Anderson Water Department

To ensure tap water safety, the Environmental Protection Agency establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems. Similarly, FDA regulations set standards for bottled water to provide equivalent public health protection. All municipal water, including bottled varieties, naturally contains small amounts of certain contaminants. Their presence doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk.

For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, contact the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Should certain people take special precautions?
Some individuals may be more vulnerable to water contaminants than the general population. People with compromised immune systems—such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS or other immune disorders, many elderly individuals, and infants—may be particularly susceptible to infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their healthcare providers.

Why are there contaminants in municipal water?
Water sources (both tap and bottled) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over land or underground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and sometimes radioactive materials, and can pick up substances from animal presence or human activity. Potential contaminants include:

• Microbial contaminants from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals, occurring naturally or from urban runoff, industrial/domestic wastewater, oil/gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, stormwater runoff, and residential usage
• Organic chemicals from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive materials, occurring naturally or resulting from oil/gas production and mining

Lead in Drinking Water
Elevated lead levels can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water primarily comes from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. Anderson Water Utility provides high-quality water but cannot control the materials used in plumbing components. When water sits for several hours, you can minimize lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If concerned about lead, consider having your water tested. Information about lead in water, testing methods, and exposure reduction steps is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

We strive to provide safe, reliable water and want you to understand our efforts to improve treatment processes and protect water resources. Our water comes from deep surface water supply wells that draw from aquifers in the Indiana Creek in Lafayette Township and the White River and Killbuck Creek area. Anderson Water Utility continuously monitors for contaminants according to Federal and local regulations.

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