Albertville Utilities Board

All municipal water, including bottled water products, can reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of certain contaminants. The presence of these substances doesn't necessarily indicate a health hazard. MCLs, as defined in the survey definitions, are established at very stringent levels.

To understand potential health effects mentioned for regulated substances, a person would need to consume 2 liters of water daily at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of experiencing the described health effect.

Water sources (both tap and bottled) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels across land or underground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and radioactive materials, and can pick up substances from animal presence or human activity.

Potential contaminants in source water include:

• Microbial contaminants such as viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment facilities, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants like salts and metals that occur naturally or come from urban runoff, industrial wastewater, oil/gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, stormwater runoff, and residential usage
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organics from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants that occur naturally or result from oil/gas production and mining

To ensure tap water safety, EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems. FDA regulations set similar limits for bottled water. Some individuals may be more vulnerable to water contaminants than the general population, including immunocompromised persons undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, people with HIV/AIDS, elderly individuals, and infants who may face increased infection risks.

This water system also tests our source water for pathogens like Cryptosporidium and Giardia that may enter water through animal or human waste. For immunocompromised individuals, advisory documents developed by EPA and CDC are available at www.epa.gov/safe water/crypto.HTML or through the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

All test results were well within state and federal standards. Based on ADEM studies with EPA approval, Alabama received a statewide monitoring waiver for asbestos and dioxin, making testing for these contaminants unnecessary.

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