City of Garland

In 1996, Congress amended the Safe Municipal Water Act requiring community systems to provide customers with an annual report detailing their water quality. We're pleased to share our annual water quality statement with you. This report covers all testing conducted between January 1 and December 31, 2017.

The Garland Water Utilities (GWU) is a municipal water distribution and sewage collection utility owned by the City of Garland. We purchase treated water from the North Texas Municipal and County Water District and deliver it to Garland residents and businesses. Our sewage system collects, processes, and properly discharges used water. Both systems undergo rigorous monthly testing to ensure water quality and proper wastewater management.

An electronic version of this report is available at www.bit.ly/GarlandQualityReport2017. Español: Este informe contiene información importante sobre agua potable. Si tiene preguntas o comentarios sobre el informe en español, favor de llamar al tel. 972-205-3213 para habla con una persona bilingüe en español.

ALL MUNICIPAL WATER MAY CONTAIN CONTAMINANTS

To ensure tap water safety, the EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems. Similarly, FDA regulations set limits for contaminants in bottled water to provide equal public health protection. All water, including bottled varieties, naturally contains small amounts of some contaminants, which doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk.

Water sources (both tap and bottled) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over land or underground, it dissolves natural minerals and sometimes radioactive material and substances from animal presence or human activity.

Potential source water contaminants include:

• Microbial Contaminants: viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic Contaminants: naturally occurring or human-activity-derived salts and metals from urban runoff, industrial/domestic wastewater, oil/gas production, farming, or mining
• Pesticides and Herbicides: from agriculture, urban runoff, and residential uses
• Organic Chemical Contaminants: industrial process and petroleum production byproducts, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive Contaminants: naturally occurring or resulting from oil/gas production and mining

Some contaminants may affect taste, odor, or color without posing health concerns. For questions about water aesthetics, please contact our office. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, call the EPA's Safe Municipal Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IN MUNICIPAL WATER

Cryptosporidium is a microscopic protozoan affecting human and animal digestive systems. Currently, no specific treatment has proven effective, though people with healthy immune systems typically recover within two weeks. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Immunocompromised individuals face greater risk of serious illness and should consult their physicians about appropriate precautions. Cryptosporidium must be ingested to cause disease and can spread through means beyond water consumption.

IMPORTANT HEALTH INFORMATION

Certain populations may be more vulnerable than others to specific microbial contaminants like cryptosporidium. Infants, some elderly individuals, and those with compromised immune systems—such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, steroid treatment patients, and people with HIV/AIDS or other immune disorders—may be particularly susceptible to infections. If you have any of these conditions, consult your healthcare provider about municipal water consumption. Additional guidelines for reducing infection risk from cryptosporidium are available from the EPA's Safe Municipal Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

SAMPLING RESULTS

Throughout the past year, numerous water samples were analyzed for radioactive, biological, inorganic, volatile organic, and synthetic organic contaminants. Results appear in the table on the following two pages. State regulations allow less frequent monitoring of certain substances when their concentrations remain stable. In these cases, we've included the most recent test data along with the testing year. This report lists all substances with detectable levels. For a complete list of tested substances, visit GarlandWater.com.

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