To comply with State regulations, Millwood Water Treatment Plant has been annually issuing a report describing the quality of our 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. We are proud to report that our system has never violated 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.

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.

The New Castle Water System depends upon the New York City Aqueduct and Reservoir Systems for its entire raw water supply. New Castle’s primary source is the Catskill Aqueduct System fed by the Ashokan Reservoir, and its secondary source is the New Croton Aqueduct fed by the Croton Reservoir System. We prefer the Catskill Supply for two reasons: the water quality is better and it is less costly to get it to the Millwood Water Treatment Plant. During 2007, our system did not experience any restriction of our Catskill reservoir source.

The NYS DOH has evaluated the susceptibility of water supplies statewide to potential contamination under the Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP), and their findings are summarized in the paragraph(s) below. It is important to stress that these assessments were created using available information and only estimate the potential for source water contamination. Elevated susceptibility ratings do not mean that source water contamination has or will occur for our water system. The Town of New Castle provides treatment through the Millwood Water Treatment Plant and regular monitoring to ensure the water delivered to consumers meets all applicable standards.

We obtain water from the New York City water supply system. Water can either come from the Catskill watershed west of the Hudson River and/or from the Croton watershed in Putnam and Westchester Counties. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) implements a series of programs to evaluate and protect source water quality within these watersheds. Their efforts focus on three important program areas: the enforcement of strengthened Watershed Rules and Regulations; the acquisition and protection of watershed lands; and implementation partnership programs that target specific sources of pollution in the watersheds. Due to these intensive efforts, the SWAP methodologies applied to the rest of the state were not applied for our water system.

New Castle built its Millwood Water Treatment Plant under the requirements of the Surface Water Treatment Rule of the Safe Drinking Water Act effective June 1989. Our "state-of-the-art" plant went on-line in August 1993 and has provided New Castle water consumers with superior quality water that has met or exceeded all of the mandated drinking water standards. In a number of areas, this plant has provided levels of protection that are several times greater than the minimum standards (turbidity levels, microbial, and disinfection by-products).

The Millwood Water Treatment Plant is supervised by a Grade 1-A New York State Certified Water Treatment Plant operator and staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week, with New York State certified Grade 2-A Water Treatment Plant Operators. The Millwood Water Treatment Plant operating criteria adds the least amount of treatment chemicals necessary to be effective and then removes all of the chemicals during the treatment process. The treatment regime has five steps: First, the raw water is mixed for one minute to disperse coagulation chemicals such as polyaluminum chloride, polymer and potassium permanganate. Second, the flocculators provide 30 minutes of staged, controlled mixing to entrap impurities such as clay, viruses, bacteria, protozoan cysts, minerals and algae into floc particles. Third, the Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) process releases compressed air as microscopic bubbles into the bottom of the process stream and floats the impurity laden floc particles to the surface of the tanks where they are skimmed off. Clarified water leaves the bottom of the tank and flows into the Ozone Contact Chambers. Fourth, ozone is injected into the water. Ozone is the strongest, commonly used oxidizing agent for disinfection and is the primary disinfectant at the plant. It is generated onsite and by injecting it into the clarified water, before filtration, the amount of ozone used is minimized while the filters can remove any oxidized material. Finally, clarified, ozonated water is filtered through three feet of sand and anthracite filter media into an underdrain collection system to remove any floc particles that may have escaped the DAF clarification. Typically, the Plant physically removes 99.9% of the particulate matter and anything left in the water has been disinfected by the ozonation process. The water leaving the plant is consistently 10 times cleaner than the New York State Standard.

The typical water consumption for a family of four per quarter is 4,000 to 5,000 cubic feet, or 330 to 410 gallons per day. Therefore, the typical quarterly metered water bill is $184 to $230.

