Eldorado Estates

2006 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

We're very pleased to provide you with this year's Annual Water Quality Report.  We want to keep you informed about the excellent water and services we have delivered to you over the past year.  Our goal is and always has been, to provide to you a safe and dependable supply of drinking water.  Our water source is ground water from a well and the well drawn from the Floridan aquifer.

In 2004, the Department of Environmental Protection performed a Source Water Assessment on our system.  The assessment was conducted to provide information about any potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of our wells. There is one potential source of contamination identified for this system with a low susceptibility level. That source is our on-site wastewater treatment plant. The assessment results are available on the FDEP Source Water Assessment and Protection Program website at www.dep.state.fl.us/swapp or they can be obtained from Eldorado Estates.

Our treatment process consists of aeration to reduce taste and odor, chlorine for disinfection and ammonia to control disinfection by-product formation.

•·        This report shows our water quality results and what they mean.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Brian Lilly at 386-427-8466. We encourage our valued customers to be informed about their water utility.

Eldorado Estates routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws, rules, and regulations.  Except where indicated otherwise, this report is based on the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2006.  Data obtained before January 1, 2006, and presented in this report are from the most recent testing done in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations.

In the tables below, you may find unfamiliar terms and abbreviations.  To help you better understand these terms, we've provided the following definitions:

•·     Action Level (AL):  The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.

•·     Treatment Technique (TT):  A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

•·     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 Contaminant Level or MCL: The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

•·     Maximum Contaminant Level Goal or MCLG: 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.

•·     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 to not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

•·     "ND" means not detected and indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis. 

•·     Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part by weight of analyte to 1 million parts by weight of the water sample.

•·     Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (µg/l) - one part by weight of analyte to 1 billion parts by weight of the water sample.

•·     Parts per trillion (ppt) or Nanograms per liter (nanograms/l) - one part by weight of analyte to 1 trillion parts by weight of the water sample.

We're proud that your drinking water now meets all Federal and State requirements.  However, during the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2006, the calculated Running Annual Average for THM's exceeded the MCL, so our system incurred MCL violations during these two quarters These high annual averages were due to samples collected in the year 2005, prior to installation of chloramines treatment.  All samples collected in 2006 were below the MCL's. Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or         central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

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, 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 stormwater 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 stormwater 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 stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

(E)       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 EPA prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.  The 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.

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 from 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 (800-426-4791).

We at Eldorado Estates would like you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources.  We are committed to insuring the quality of your water.  If you have any questions or concerns about the information provided, please feel free to call at the number listed