This is an annual report on the quality of water delivered by City of Beacon Water Supply (Public Water Supply I.D. #-1302760). It meets the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirement for " Consumer Confidence Reports "and the New York State Department of Health requirement for "Annual Water Quality Report". It contains important information on the source of our water, it’s constituents, and the health risks associated with any contaminants. Safe drinking water is vital to our community. Please be conservation minded in your use of water. Please read this report* carefully and, if you have any questions on this report or on our drinking water, call the City of Beacon Water Supply at- (845) 831- 3185. Contact – David Russell

*This report is available on the City of Beacon’s web site at www.cityofbeacon.org

The City of Beacon Water Supply produced 802,945,000 gallons of water in 2002 for a daily average of 2,199,850 gallons.

The use of the yearly production was accounted for as follows:

Residential and Commercial- 377,778,896 gallons.

Dept. of Corrections- 228,500,000 gallons.

Town of Fishkill- 56,442,000 gallons

Unaccounted for water- 140,225,104 gallons

Unaccounted for water is water lost due to system leaks, water main breaks, use in municipal buildings and operations, system flushing, meter error and theft of service.

The supply serves approximately 19,000 people and has 3939 active metered connections. The largest user was the Dept. of Corrections, which used an average of 626,027 gallons per day and paid $515,308 for water in 2002. City residents were charged for water as follows - $20.16 for the first 600 cu/ft, then $2.67/100 cu/ft up to 10,000 cu/ft, then $2.25/100 cu/ft up to 100,000 cu/ft, then $1.45/100 cu/ft up to 1,000,000 cu/ft ( cu/ft = cubic feet. 100 cu/ft = 748 gallons ) Non-residents were charged at twice the resident rate.

The City of Beacon water supply consists of three surface sources- Cargill, Mt. Beacon and Melzingah reservoirs, and three ground water sources- City of Beacon Wells 1 and 2 and Village of Fishkill Well 8.

These sources are blended in various combinations depending on source condition and demand for water. The blended water is then treated at the water filtration facility at 470 Liberty St. The current capacity of the filtration plant is 4 million gallons per day.

Chemicals are added to the blended water to facilitate filtration. The water is then filtered and chemicals are added for disinfection and corrosion control. The water is then pumped to the distribution system entry point tank.

The following is a list of chemicals used in 2001:

Alum Primary Coagulant- for filtration 112,586 lbs.

Polymer Coagulant aid- for filtration 388 lbs.

Zinc Orthophosphate Corrosion Control 9456 lbs.

Chlorine Disinfection 14,483 lbs.

In house laboratory tests were conducted on a daily basis to insure high quality finished water. Tests were done at the water treatment plant for turbidity, Ph, alkalinity, aluminum, orthophosphate, and chlorine residual. The results of all these tests were within the guidelines set by the New York State Health Department.

In addition, 240 samples were collected from the distribution system and tested for turbidity, chlorine residual, total coliform bacteria and E-coli bacteria. All test results were negative for the presence of E-coli and total coliform. All test results were within the guidelines for turbidity and chlorine residual. Samples were also collected to test for nitrate, inorganic contaminants, lead and copper, volatile organic contaminants, synthetic organic contaminants, disinfection byproducts and unregulated contaminants. (cont. on pg.2)

Of over 107 contaminants tested for, only the nine contaminants listed in the table below were detected. They are all below the maximum contaminant level required. The contaminants listed in the table below were detected in samples taken in the year 2002 and other years. The state allows us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Therefore some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.

Notes:

1 – Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. It is a good indicator of filtration effectiveness. All (100%) of our filtered water turbidity measurements were below the regulatory limit of 0.5 NTU, with the highest being 0.24 NTU on 7/29/02.

2 – The level listed represents the 90th percentile of 30 sites tested. A percentile is a value on a scale of 100 that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it. The action level (AL) value for copper was not exceeded at any of the sites and for lead at one site

3 – The level listed represents the annual quarterly average calculated from the data collected.

Definitions:

MCL = Maximum Contaminant Level - The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible.

MCLG = Maximum Contaminant Level Goal – The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

AL = Action Level – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. (cont. on pg 3)

TT = Treatment Technique – A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

NTU = Nephelometric Turbidity Unit – A measure of the clarity of water. The lower the value the clearer the water.

mg/l = Milligrams per liter – corresponds to one part liquid in one million parts of liquid (parts per million- ppm)

ug/l = Micrograms per liter – corresponds to one part liquid in one billion parts of liquid (parts per billion- ppb)

pCi/l = Picocuries per liter – A measure of radioactivity in water.

ND = Non-Detects – Laboratory analysis indicates that the constituent is not present.

In general, 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 and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activities. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: microbial contaminants; inorganic contaminants; pesticides and herbicides; organic chemical contaminants; and radioactive contaminants. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the State and the EPA prescribe regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The State Health Department’s and the FDA’s regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health

• A leak detection program done on the City of Beacon’s water distribution system identified several subsurface leaks. Repairs made to stop leakage resulted in an estimated saving of 150,000 gallons per day.

Thank you for taking the time to read this report. We hope it was informative. If you have questions please call us at (845) 831-3185. Contact – David Russell.

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City of Beacon Water Supply, 1 Municipal Plaza, Beacon, N.Y. 12508