St. Augustine WTP

Elevated lead levels can pose serious health risks, particularly for pregnant women and young children. Lead in tap water primarily comes from materials used in service lines and household plumbing. While we provide quality municipal water, we cannot control the components used in plumbing fixtures.

If water has been sitting in pipes for several hours, reduce potential lead exposure by running your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for consumption. If concerned about lead content, consider having your water tested. Information about lead in water, testing methods, and exposure reduction is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Municipal water sources include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels across land or underground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals, sometimes radioactive material, and can pick up substances from animal or human activity.

Source water contaminants may include:

• Microbial contaminants (viruses, bacteria) from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants (salts, metals) occurring naturally or from urban runoff, wastewater discharges, oil/gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, urban runoff, and residential uses
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic compounds 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

The EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems, while FDA regulations set limits for bottled water, providing the same public health protection. All water sources, including bottled water, may reasonably contain at least small amounts of contaminants, which doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk.

Some individuals may be more vulnerable to water contaminants than the general population. Immunocompromised people (cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS patients, elderly, and infants) should seek advice from healthcare providers about drinking water safety.

The St. Augustine Water Treatment Plant team works around the clock to deliver quality water to every home and business. We urge all residents to help protect our drinking water sources—the heart of our community and our children's future.

We participated in the EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR3) program by conducting additional testing on our water supply. UCMR3 benefits public health by providing the EPA with data on suspected contaminants to determine if new regulatory standards are needed to improve water quality.

.. ...