Berea Municipal Utilities

Berea Municipal Resources treats surface water from four primary reservoirs: Upper Silver Creek, Lower Silver Creek, Cowbell and Owsley Fork Lakes. The most recent source water assessment is included in Madison County's Source Municipal water Assessment & Safety Plan.

Vulnerability analysis indicates the water supply has an average susceptibility to contamination overall. However, certain high-concern areas exist within the protection zones of Upper and Lower Silver Creek reservoirs and Cowbell Lake. Forest regions within these zones may generate natural contaminant runoff. The Owsley Fork reservoir protection zone also contains forested areas that present significant contamination risks.

Additionally, sections of four major roadways (KY 2004, KY 3447, US 421, and KY 21) run through these zones, each representing medium-level threats to the water supply. The complete assessment plan is available for review at the Berea Municipal utility office during normal business hours.

All water sources, including bottled and tap water, naturally contain some impurities. The presence of contaminants doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, contact the EPA's Safe Municipal Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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 like viruses and bacteria from sewage plants, septic systems, livestock operations, or wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals occurring naturally or from stormwater runoff, sewage discharge, oil/gas production, farming, or mining
• Pesticides and herbicides from stormwater runoff, agriculture, or residential use
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organics from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, stormwater runoff, or septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants occurring naturally or from oil/gas production or mining

The EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems to ensure drinking water safety. FDA regulations set similar limits for bottled water to provide equivalent public health protection.

Some individuals may be particularly vulnerable to water contaminants, including those undergoing chemotherapy, people with organ transplants, HIV/AIDS patients, those with immune system disorders, some elderly individuals, and infants. These people should seek advice from healthcare providers about drinking water. EPA/CDC guidelines on reducing infection risk from Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available via the Safe Municipal Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

In the past year, our water system violated requirements by failing to submit our LT2 (Cryptosporidium) Sampling Plan to the Kentucky Division of Water (KDOW) on time. Though not an emergency, our customers deserve to know what happened and how we addressed it.

We're required to regularly monitor water for specific contaminants, as these results indicate whether our water meets health standards. During the July-August 2016 compliance period, we failed to properly report our LT2 Sampling Plan on time, resulting in a violation since KDOW couldn't verify our plan for adequate water quality testing.

The LT2 Sampling Plan has since been submitted and approved by KDOW, confirming our plan meets all federal requirements for monitoring Cryptosporidium over the next two years. No action is required from residents, as no health effects are associated with this reporting violation, no populations were at risk, and alternative water sources are unnecessary.

After discovering this oversight, we immediately completed and submitted our monitoring plan and are currently following our approved monitoring schedule. For additional information, please contact Ed Fortner at 859-986-4391 or P.O. Box 926, Berea, KY 40403-0926.

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