City of Martinsburg

City of Martinsburg Municipal Water Report Info

Ensuring Safe Municipal Water for Residents

Your municipal water comes from a surface water source drawn from Budd Lake. The City of Martinsburg works diligently to provide you with safe water that meets all federal and state quality requirements. This report aims to inform you about your water supply and how to protect our valuable water resources.

Contact Doug Rainforth, Water/Wastewater Superintendent, at 507-235-6789 with questions about Martinsburg's municipal water or to learn how to participate in decisions affecting water quality.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency establishes safety standards limiting specific contaminant levels in tap water. These standards ensure tap water is safe for consumption. Similarly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates contaminant levels in bottled water, providing comparable public health protection.

Both tap and bottled water may reasonably contain small amounts of certain contaminants. Their presence doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Martinsburg Monitoring Results

This report contains monitoring data from January 1 to December 31, 2017. We collaborate with health authorities to test for over 100 contaminants. Finding trace contaminants is normal - no water supply is entirely contaminant-free. Water standards protect residents from potentially harmful substances.

Understanding Your Municipal Water

West Virginia's primary water sources include groundwater and surface water. Groundwater from aquifers below the land's surface provides 75% of municipal water. Surface water from lakes, rivers, and streams supplies the remaining 25%.

Contaminants can enter water sources naturally or through human activities. The five main contaminant types include:

• Microbial contaminants (viruses, bacteria, parasites) from sewage treatment, septic systems, livestock operations, pets, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants (salts, metals) from natural sources, oil/gas production, mining, farming, urban runoff, and wastewater discharge
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, urban runoff, and residential properties
• Organic chemical contaminants from industrial processes, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants from natural sources, mining, and oil/gas production