Understanding Drinking Water in Your Watershed

Precipitation – The Source of All Drinking Water!

• Long-term trend toward

more annual precipitation

• Cause = larger storms

• Result = more runoff

Pennsylvania Annual Water Budget

And, groundwater moves!

Infiltration!

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Forest Old Logging Road Lawn Pavement

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http://gardening4life.blogspot.com/2011/05/ankle-deep-in-freezing-water.html

The Importance of Groundwater

• 80 trillion gallons of fresh

groundwater

o 30 times more than

surface water!

• We withdraw about 1 billion

gallons of groundwater each

day!

• About half of Pe sylva ia’s population get at least part

of their drinking water

directly from groundwater

The Geology of Pennsylvania’s Groundwater, 1999, PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources

Overall Water Use in PA

(All values in MGD, Source: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005)

Toilet

28%

Washer

22%Shower/Bath

19%

Faucet

16%

Leaks

14%

Dishwasher

1%

Home Water Use

Drinking Water Supplies

• Public – community

• Various levels

• ~10 million Pennsylvania residents

• Regulated (U.S. EPA, PA DEP)

• Must provide safe water to customers

• Must provide a report of water quality annually

• Private

• Wells, springs, cisterns

• ~3 million residents

• Unregulated except for some local ordinances

• Population = 12.7 million

o Ranked 6th in nation

• Type of water supplies

o 9,100 public water supplies (4th in nation)

o ~1,000,000 private water supplies (2nd in nation)

• Population served

o Public supplies = 10.7 M – 86% use surface water, 14% use groundwater

o Private supplies = 2.0 M – 98% use groundwater

Pennsylvania Drinking Water Facts

Private Water System Information

# of homes served by private

water systems

Avg. Change in

homes served by

private water

systems per year

% of all homes

served by public

water

% of all homes

served by private

water system

County

1980

2000

Allegheny 15216 9136 -304 98 2

Beaver 15187 15029 -7.9 80 20

Bucks 42615 49409 339.7 77 23

Butler 26272 33024 337.6 50 50

Chester 42,075 58,969 845 64 36

Elk 3025 6601 178.8 72 28

Fayette 11281 9661 -81 83 17

Fulton 3972 5790 90.9 21 79

Lancaster 45351 61597 812.3 66 34

Lehigh 16600 20504 195.2 84 16

McKean 7650 9552 95.1 60 40

Mercer 18145 20655 125.5 60 40

Monroe 21129 53363 1611.7 32 68

Montgomery 29363 32777 170.7 88 12

Northampton 15727 21363 281.8 81 19

Potter 4020 11308 364.4 32 68

Tioga 9126 14650 276.2 35 65

Venango 9865 14917 252.6 54 46

Washington 19290 19858 28.4 77 23

York 39290 53114 691.2 66 34

Characteristics of Private Water Systems

County % drilled wells % hand-dug wells % springs or cisterns

Allegheny 81 7 12

Beaver 90 4 6

Bucks 93 6 1

Butler 88 4 9

Chester 91 7 2

Elk 62 7 31

Fayette 65 7 28

Fulton 87 4 9

Lancaster 88 8 5

Lehigh 87 7 6

McKean 69 4 27

Mercer 87 5 7

Monroe 93 5 2

Montgomery 93 6 1

Northampton 88 6 6

Potter 64 5 31

Tioga 77 7 16

Venango 73 6 21

Washington 66 5 29

York 86 8 6

A Typical Public Water Supply

• Pump house

• Coagulant

• Coagulation tank

• Chlorination

• Filtration

• Sand • Gravel

• Carbon

• Chlorination

• Orthophosphate

• Fluoride

• Clear well

• Water tower

• To homes

Wellhead Protection Zones for Public Water Supplies

Red = sources of potential contamination Zone III

Zone II

Capture Zone

Zone I

100 - 400 Ft

Where is the water that needs protection?

Zone II + Zone III = Area of Contribution

Water Testing

• Public water suppliers conduct routine testing to ensure safe drinking water

• Consumers receive annual water quality summary reports

• Most common issues:

• Lead

• Hard water

• Chlorine

Drinking Water Standards

• Depend on use of water

o Drinking water most stringent

o Recreational standards, aquatic life, etc.

o Recommendations (livestock, irrigation, etc.)

• Primary MCL – health based

o Lead, E. coli, arsenic, nitrate, benzene, etc.

