ppm
TT
TT
By-product of drinking water chlorination. Naturally present in the environment. HAA5 N
L-10, H-37, A-23 ug/L
60
By-product of drinking water disinfection. Inorganic Contaminants Lead (2005) N
.007 Avg.
mg/L
0
AL=15
Erosion of natural deposits. Copper (2005) N
.057 Avg.
mg/L
1.3
AL=1.3
Corrosion of household plumbing. Nitrate N
BDL
ppm
10
10
Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks; sewage; erosion of natural deposits Nitrite (2006) N
BDL
ppm
1
1
Same sources as Nitrate Fluoride N L-88, H-1.40, A-1.17 ppm 4 4 Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories Radiological Contaminants Gross Alpha (2002) N
<1
pCi/L
0 15
Erosion of natural deposits. Gross Alpha minus Uranium (2002) N
<1
pCi/L
0 15
Erosion of natural deposits.
Radon (2002) N
<100
pCi/L
0 300
Erosion of natural deposits. Uranium (Activity) (2002) N
<1
pCi/L
0 Erosion of natural deposits. Uranium (Mass) (2002) N
<1
ug/L
0 30
Erosion of natural deposits. MCLG: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, or 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.
MCL: The highest level of a contaminant in drinking water.
AL: Action Level, or the concentration of a contaminant which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
TT: Treatment Technique, or a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Abbreviations:
BDL: Below Detection Limit
mg/L: Miligrams Per liter
HAA5: Haloacetic Acids
NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Unit
ppm: Parts Per Million
pCi/L: PicoCurie per Liter
TTHM: Total Trihalomethane
TOC: Total Organic Carbon
ug/L: Micrograms Per Liter