Calhoun County Water and Fire Protection Authority

All municipal water, including bottled varieties, may reasonably contain small amounts of certain contaminants. The presence of these substances doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk. Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), defined in this report, are established with very strict safety margins. To experience potential health effects described for regulated constituents, a person would need to consume 2 liters daily at MCL levels for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of developing 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 activities.

Potential contaminants in source water include:

• Microbial contaminants like viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment facilities, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals, either naturally-occurring or resulting from urban runoff, industrial/domestic 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, either naturally-occurring or resulting 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 contaminants than the general population. Immunocompromised persons—including cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS or immune disorders, some elderly, and infants—may be particularly susceptible to infections. These individuals should seek advice about drinking water from their healthcare providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on reducing infection risk from Cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available through the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Based on an ADEM study with EPA approval, Alabama received a statewide monitoring waiver for asbestos and dioxin, so testing for these contaminants was not required.

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