City of Highmore
2006 Consumer Confidence Report

We're pleased to present to our customers the ninth of our annual water quality reports. The purpose of this report is to inform you of the quality of the drinking water that we provide. We are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test our water frequently for the presence and concentrations of over 80 different substances. The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reviews all of our testing data to ensure that we are providing safe drinking water to our customers and that we are complying with EPA regulations. Included in this report are details about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to EPA and state standards. We are committed to providing you with information because informed customers are our best allies.

If you have any questions about this report, please contact City Superintendent Chad Crago at 852-2085 or City Finance Officer Pamela Huber at 852-2716. If you want to learn more about your water utility or any other aspect of the City of Highmore, please attend any of our regularly scheduled city council meetings. They are held on the first Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the west wing of the Hyde County Memorial Auditorium.

Water Source

We serve more than 851 customers an average of 143,700 gallons of water per day. Our water is surface water that we purchase from the Mid-Dakota Rural Water System. The state has performed an assessment of our source water and they have determined that the relative susceptibility rating for the City of Highmore public water supply system is medium.

The source of the Mid-Dakota Rural Water System water is the Oahe Reservoir on the Missouri River. The surface water intake is located on the east bank of the Oahe Reservoir, approximately 6 miles north of Pierre, SD.

Why is Drinking Water Tested?

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, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Contaminants 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, and wildlife.

Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or 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 stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

Information Provided by EPA

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by substances that are naturally occurring or manmade. These substances can be microbes, inorganic or organic chemicals, and radioactive substances. All 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. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants 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 from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Detected Contaminants

The attached tables list all the drinking water contaminants that were detected during the 2006 calendar year. The presence of these contaminants in the water does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in these tables are from testing done January 1 to December 31, 2006. The state requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.

Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home's plumbing. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home's water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Definitions of Terms

The following definitions are provided to assist you in understanding our water quality test results and the following discussion of the results.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): 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.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): 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.

Action Level (AL): the concentration of a contaminant which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Treatment Technique (TT): A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Note: MCLs are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one in a million chance of having the described health effect.

Units:

NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Units

pCi/l: picocuries per liter ( a measure of radioactivity)

ppm: parts per million, or milligrams per liter (mg/l)

ppb: parts per billion, or micrograms per liter (ug/l)

2006 Water Quality Test Results

Table of Detected Contaminants for Highmore Water System

2006 Water Quality Test Results

Table of Detected Contaminants for Mid-Dakota Rural Water System

Substance	Date Last Tested		Highest Level Detected		Range of Detection	Ideal Goals (MCLG)	Highest Level Allowed (MCL)	Units	Likely Source of Substance
Regulated Contaminants
Alpha Emitters	5-10-04		2.6		-	0	15	pCi/l	Erosion of natural deposits
Antimony	2-22-06		0.4		-	6	6	Ppb	Discharge from petroleum refineries; fire retardants; ceramics; electronics; solder.
Arsenic	2-22-06		2		-	NA	50	ppb	Erosion of natural deposits; runoff from orchards; runoff from glass and electronics production wastes.
Barium	2-22-06		0.039		-	2	2	ppm	Discharge of drilling wastes: discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits.
Chromium	2-22-06		4.8		-	100	100	ppb	Discharge from steel and pulp mills; erosion of natural deposits.
Copper	8-18-04		0.3		#Sites>1.3 AL -- 0	0	AL=1.3	ppm	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservatives.
Flouride	5-22-06		1.26		1.04 -- 1.26	4	4	Ppm	Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories.
Lead	8-20-04		1		#Sites>15 AL -- 0	0	AL=15	ppb	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Turbidity	5-1-06		0.16		100% samples below 0.3	NA	TT	NTU	Soil runoff. Turbidity is a measurement of the clarity of the water.
Selenium	2-22-06		1.9		-	50	50	ppb	Discharge from petroleum and metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits; discharge from mines.
Haloacetic Acids	3-7-06		25		8.82 -- 25	0	60	ppb	By-product of drinking water chlorination.
Total trihalomethanes		8-7-06		51.21	35.7 -- 51.21	0	80	ppb	By-product of drinking water chlorination.

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