Biddeford and Saco Water Company

Since its inception in 1881, the Biddeford and Saco Water Company’s goal has been to produce the safest and highest quality water for all its customers. We are proud of our long history of quality service. All of our facilities are constantly maintained, evaluated and upgraded to stay abreast of advancements in technology, health science, and government regulations, but we believe that the heart of our quality assurance program is our well trained, experienced, and committed treatment, service, meter-reading, and office personnel. Through foresight and planning, efficiency in operations, and focus on excellence in customer service, our team is ready to provide you with the best quality drinking water at an economical price well into the 21st century.

What's Inside?

This report outlines the processes involved in delivering to you the highest quality drinking water available. In it, we will answer 3 important questions:

• Where does my water come from?
• How is my water treated and purified?
• What's in my drinking water?

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for setting national limits for hundreds of substances in drinking water and also specifies various treatments that water systems must use to remove these substances. Each system continually monitors for these substances and reports directly to their state regulatory agency, which in turn reports to the EPA, if any regulated substances were detected in the drinking water. EPA uses these data to ensure that consumers are receiving clean water and verify that states are enforcing the laws that regulate drinking water. This publication conforms to the new federal regulation under the SDWA requiring water utilities to provide detailed water quality information to each of their customers annually. The Biddeford and Saco Water Company is committed to providing you with this information about your water supply, because customers who are well informed are our best allies in supporting improve- ments necessary to maintain the highest drinking water standards. For more information about this report, or for any questions relating to your drinking water, please call either Norm Lavigne at (207) 282-9141 or Jerry Mansfield at (207) 282-1543.

Where Does My Water Come From?

The Saco River is our sole source of water . It begins as a small stream high in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and flows through about 124 miles of New Hampshire and Maine forest and farmland before reaching our treatment plant. The Saco River Watershed actually covers an area of roughly 1,700 square miles in central New Hampshire and southwestern Maine. Forest and farmland cover most of the land in the watershed. We are fortunate that the Saco River is one of the cleanest major rivers in Maine and New England. The lack of any substantial industrial development along the Saco River shoreline has helped maintain good water quality. In fact, the majority of the Saco River in Maine is classified by the State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as Class A & AA, which is the cleanest rating possible for water. Demand is great for high quality drinking water: we provide about 5.4 million gallons of water every day to a population of between 45,000 and 200,000 people (depending on the time of year). To learn more about our watershed on the Internet, go to U.S. EPA’s Locate Your Watershed (www.epa.gov/surf2/hucs/01060002). The Maine Drinking Water Program will be evaluating all public water supplies statewide by the year 2003 as part of the Source Water Assessment Program. The results of their evaluation will be discussed in upcoming editions of this report. For more information, you may contact the Drinking Water Program at (207) 287-2070.

How is My Water Treated And Purified?

The treatment process consists of a series of steps. First, raw water is drawn from the Saco River and pumped directly to a mixing tank at our treatment facility where alum, lime and polymer are added. The addition of these chemicals causes small particles to adhere to one another, making them heavy enough to settle into a basin from which sediment is removed. After settling, chlorine and polymer are added for disinfection and turbidity removal, respectively (turbidity is a common measure of the clarity of water). The water is then filtered through layers of fine coal and silicate sand. As smaller, suspended particles are removed, turbidity disappears and clear water emerges. Chlorine is added again at this point as a precaution against any bacteria that may still be present. (We carefully monitor the amount of chlorine, adding the lowest quantity necessary to protect the safety of your water without compromising taste.) Finally, lime (used to adjust the final pH of the water), fluoride (used to prevent dental caries), a corrosion inhibitor (used to protect distribution system pipes) and ammonia (used to reduce the for mation of THMs, a common by-product of disinfection) are added before the water is pumped to sanitized reservoirs and water towers, and into your home or business.

What's In My Water?

We are pleased to report that during the past year, the water delivered to your homes or businesses complied with, or did better than, all state and federal drinking water requirements. For your information, we have compiled a list in the table below showing what substances were detected in our drinking water during 1998. Although all of the substances listed below are under the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set by EPA, and therefore not expected to cause any health risk, we feel it is important that you know exactly what was detected and how much of the substance was present in the water. None of the other substances regulated by EPA were even detected in the water.

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals, possibly including radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from human or animal activity.

Substances that may be present in source water include microbes such as viruses and bacteria, inorganic salts and metals, pesticides and herbicides, organic chemicals, and radioactive contaminants. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some of these substances. The presence of these substances does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.

Some people may be more vulnerable to substances in drinking water than the general population. Immunocompromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice from their health care providers about drinking water. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and EPA guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791.

Flouridation Facts

Since 1987, our water supply has been fluoridated. Fluoridation is the addition of a fluorine compound to prevent tooth decay. Fluoride reduces tooth decay by hardening tooth enamel, protecting it from the deterioration caused by acids produced by bacteria living in the mouth. The optimum fluoride concentration in drinking water in Maine is 1.2 ppm. The Saco River has about 0.25 ppm naturally present, so we add an additional 0.95 ppm to attain the optimum dosage. Fluoridation of the water supply does not impart any taste, smell, or color to the water. Today over 230 million people worldwide drink from fluoridated supplies. In Maine over 100 community water supplies fluoridate including Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, Houlton, Lewiston, Portland Water District, Presque Isle, and Sanford. In April 1998, the EPA and the American Water Works Association notified us that our treatment facility was among the first 23 water treatment facilities nationwide to be awarded a Director’s Certificate of Recognition by the Partnership For Safe Water. Also during 1998, the Maine Water Utilities Association awarded us the 1998 President’s Award for Dedication and Commitment to Safe Drinking Water. These prestigious awards reaffirm How will I know if there’s a problem with my water? to attain exceptional water quality. Customers are invited to contact our utility at any time with questions or concerns. Individual and group tours of our Saco River treatment facility can be arranged by calling (207) 282-9141. Also, please join us at our annual Open House during National Drinking Water Week in May.

Quality Assurance

• We are first in Maine to introduce a state-of-the-art laser particle counting technology to our treatment process. This technology greatly enhances our ability to monitor the treatment process and produce drinking water of exceptionally high quality.
• We have committed staff and resources to a systematic review of Year 2000 issues within our control, in an effort to provide uninterrupted water service after January 1, 2000.
• We routinely collect and test over 60,000 water samples per year to monitor operations in our system, thousands more than the minimum number required by regulation, but essential to maintenance of the exceptional water quality we require.

Biddeford and Saco Water Company is proud to be one of the first members of the Partnership for Safe Water in the State of Maine. The Partnership for Safe Water is a voluntary program sponsored by the US EPA and the American Water Works Association instituted to recognize treatment facilities nationwide who have optimized their operations to attain exceptional water quality.

Customers are invited to contact our utility at any time with questions or concerns. Individual and group tours of our Saco River treatment facility can be arranged by calling (207) 282-9141. Also, please join us at our annual Open House during National Drinking Water Week in May.

How will I know if there's a problem with my water?

If the amount of a contaminant exceeds a predetermined safe level in your drinking water (MCL, Action Level, etc.), we will notify you via newspapers, radio, TV and other means within 24 hours. With the notification, you will be instructed on what appropriate actions you can take to protect your family’s health.

Want More Information?

In association with the publishers of this report, we are excited to offer you an additional valuable resource. From Gemini Group’s Web site (www.gemgrp.com), you will be able to learn more about the health effects relating to substances that might be found in drinking water and find a number of resources for information on drinking water.

Also, please visit the Maine Drinking Water Program’s Web page at: www.state.me.us/dhs/eng/water/index.htm.