Annual Drinking Water Quality Report Our Water A Publication of Pine Island PWS ID# 3354956 Report for year 2023 Prepared 2024 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 Pine Islands 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. Pine Island 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, 2023. 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): 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: Not detected and indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis. N/A: Not applicable. Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): 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 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. FDEP: Florida Department of Environmental Protection EPA: U.S. 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. IInorganic Contaminants Contaminant and Unit of Measurement Dates of Sampling MCL Violation Y/N Level Detected Range of results MCLG MCL Likely Source of Contamination Antimony (ppb) 5/2021 N 5.10 N/A 6 6 Discharge from petroleum refineries; fire retardants; ceramics; electronics; solder Barium (ppm) 5/2021 N 0.0117 N/A 2 2 Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits Chromium (ppb) 5/2021 N 26.7 N/A 100 100 Discharge from steel and pulp mills; erosion of natural deposits Lead (point of entry) (ppb) 5/2021 N 4.30 N/A 0 15 Residue from man-made pollution such as auto emissions and paint; lead pipe, casing, and solder Nickel (ppb) 5/2021 N 73.9 N/A N/A 100 Pollution from mining and refining operations. Natural occurrence in soil Sodium (ppm) 5/2021 N 3.65 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) 1-12/2023 N 1.2 0.7 – 1.6 MRDLG =4 MRDL =4.0 Water additive to control microbes Haloacetic Acids (five) (HAA5) (ppb) 8/2021 N 36.5 N/A N/A MCL = 60 By-product of drinking water disinfection TTHM (total trihalomethanes) (ppb) 8/2021 N 7.76 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 sites exceeding AL MCLG AL (Action Level) Likely source of contamination Copper (tap water) (ppm) 8/2021 N 0.023 0 1.3 1.3 Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservative Lead (tap water) (ppb) 8/2021 N 0.8 0 0 15 Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits; We constantly monitor for various constituents in the water supply to meet all state and federal regulatory requirements. We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected. The EPA has determined that your drinking water is acceptable at these levels. 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: (A): Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife. (B): 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. (C): 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. Pine Island 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 2023, the Department of Environmental Protection performed a Source Water Assessment on our system. The assessments was conducted to provide information about any potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of our wells. There are no potential sources of contamination identified for this system. The assessment results are available on the FDEP website link = https://prodapps.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. EPA 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 Pine Island 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.