As the State regulations require, we routinely test our drinking water for numerous contaminants. Following is a list of those that were not detected in 2007:

(The bacteria E. coli (associated with human and animal fecal waste) was not found in the distribution system. Organic contaminants that were tested for and not detected in the source water include 3-Hydroxycarbofuran, Aldicarb, Aldicarb sulfone, Aldicarb sulfoxide, Carbaryl, Carbofuran, Methomyl, Oxamyl, Aldrin, Chlordane, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, Heptachlor Epoxide, Lindane, Methoxychlor, PCB’s, Propachlor, Toxaphene, 2,3,7,8-TCDD (Dioxin), Diquat, Endothall, Glyphosate, 2,4,5-T, 2,4-D, Dalapon, Dicamba, Dinoseb, Pentachlorophenol, Picloram, Silvex, 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane, 1,2-Dibromoethane, Butachlor, Metolachlor, Metribuzin, Alachlor, Atrazine, Benzo(a)pyrene, bis(2-Ethylhexyl) adipate, bis(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate, Hexachlorobenzene, Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, Simazine, 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,1-dichloropropene, 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, 1,3-dichloropropane, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, 2,2-dichloropropane, 2-butanone, 2-chlorotoluene, 4-chlorotoluene, Benzene, Bromobenzene, Bromochloromethane, Bromomethane, Carbon tetrachloride, Chlorobenzene, Chloroethane, Chloromethane, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, cis-1,3-dichloropropene, Dibromomethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Ethylbenzene, Hexachlobutadiene, Isopropylbenzene, Methyl iso-butyl ketone, Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), Methylene Chloride, N-butylbenzene, N-propylbenzene, Naphthalene, O-xylene, P & M-xylene, P-isopropyltoluene, SEC-butylbenzene, Styrene, TERT-butylbenzene, Tetrachloroethene, Toluene, trans-1,2-dichloroethene, trans-1,3-dichloropropene, Trichloroethene, Trichlorofluoromethane, Vinyl chloride, Perchlorate, DCPA di-acid, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinnitrotoluene, 4,4-DDE, Acetochlor, EPTC, Molinate, Terbacil, MTBE, nitrobenzene, Strontium 90, and Tritium).

It should be noted that all drinking water, including bottled drinking water, might 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 Westchester County Department of Health at (914) 813-5000.

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 New York State requirements. All systems are required to provide the following educational information on lead in drinking water even though our water met standards:

Lead. Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. 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. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s water, you may wish to have you water tested and to flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using the tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking water hotline (800-426-4791).

The Water Division of the New Castle Department of Public Works ensures New Castle’s compliance with all Federal and State monitoring and reporting requirements, and maintains and repairs the water mains, fire hydrants, pump stations and residential water meters. However, in June 2007, the Town of New Castle had a minor violation of a Tier 3 monitoring procedure under the Total Coliform Rule for a distribution system check sample; additional samples were taken and the results are available for public review. This violation did not pose an adverse health threat, no population is at risk, no alternate water source should be used and administrative procedures are in place to correct this monitoring error.

Ozone is one of the most effective disinfectants for Cryptosporidium and Giardia, and New Castle water is both ozonated and filtered to minimize any health risk from these organisms. However, many neighboring community water systems are not as aggressively treated or may be "avoiding filtration." An individual’s drinking water that has not been treated or filtered may be at greater risk from Cryptosporidium or Giardia. For additional information on Cryptosporidiosis or Giardiasis, please call the Westchester County Commissioner of Health at (914) 813-5000 or write the Westchester County Department of Health, 145 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, New York 10801.

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).

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; 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 and 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.

• Use your water meter to detect hidden leaks. Simply turn off all taps and water using appliances, then check the meter after 15 minutes, if it moved, you have a leak.

• Place mulch (available from New Castle Recycling Center) around trees and plants to lessen evaporation.

During 2007, as a Capital Project the water district retained a contractor to clean and cement line about 1800 lineal feet of water main. In order to comply with Health Department requirements we are currently working on a computerized cross connection control plan.

To report any problems with your water or to request additional information, please call (914) 238-3968, Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Or, you may call the Westchester County Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Quality at (914) 813-5000. Further information about water may be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline telephone at 1-800-426-4791.