Annual Drinking Water Quality Report
A Publication of Hillcrest
PWS ID# 3354962
Report for year 2021 Prepared 2022

We are pleased to present you with this year’s Annual Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality of water and services we have delivered to you over the past year. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. Our water is produced by two groundwater wells that draw water from the Floridan Aquifer and are disinfected by chlorination. If you have any questions concerning your water utility, please contact Hillcrest Water Treatment Division at (352-787-2493) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. Hillcrest routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year due to the fact that the concentration of these contaminants do not change frequently. Except when indicated otherwise, this report is based on the results for the period January 1 to December 31, 2021. All water analyses are the most recent sampling in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In this table, you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms, we’ve provided the following definitions:

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/L): One part by weight of analyte to 1million parts by weight of water sample. Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/l): One part by weight of analyte to 1billion parts by weight of water sample. Picocurie per liter (pCi/L): Picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
Action Level (AL): the concentration of a contaminant, which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements, which a water system must follow.
“ND”: means not detected and indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis.
N/A: means not applicable.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s as feasible using the best available treatment technology.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): The “Goal” (MCLG) is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below, which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLG’s allow for a margin of safety.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level or MRDL: The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal or MRDLG: The level of a drinking water disinfectant below, which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
Range: Indicates the lowest and highest analysis result. DEP: Florida Department of Environmental Protection EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
TEST RESULTS TABLE

Results in the Level Detected column for inorganic contaminants are the highest average at any of the sampling points or the highest detected level at any sampling point, depending on the sampling frequency.

Inorganic Contaminants
Contaminant and Unit of Measurement	Dates of Sampling	MCL
Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Range of results	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination	
Barium (ppm)	4/2021	N	0.0102	N/A	2	2	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits	
Nitrate (as Nitrogen)(ppm)	4/2021	N	0.295	N/A	10	10	Runoff from fertilizer use;
leaching from septic, sewage; erosion of natural deposits	
Sodium (ppm)	4/2021	N	2.77	N/A	N/A	160	Salt water intrusion, leaching from soil	

Stage 2 Disinfectant/Disinfection By-Product (D/DBP) Parameters
Contaminant and Unit of Measurement	Dates of Sampling (mo./yr.)	MCL
Violation Y/N	Level Detected	Range of results	MCLG
Or MRDLG	MCL
Or MRDL	Likely Source of Contamination	
Chlorine (ppm)	1-12/2021	N	1.8	1.0 – 2.6	MRDLG
=4	MRDL
=4.0	Water additive to control microbes	
Haloacetic Acids
(five) (HAA5) (ppb)	7/2021	N	56.9	N/A	N/A	MCL = 60	By-product of drinking water disinfection	
TTHM (total
trihalomethanes) (ppb)	7/2021	N	9.53	N/A	N/A	MCL= 80	By-product of drinking water disinfection	

Lead and Copper (Tap Water)
Contaminant
and Unit of Measurement	Dates of
Sampling (mo. /yr.)	AL
Violation Y/N	90th
Percentile Results	No. of
sampling site exceeding AL	MCLG	MCL	Likely source of contamination	
Copper (tap water) (ppm)	7/2021	N	0.0411	0	1.3	1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing
systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservative	
Lead (tap water) (ppb)	7/2021	N	0.70	0	0	15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits;	

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 and through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

: Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.
: Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming.
: Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential uses. (D): Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and
petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff and septic systems.
(E): Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. Hillcrest is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

In 2021, the Department of Environmental Protection performed a Source Water Assessment on our system. These Assessments were conducted to provide information about any potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of our wells. The assessment showed no potential sources of contamination at this time. The assessment results are available on the FDEP website link = www.dep.state.fl.us/swapp/

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immune-compromised 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 about drinking water from their health care providers. USEPA and
he Center for Disease Control guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

We at Hillcrest work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life and our children’s future.