To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Title
Update: 2017 Water Quality Report
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The most important mission that Castle Rock Water fulfills is to ensure the highest quality of drinking water possible is provided to our customers at a reasonable cost. Our Mission specifically states “We provide our community with exceptional service that protects public health and balances social, environmental and fiscal responsibilities in a sustainable manner.” There are, of course, very detailed State and Federal regulations that set standards for water quality. Castle Rock Water meets and exceeds those standards as is apparent in our 2017 Water Quality Report (see Attachment A). The most important aspect of water quality, however, is not just to meet a numeric standard set by the State or Federal government, but to protect public health to the maximum extent possible and provide the highest quality water at the best value in terms of cost.
Like all public water systems, Castle Rock Water is required by Federal and State regulations to publish an annual Water Quality Report. Reports going back to 2014 are available on Castle Rock Water’s website at, <http://crgov.com/2803/Consumer-Confidence-Report>. Older reports are available upon request simply by contacting our office. These reports provide a host of important information on our water sources, the types of testing done on the raw water and the treated water, the water quality required by Federal and State regulations, and details on how to become involved with Castle Rock Water. Castle Rock Water’s website (see <http://crgov.com/1700/Water-Quality>) also provides general information on water quality including appearance, safety, what to do about concerns, and frequently asked questions. It is worth noting that the Federal and State testing on bottled water is much less stringent and comprehensive.
Public water systems have been in the news recently with respect to water quality. It is important to recognize that despite challenges in isolated cities around the country by and large water quality in public water systems is as good as or better than it has ever been. It is also generally as good as bottled water (while being a thousand times less expensive) which as noted above is not required to be tested nearly as often. Castle Rock Water has very high quality water, and we have gone above and beyond State and Federal regulations to ensure that high quality. Science is changing and improving, and today we know more about our water than we ever did before. Castle Rock Water has embraced this knowledge, and a key tactic in our strategic plan is to stay abreast of the latest science and ahead of regulatory requirements. To this end, our water quality team will be doing an annual review of the latest science relative to water quality as a part of implementing our strategic plan.
Other ways we have gone beyond State and Federal requirements include our approach to lead and copper testing. Castle Rock Water has done extensive lead and copper testing since 1992 in accordance with State and Federal requirements, but in 2015 and 2016 we went beyond those requirements. To date, no samples have had lead or copper at levels which exceed the action levels. In 2016, Castle Rock Water reached out to all of our customers who might have private plumbing with a risk of containing lead. Over 1,500 letters were sent to a targeted group of customers with houses of an age where this kind of plumbing might still exist, and Castle Rock Water offered to test the water at any of these houses where the customer might have concerns. If you have a house built before 1987 and would like your water tested, please go to <http://crgov.com/FormCenter/Water-2/Inhome-lead-testing-form-219>.
Another area where Castle Rock Water is going above the requirements is with respect to our Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP). Castle Rock Water, in conjunction with the Colorado Rural Water Association, is developing a Source Water Protection Plan to provide our customers with information about their drinking water, as well as provide the community a way to get involved in protecting the quality of their drinking water. Preparing this plan is voluntary and Castle Rock Water has engaged stakeholders in the East Plum Creek watershed through a series of workshops to raise awareness, identify potential sources of contaminants and implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce the likelihood of contaminants entering our drinking water supply. Source water protection was founded on the concept that informed citizens, equipped with fundamental knowledge about their drinking water source and the threats to it, will be the most effective advocates for protecting this valuable resource. Once completed, the SWPP will be presented to the community and there will be ongoing educational opportunities to reinforce the importance of preserving the high quality of source water that comprises our drinking water supply.
Outreach
The 2017 Water Quality Report, aka Consumer Confidence Report, is available by July 1 of each year on the Town’s website at <http://crgov.com/2803/Consumer-Confidence-Report>. Notification of the availability of the report is provided to our customers via the monthly newsletter, Your Town Talk, which accompanies the water bill. Additionally, a social media posting announcing the finished report will be placed on the Town’s Facebook page.
Discussion
Castle Rock Water maintains a staff of highly trained individuals who do sampling and analysis on our system. Attachment B provides a list of the various positions involved in our water quality sampling program and their State licenses.
Our team of professionals maintains a full sampling and monitoring plan that is updated periodically as the Town grows and changes. The plan results in over one thousand three hundred individual compliance tests on our various raw and treated waters each year. The types of testing done by Castle Rock Water include lead and copper tests, bacteriological tests, disinfection byproduct tests, tests for disinfection levels, tests for water clarity and a host of other parameters. The results of compliance testing performed at our treatment plants must be reported to the State on a monthly basis (see example in Attachment C) for some types of data and an annual basis for other types of data. In addition to the compliance tests performed throughout the year, the team collects all kinds of additional samples to evaluate the water through our treatment process, check the system for performance and the water for aesthetics (things like iron and manganese), and evaluate raw water quality from our various water sources.
Key metrics we track include water quality complaints as a real measure of how the system is performing and the quality of the water our customers are receiving. Castle Rock Water has ranked in the top 25 percent of water providers nationally in having the lowest number of water quality complaints since at least 2013. This data is presented below and as part of our transparency portal updated periodically and available on Castle Rock’s website at <http://crgov.com/2813/Castle-Rock-Water-Performance-Informatio>.
WATER QUALITY COMPLAINTS
NOTE: The 2016 data is in the chart but is simply hard to see,. Water quality complaints totaled only .05 per 1,000 accounts last year, or just one complaint.
Budget Impact
Budget impacts may occur as Castle Rock Water continues to strive to provide the highest quality water possible. In each specific case, Castle Rock Water will evaluate the benefits and costs of any changes designed to improve water quality and go beyond Federal and State requirements before moving forward with implementation.
Attachments
Attachment A: 2017 Water Quality Report
Attachment B: State certifications and licenses
Attachment C: Sample State report