2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

Water System Number; NC0496060

Introduction

We are pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is a snapshot of last year’s water quality. Included are details about your source(s) of water, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. Our constant goal is to provide you with a save and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water and to providing you with this information because informed customers are our best allies. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water, please contact Glenn Kennedy Jr at (919) 736-2551. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regulatory scheduled meetings. They are held at Fork Township District Office, third Wednesday of every month.

What EPA Wants You to Know

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 Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants 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 about drinking water from their health care providers.  EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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 activity.  Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

• Microbial Contaminants: such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic Contaminants: such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and Herbicides: which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses
• Organic Chemical Contaminants: including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive Contaminants: which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.  FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

Lead in Drinking Water

Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant and young children.  Lead in the drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing.  Fork Township Sanitary District is responsible for providing high quality drinking water and removing lead pipes, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components in your home.  You share the responsibility for protecting yourself and your family from the lead in your home plumbing.  You can take responsibility by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and take steps to reduce your family’s risk.  Before drinking tap water, flush your pipes for several minutes by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a load of dishes.  You can also use a filter certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead in drinking water.  If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, contact Fork township Sanitary District at (919) 736-2551.  Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

We have been working to identify service line materials throughout the water system and prepared an inventory of all service lines in our water system.  To access this inventory, copy will be available at the office.

When You Turn on Your Tap, Consider the Source

The water that is used by this system is Groundwater and is located throughout the county.

Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) Results

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Public Water Supply (PWS) Section, Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) conducted assessments for all drinking water sources across North Carolina.  The purpose of the assessments was to determine the susceptibility of each drinking water source (well or surface water intake) to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCS).  The results of the assessments are available in SWAP Assessment Reports that include maps, background information and a relative susceptibility rating of Higher, Moderate, or Lower.

The relative susceptibility rating of each source for Fork Township Sanitary District was determined by combining the contaminant rating (number and location of PCSs within the assessment area) and the inherent vulnerability rating (i.e., characteristics or existing conditions of the well or watershed and its delineated assessment area).  The assessment findings are summarized in the table below:

Susceptibility of Sources to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs)

The complete SWAP Assessment report for Fork Township Sanitary District may be viewed on the Web at: https://www.ncwater.org/?page=600.  Note that because SWAP results and reports are periodically updated by the PWS Section, the results available on this website may differ from the results that were available at the time this CCR was prepared.  If you are unable to access your SWAP report on the web, you may mail a written request for a printed copy to:

Source Water Assessment Program – Report Request
1634 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1634

Or email requests to swap@deq.nc.gov.  Please indicate your system name, number, and provide your name, mailing address and phone number.  If you have any questions about the SWAP report, please contact the Source Water Assessment staff by phone at (919) 707-9098.

It is important to understand that a susceptibility rating of “higher” does not imply poor water quality, only the system’s potential to become contaminated by PCSs in the assessment area.

Help Protect Your Source Water

Protection of drinking water is everyone’s responsibility. We have implemented the following source water protection actions: Well Head Protection Plan and Backflow Cross Connection Program.

Important Drinking Water Definitions:

• Action Level (AL) – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must flow.
• Herbicide – Any chemical(s) used to control undesirable vegetation.
• Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.
• Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/L) – One part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.
• Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/L) – One part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.
• Pesticide – Generally, any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.
• Level 1 Assessment – A Level 1 assessment is a study of the water system to identify the potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system.
• Level 2 Assessment – A Level 2 assessment is a very detailed study of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible0 why an E. coli MCL violation has occurred and/or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasions.
• Locational Running Annual Average (LRAA) – The average of sample analytical results for samples taken at a particular monitoring location during the previous four calendar quarters under the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule.
• Maximum Residual Disinfection Level (MRDL) – The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in the drinking water.  There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.
• Maximum Residual Disinfection Level Goal (MRDLG) – The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control the microbial contaminants.
• Million Fibers per Liter (MFL) – Million fibers per liter is a measure of the presence of asbestos fibers that are longer than 10 micrometers.
• Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) – Nephelometric turbidity unit is a measure of the clarity of water.  Turbidity in excess of 5 NTU is just noticeable to the average person.
• Not-Applicable (N/A) – Information not applicable/not required for that particular water system or for that particular rule.
• Non-Detects (ND) – Laboratory analysis indicates that the contaminant is not present at the level of detection set for the particular methodology used.
• Parts per trillion (ppt) or Nanograms per liter (nanograms/L) – One part per trillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000,000.
• Parts per quadrillion (ppq) or Picograms per liter (picograms/L) – One part per quadrillion corresponds to one minute in 2,000,000,000 years or one penny in $10,000,000,000,000.
• Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) – Picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
• Running Annual Average (RAA) – The average of sample analytical results for samples taken during the previous for calendar quarters.
• Treatment Technique (TT) – A required process intended to reduce the levels of a contaminant in drinking water.
• Variances and Exceptions – State or EPA permission not the meet an MCL or Treatment Technique under certain conditions.

Water Quality Data Tables of Detected Contaminants

We routinely monitor for over 150 contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  The tables below list all the drinking water contaminants that we detected in the last round of sampling for each particular contaminant group. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done January 1 through December 31, 2025. The EPA and the State allow us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.

Lead and Copper Contaminants

The table summarizes our most recent lead and copper tap sampling data. If you would like to review the complete lead tap sampling data, please email us at ftsd2@bellsout.net.

Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. lead exposure can lead to new leaning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems.

Copper is an essential nutrient, but some people who drink water containing copper in excess of the action level or over a relatively short amount of time could experience gastrointestinal distress. Some people who drink water containing copper in excess of the action level over many years could suffer liver or kidney damage. People with Wilson’s disease should consult their personal doctor.

Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and Haloacetic Acids (five) (HAA5)

Disinfectant Residuals Summary

Radiological Contaminants

Inorganic Contaminants

Other Miscellaneous Water Characteristics Contaminants

The PWS Section requires monitoring for the other misc. contaminants, some for which the EPA has set national secondary drinking water standards (SMCLs) because they may cause cosmetic effects or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, and/or color) in drinking water. The contaminants with SMCLs normally do not have any health effects and normally do not affect the safety of your water.