Etowah

The Etowah Municipal Water & Sewer Authority is dedicated to providing high-quality water services to Dawsonville residents. In 2017, our Hightower Water Treatment facility conducted over 70,500 quality tests between January 1 and December 31 to ensure exceptional water quality standards.

Our commitment extends to delivering outstanding water and sewage treatment for current customers while planning responsibly for Dawson County's future needs. The Etowah Water serves as the primary surface water source for our Authority's operations.

A Source Water Assessment Plan (SWAP) is available at our Administrative Office. We've recently completed a multi-jurisdictional watershed protection strategy for the Etowah Basin, which included comprehensive water quality testing and data collection.

Substances Potentially Found in Water:
To ensure tap water safety, the U.S. EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems. Similarly, FDA regulations set limits for bottled water contaminants to provide comparable public health protection. All water sources, including tap and bottled water, may contain small amounts of some contaminants, which doesn't necessarily indicate health risks.

Water sources (including rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells) can contain substances from natural minerals, radioactive materials, animal presence, or human activity.

Potential contaminants include:

• Microbial Contaminants: Viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, or wildlife
• Inorganic Contaminants: Salts and metals occurring naturally or from urban runoff, industrial/domestic wastewater, oil/gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and Herbicides: From various sources including agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses
• Organic Chemical Contaminants: Synthetic and volatile organic compounds from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive Contaminants: Naturally occurring or resulting from oil/gas production and mining activities

Important Health Information:
Some individuals may be particularly vulnerable to water contaminants. Immuno-compromised persons (cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS patients, elderly individuals, and infants) may face increased infection risks. These individuals should consult healthcare providers about their municipal water consumption. EPA/CDC guidelines on reducing Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminant risks are available through the Safe Drinking Water Hotline.

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