2023 Annual Village Water Quality Report

2023

VILLAGE OF PHELPS

ANNUAL WATER QUALITY REPORT

Village of Phelps Water Supply

Public Water Supply ID: NY3401162

                Last year, as in years past, your tap water met all State drinking water health standards.  This report is 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.  We are pleased to provide you with this information because informed customers are the best customers. 

                State and Federal regulations now require that all community water systems regardless of population served, including municipal water systems, mobile home parks and private water supply companies, provide their customers with an Annual Water Quality Report covering calendar year 2023.

This report is intended to provide customers served by the Village of Phelps’ water system information on the most common questions asked about their water system.

The report also provides information on results of tests that we perform to ensure that the water supply complies with all Federal and State drinking water standards.

Additional Information

For additional information or questions about this report please call Adam Lotyczewski, Water Systems Operator at 315-548-3254.  Normal daily operations are between 7:00am and 3:30pm.  Appointment for meter service or technical questions please call 315-548-3254.

Water Billing

For questions concerning water billing please call 315- 548-3861, between 8:00am and 4:30pm

Water Rates

Village of Phelps users: $6.00/100 cubic feet – Minimum Bill $30.00

Outside Users: $9.00/100 cubic feet – Minimum Bill $45.00

Water Conservation Measures

Customers can take measures to reduce their water usage, therefore reducing their water bills.  Some reduction measures could include stopping all water leaks, installing low-water use plumbing fixtures and water-saving devices, thinking about the way water is used, and changing behaviors.

Security

The Village of Phelps feels that the security of your water system is an important responsibility.  We would ask that you, the public, become involved in our security efforts.  If you see any suspicious activity in or around Village facilities, please contact the Village or any local law enforcement agency.  Suspicious activity may include unattended fire hydrants with the caps off or the water running, unauthorized cars or people loitering near water storage facilities or people taking pictures of any Village property or infrastructure.  Your help in this effort would be greatly appreciated.

After Hours Emergency

Example: Water main break --- please call the Ontario County Sheriff at (315) 781-1200 or dial 911.

Public Participation

Public participation in decisions that affect drinking water quality may be voiced at regularly scheduled Village of Phelps Board Meetings, which are held on the second Monday of each month at 5:00pm, 8 Banta Street in the Village Meeting Room.

Where Our Water Comes From:

Description of Water System

The Village of Phelps owns and operates its own water system.  Water is supplied from the Village of Newark.  The connection to Newark’s source is located at Route 96 and Route 488.

The distribution system consists of 80,040 feet of water pipe, over 793 individual services serving 1851 people, approximately 85 hydrants and over 75 main line valves.  Water pressure and storage are maintained by a 1.5 million gallon above ground level tank reservoir located on Mary Street.

Water Treatment Village of Newark Source

The Village of Newark, New York uses Canandaigua Lake as its source of water.  The New York State Department of Health has recently completed a Source Water Assessment of the Lake.  This assessment found a moderate susceptibility to contamination for this source of drinking water.  The amount of agricultural lands in the assessment area results in elevated potential for protozoa, phosphorous, DBP precursors, and pesticides contamination.  There is also a moderate density of sanitary wastewater discharges, but the ratings for the individual discharges do not result in elevated susceptibility ratings.  However, it appears that the total amount of wastewater discharged to surface water in this assessment area is high enough to further raise the potential for contamination, (particularly for protozoa).  There are no noteworthy contamination threats associated with other discrete contaminant sources.

Canandaigua Lake is approximately 16.4 square miles in surface area and has a watershed area of about 174 square miles.  The Village of Newark is permitted to draw 4.0 million gallons of water per day to be used as a source of supply for its water treatment plant located at 1708 Freshour Road, Shortsville, New York.  Water, as it enters the intake line in Canandaigua Lake, has Sodium Hypochlorite added to control the growth of Zebra Mussels.  These mussels have been proven to clog pipelines by their rapid growth.  The water flows by gravity through a 24" line to the Filter Plant.  At the treatment plant, all water is filtered by Slow Sand Filtration, Diatomaceous Earth Pressure Filtration and/or Diatomaceous Earth Vacuum Filtration.  There are five Slow Sand filters and three D.E. Filters with an overall capacity of 3.4 million gallons per day.  After filtration, Sodium Hypochlorite is added at a rate of approximately 2.0 parts per million for disinfection.  Blended Phosphate is also added after filtration to form a protective film that helps as a corrosion control in our distribution system. It is added at a rate of .96 parts per million. Fluoride is also added to the water at a rate of 0.7 part per million.  These are recommended levels set by the New York State Department of Health.  From the Filter Plant, the water flows through a 20" pipeline to a point near the intersection of Rt. 96 and County Rd. 7 where the line divides into two 16" pipelines.  One 16" line carries water north, approximately 7 miles, to the 4 million-gallon capacity Allerton Hill Reservoir.  This flow is entirely by gravity.  The other 16" line carries water east, approximately 4.25 miles, where it connects to a 14" transmission line.  This line, which was originally used to carry water from Newark Lake, goes north, into the Village and the 1 million gallon capacity South Hill Standpipe.  The Village of Clifton Springs is served off the latter 16" pipeline.  The Village and Town of Phelps are served off the 14" pipeline approximately .5 miles south of the point where the 16" and 14" lines intersect.  Two pumps in the Rt. 96 Pump Station provide the pressure needed to supply this portion of the system. During 2023, our water system did not experience any restriction of our water source.

Our system is one of many drinking water systems in New York State that provides drinking water with a controlled, low level of fluoride for consumer dental health protection. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, fluoride is very effective in preventing cavities when present in drinking water at a properly controlled level. To ensure that the fluoride supplement in your water provides optimal dental protection, we the Village of Newark monitor fluoride levels on a daily basis to make sure fluoride is maintained at a target level of 0.7 mg/l at an optimal range from 0.7 to 1.2 mg/l, (parts per million) EPA requirement. During 2023 monitoring showed that fluoride levels in your water system were within 0.2 mg/l of the target level for 95% of the time. None of the monitoring results showed fluoride at levels that approach the 2.2 mg/l MCL for fluoride.

WATER QUALITY - How do you know your water is safe?

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.  Refer to the tables below for the list of contaminants that are tested for and the corresponding results. 

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. It can also 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.   State Health Department and 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 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 at (1-800-426-4791).

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), sets national limits on contaminant levels to ensure safety of your drinking water.  A Maximum Contaminant Level Goal, (MCLG), is 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.  A Maximum Contaminant Level, (MCL), is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCLs are set as close to the MCLG as possible.  In accordance with New York State regulations, the Village of Newark routinely monitors your drinking water for various contaminants.  Your water is tested for inorganic contaminants, nitrate, lead and copper, volatile organic contaminants, synthetic organic contaminants and total trihalomethanes.  Additionally, your water is tested for coliform bacteria a minimum of ten times a month.  The contaminants detected in your drinking water are included in the Table of Detected Contaminants.  Something every regulation has in common is a requirement to notify the public if there is a regulation violation.  If we violate a regulation, we are required to let you know.  The EPA also requires water suppliers to monitor for unregulated contaminants to provide occurrence data for future regulations.

Violation Notice

The Village of Phelps is required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis.  Results of regular monitoring are an indicator that your drinking water meets health standards.  During February of 2023, we did not fully monitor or test for Disinfection Byproducts, and therefore, cannot be sure the quality of your drinking water during that time.  The sample in question was taken in March and the results were well under the MCL (Maximum Contamination Level).