• Secondary – RMCL – aesthetic

o Iron, manganese, chloride, TDS, etc.

• Required for public water supplies, not for private supplies

Water Quality Units

• Most water quality measurements are in milligram per liter (mg/L) or part

per million (ppm)

• Some smaller concentrations (organics, pesticides, etc.) are in micrograms

per liter (µg/L) or part per billion (ppb)

• Some parameters have special units

o Bacteria (colonies per 100 milliliters)

o pH (no units)

o Hardness (grains per gallon)

o Radon (picocuries per liter)

• Most often from corrosion of lead in metal fixtures, solder or

pipes

• Most likely in homes with plumbing installed before 1990 or in

older community water supplies

• Various federal and state regulations have been passed to remove lead

fro plu bi g starti g i the ’s

• Common symptoms

o Pinhole leaks in metal plumbing

o Blue green stains (copper)

o Lead has no symptoms (testing is critical)

• Lead causes many serious health effects

Lead – An Important Issue for Public and

Private Drinking Water Supplies

From - Centers for Disease Control, Sources of Lead, http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tips/sources.htm

solder

• Over one million homes

and farms

• 45% never properly tested

• Access to groundwater but

not ownership

• No statewide regulations

but some local ordinances

Water Wells drilled 1966-1994

Private Water Supplies

Wells Springs Cisterns

Water Well Construction

sloping ground

“sanitary” well cap

grout seal casing to bedrock

bedrock

Fewer than 20% of home and farm wells in PA have this “sanitary” construction

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12” above ground

Managing a Private Water Supply

1. Management of private water wells is the VOLUNTARY responsibility of

each homeowner

2. Understand where you water comes from and what can contaminate it

3. Make sure your water supply is properly constructed

4. Have the water supply inspected by a professional

5. Keep polluting activities away from your water supply

6. Get your water tested routinely

• Majority have at least one aesthetic water quality problem

(corrosive, hardness, iron, manganese, etc.)

• 40% fail at least one health-based standard (bacteria, lead, arsenic,

nitrate, etc.)

7. Once a problem is identified through testing, explore treatment or

other alternatives to remove the contaminant

Test Your Water!

• Why test? Many pollutants have no obvious symptoms

• Many water supplies have never been properly tested

• Use PA DEP accredited laboratories!

• Test BEFORE new activities for legal protection using chain-of-custody

• Test recommendations

• Annual test for bacteria (every 14 months)

• Every three years for pH, TDS, pollutants associated with activities within sight

• Compare test results to drinking water standards

Penn State Water Testing • Agricultural Analytical Services Lab

• Several water test programs (drinking water, livestock, irrigation, pond/lake, GAP)

• Kits available through Extension offices or lab

• Extension educators provide assistance with interpretation

Aesthetic Water Quality Issues

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Health-Based Water Quality Issues

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Buying Water Treatment Devices

• Public water supplies o Water softeners

o Carbon filters (removing chlorine)

o Reverse osmosis – lead, etc.

• Private water supplies o Point-of-Entry treatment (whole house) = disinfection, softeners, acid

neutralizers, anion exchange, oxidizing filters, sediment filters

o Point-of-Use treatment (faucet) – reverse osmosis, distillation, carbon filters

• Tips o Rely on test results from accredited labs

o Look for NSF certifications for specific contaminants

o Seek reputable companies, references (shop around)

What About Bottled Water?

• Definition:

o Approved source that meets standards, sealed in a sanitary container

o Calorie free, sugar free (added flavors must comprise <1% of final product weight)

o May contain natural or added carbonation

• 75% wells and springs, 25% public water supplies

• Federal, state and industry regulation

o PA has a very strict bottled water law

• Water quality is generally no better or worse than public water supplies

Roadside Springs in Pennsylvania

Surface water? Extensive infrastructure

Very inviting Beautiful stonework

Frequency of Roadside spring use Survey of 1,034 residents

Never, 70%

Every few

years, 12%

Yearly, 6%

Few months,

4%

Monthly, 5%

Weekly, 3%

Summary of Results 35 roadside springs, 2013

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Water Conservation Smart for Public AND Private Drinking Water Sources

• Save money!

• Energy savings (from heating water)

• Water savings (for those that pay for water)

• Conserve for later use

• Reduce the load on your septic/sewer system

• How to conserve?

• Change habits

• Water saving devices

Penn State Cooperative Extension Resources http://extension.psu.edu/water