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The Consumer Confidence Rule requires public water suppliers that serve the same people year round (community water systems) to provide Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR) to their customers. These reports are also known as annual water quality reports or drinking water quality reports. The CCR summarizes information regarding sources used (i.e., rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or aquifers), any detected contaminants, compliance and educational information.

2007

Annual Drinking Water Report

Alexandria Light and Power

Alexandria Minnesota

The City of Alexandria is pleased to issue the results of monitoring done on its drinking water for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2007 the purpose of this report is to advance consumers’ understanding of drinking water and heighten awareness of the need to protect precious water resources.

Our water source is groundwater i.e.: (8) wells ranging from 110 - 140 feet deep, that draws water from the Quanternary Buried Artesian aquifer.

The Minnesota Department of Health has determined that one or more sources of your drinking water is potentially susceptible to contamination.  If you wish to obtain the entire source water assessment regarding your drinking water, please call 651-201-4700 or 1-800-818-9318 (press 5) during normal business hours.  Also you can view it on line at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/swp/swa.

Alexandria Light and Power routinely monitors for constituents in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some constituents.

It is important to remember that the presence these constituents do not necessarily pose a health risk.

Results of Monitoring

No contaminants were detected at levels that violated Federal drinking standards.  However, some contaminants were detected in trace amounts that were below legal limits. The table that follows shows the contaminants that were detected in trace amounts last year.  (Some contaminants are sampled less frequently than once a year; as a result, not all contaminants were sampled for in 2007.  If any of these contaminants were detected the last time they were sampled for, they are included in the table along with the date that the detection occurred. )

Key to abbreviations:

MRDLG- Maximum Residual Disinfectant Goal

MRDL- Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level

MCLG - Maximum Contaminant Level Goal:  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.

MCL - Maximum Contaminant Level:  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.

AL - Action Level: The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

90th Percentile Level - This is the value obtained after disregarding 10 percent of the samples taken that had the highest levels.  (For example, in a situation in which 10 samples were taken, the 90th percentile level is determined by disregarding the highest result, which represents 10 percent of the samples.)  Note: In situations in which only 5 samples are taken, the average of the two highest levels is taken to determine the 90th percentile level.

PCi/l - Pico Curies per Liter (a measure of Radioactivity)

Ppb - Parts per billion, which can also be expressed as micrograms per liter (ug/l).

Ppm - Parts per million, which can also be expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/l).

N/A - Not Applicable (does not apply).

This is the value used to determine compliance with federal standards.  It sometimes is the highest value detected and sometimes is an average of all the detected values.  If it is an average, it may contain sampling results from the previous year.

It is interesting to note that M.C.L.’s and Action Levels are set at very stringent levels.  To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the M.C.L. for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.  In addition, Lead and copper in drinking water is rarely the sole cause of lead/copper  poisoning, but it can add to a person’s total lead and copper exposure.

Radon is a radioactive gas which is naturally occurring in some groundwater.  It poses a lung cancer risk when gas is released from water into the air (as occurs during showering, bathing, washing dishes or clothes.) and a stomach cancer risk when it is ingested.  Because radon, in indoor air, poses a much greater health risk than radon in drinking water, an Alternative Maximum Contaminant Level (AMCL) of 4,000 PicoCuries per liter may apply in states that have adopted an Indoor Air Quality Program, which compels citizens, homeowners, schools, and communities to reduce the radon threat from indoor air.  For states without such a program, the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 300 pCi/l may apply.  Minnesota plans to adopt an Indoor Air Program once the Radon Rule is finalized.

Some contaminants do not have Maximum Contaminant Levels established for them.  These “unregulated contaminants” are assessed using state standards known as health risk limits to determine if they pose a threat to human health.  If unacceptable levels of an unregulated contaminant are found, the response is the same as if an MCL has been exceeded; the water system must inform its customers and take other corrective actions.  In the table that follows are the unregulated contaminants that were detected.

Compliance with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

The sources of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, stream, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells.  As water travels over the surface of the land of through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive materials, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.  Alexandria water is only from wells.

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 stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.

Pesticides and herbicides, which may come form a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

Organic chemical contaminants, include synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

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

All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by constituents that are naturally occurring or are man made.  All 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  can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population.  Immuno-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 form infections.  These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.  EPA/CDC 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 Alexandria Light and Power  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.

The office of A.L.P. at 316 Fillmore St. has copies of our Water Characteristics Sheet and Annual Drinking Water Report which are available to any one of our customers free of charge.  This information is also available on our website …. www.alputilities.com

If you have any questions or concerns about this report, the City of Alexandria drinking water or your water utility, please contact Scott Deitz at 763-6501.  We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility.  If you want to learn more about opportunities for public participation, please attend any of our regularly scheduled board meetings.  They are held on the third Monday of each month at the A.L.P. office at 316 Fillmore St. Alexandria at 4:00 PM.