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Annual
Drinking Water Quality Report
Annual Drinking Water Quality
Report for 2013
Village of Odessa
300 East Main Street, Odessa, NY
(Public Water Supply ID# NY4801185)
Introduction
To comply with State regulations, the Village of Odessa will be annually
issuing a report describing the quality of your drinking water. The purpose
of this report is to raise your understanding of drinking water and awareness
of the need to protect our drinking water sources. Last year, your tap
water met all State drinking water health standards and we are proud to
report that our system did not violate a maximum contaminant level or
any other water quality standard. This report provides an overview of
last year’s water quality. Included are details about where your
water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to State standards.
If you have any questions about this report or concerning your drinking
water, please contact Mr. Steve Siptrott at 607-857-6426, the Village
of Odessa at 607-594-2100 or the NYS Department of Health – Hornell
District Office at 607-324-8371. We want you to be informed about your
drinking water. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly
scheduled village board meetings on the third Monday of each month at
6:30 pm at the Municipal Building, 300 E. Main Street, Odessa, NY.
Where does our water come from?
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, in some cases, radioactive
material, 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.
Our water system serves approximately 810 residents through 387 service
connections. Our water source is two wells located on the south side of
the Village and pumped into a 444,000-gallon storage tank. The water is
disinfected with sodium hypochlorite and phosphate is added as it is transferred
to the storage tank. The total usage for the year was 16,199,000 gallons.
A Source Water Assessment Summary will be included when the data is available
from the NYS Department of Health.
Are there contaminants in our drinking
water?
As the State regulations require, we routinely test your drinking water
for numerous contaminants. These contaminants include: total coliform,
turbidity, inorganic compounds, nitrate, nitrite, lead and copper, volatile
organic compounds, total trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, radiological
and synthetic organic compounds. The table presented below depicts which
compounds were detected in your drinking water. The State allows us to
test for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations
of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though
representative, are more than one year old.
It should be noted that all drinking water, including bottled drinking
water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of
some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate
that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and
potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe
Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) or the Department of Health –
Hornell District Office at 607-324-8371.
What does this information mean?
As you can see by the table, our system had no violations. We have learned
through our testing that some contaminants have been detected; however,
these contaminants were detected below the level allowed by the State.
Is our water system meeting other rules
that govern operations?
During this past year, our system was in compliance with applicable State
drinking water operating, monitoring and reporting requirements.
Do I Need to Take Special Precautions?
Although our drinking water met or exceeded state and federal regulations,
some people may be more vulnerable to disease causing microorganisms or
pathogens 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 from their health care
provider about their drinking water. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate
means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium, Giardia and
other microbial pathogens are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(800-426-4791).
General Information on Lead in
Drinking Water:
If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious
health problems, especially for pregnant women, infants, and young children.
It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other
homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home's plumbing.
The Village of Odessa 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 (1-800-426-4791)
or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
Why Save Water and How to Avoid
Wasting It?
Although our system has an adequate amount of water to meet present and
future demands, there are a number of reasons why it is important to conserve
water:
--Saving water saves energy and some of the costs associated with both
of these necessities of life;
--Saving water reduces the cost of energy required to pump water and the
need to construct costly new wells, pumping systems and water towers;
and
--Saving water lessens the strain on the water system during a dry spell
or drought, helping to avoid severe water use restrictions so that essential
fire fighting needs are met.
You can play a role in conserving water by becoming conscious of the
amount of water your household is using, and by looking for ways to use
less whenever you can. It is not hard to conserve water. Conservation
tips include:
--Automatic dishwashers use 15 gallons for every cycle, regardless of
how many dishes are loaded. So get a run for your money and load it to
capacity.
--Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.
--Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste
15 to 20 gallons a day. Fix it up an you can save almost 6,000 gallons
per year.
--Check your toilets for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring
in the tank, watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the
bowl. It is not uncommon to lose up to 100 gallons a day from one of these
otherwise invisible toilet leaks. Fix it and you save more than 30,000
gallons a year.
Closing
Thank you for allowing us to continue to provide your family with quality
drinking water this year. In order to maintain a safe and dependable water
supply we sometimes need to make improvements that will benefit all of
our customers. The costs of these improvements may be reflected in the
rate structure. Rate adjustments may be necessary in order to address
these improvements. We ask that all our customers help us protect our
water sources, which are the heart of our community. Please call our office
if you have questions.
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