London Utility Commission

We're dedicated to providing exceptional water service to our community every day. Our primary goal is ensuring you receive safe, reliable municipal water. We want to share information about our ongoing efforts to enhance water treatment processes and protect our vital water resources.

We're committed to maintaining the highest water quality standards while keeping costs affordable for our community. We're pleased to report that none of the contaminants tested during 2016 exceeded state water quality standards.

This information represents our team's dedication to delivering safe municipal water. This report includes details about your water source, its composition, and how it compares to regulatory standards.

London Utility Commission is dedicated to transparency about your water quality because informed customers help us implement necessary improvements to maintain high standards.

Your tap water begins its journey at our intake structure on Laurel Lake. It's pumped 10.5 miles from the intake to our treatment facility. The water comes from the Laurel River River, with our intake located in Little Indian Camping Branch of Laurel Water Lake.

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 or human activity.

Potential water contaminants include:

• Microbial contaminants like viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals that occur naturally or result from urban runoff, industrial/domestic wastewater, oil/gas production, mining, or manufacturing
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential use
• Organic chemical contaminants including synthetic and volatile organics from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants that occur naturally or result from oil/gas production and mining activities

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

Our treatment plant utilizes the innovative Actiflo process, which employs micro sand technology with Polymer and Liquid Alum for coagulation. This process removes suspended particles and certain compounds from the water. After coagulation, the water undergoes filtration to eliminate any remaining particles. Chlorine is used for disinfection to eliminate harmful organisms. We also add Caustic Soda for pH adjustment and Fluoride for dental health benefits.

After treatment, water is stored in two clear wells with approximately one million gallons total capacity before being pumped into the distribution system that delivers it to your tap.

All municipal water, including bottled water, may reasonably contain small amounts of some contaminants. This 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.

If present, elevated lead levels can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead primarily comes from materials and components in service lines and home plumbing. London Utility Commission provides quality municipal water but cannot control the materials used in plumbing components. When water sits for several hours, you can minimize lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking.

For questions about water quality, contact Dallas Cox, Jeff Areas, or Ray Osborne at the London Utility Commission Water Treatment Plant: (606) 864-7551. We invite you to our regular board meetings held the Fourth Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at 801 North Main Street. Customer feedback is always welcome.

The Source Water Assessment and Protection Plan (SWAPP) has been completed for London's water supply. The assessment indicates our water supply's susceptibility to contamination is generally moderate. Areas of concern include forested land coverage and agriculture, which increase susceptibility to contaminants like siltation, excess nutrients, and pesticides.

London Utility Commission issued thirteen (13) boil water advisories during 2017. These advisories are precautionary measures when contamination is possible due to low pressure (under 20 psi), low chlorine, line breaks, spills, floods, etc. Regulations require boiling water for 3 minutes at a rolling boil [401 KAR 8: 020, Section 2(10)].

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is impervious area?

   An impervious area is any paved, covered, or compacted surface that prevents natural water infiltration into soil. These include roofs, patios, porches, driveways, sidewalks, gravel surfaces, athletic courts, and other compacted areas.

2. What is an REU?

   A Residential Equivalent Unit represents the average impervious area of a single-family residential property. In Grand Chute, one REU equals 3,283 square feet.

3. How is my stormwater fee calculated?

   - Each residential property is billed at one REU per quarter
   - Each duplex is billed for two REUs per quarter
   - Commercial properties are billed based on total impervious surface divided by the REU square footage

4. Why do we have this fee?

   The stormwater utility was established to collect, maintain, and manage stormwater facilities in Grand Chute to meet EPA and Wisconsin DNR discharge limits for total suspended solids and phosphorus. While specific properties might not require individual stormwater facilities, most public ditches drain to detention ponds. These ponds prevent flooding on both public and private property and improve runoff quality before discharge into lakes and streams. The typical cost to acquire property and construct a pond ranges from $300,000 to $700,000.