To comply with State regulations, the Village of Hamilton, will be annually issuing a report describing the quality of your 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 did not violate 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.

If you have any questions about this report or concerning your drinking water, please contact Sean Graham, Director of Utilities and Public Works at 315-824-1111 or Bart King, Acting Water Treatment Plant Operator, at 315-824-2120. We want you to be informed about your drinking water. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled Municipal Utilities Commission meetings. The meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month, at 4:00 PM at the Village of Hamilton Offices, 3 Broad Street, Hamilton.

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, in some cases, radioactive material, 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.

Our water system serves approximately 4000 people through 859 service connections. Our water source is two drilled wells approximately 53 and 77 feet deep. The water is pumped from the wells and is immediately disinfected with sodium hypochlorite. Prior to being distributed your water is treated with fluoride, which helps fight tooth decay. From January 1^st, 2008 through December 31st, 2008 the Village Water system distributed 151,226,000 million gallons to its customers.

Within the corporate limits of the Village of Hamilton water use is billed on a per unit basis. A unit equates to 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons. The first two units (0 – 2) are billed on a flat rate of five dollars ($5.00). Units three (3) and above are billed at two dollars and seventy-nine cents ($2.79) per unit. Example, if a customer uses twelve units (12) the first two would be billed at the flat rate of five dollars ($5.00) the remaining ten (10) units would equate to twenty-seven dollars and ninety cents ($27.90). The total water bill would equate to thirty-two dollars and ninety cents ($32.90).

Customers purchasing water outside the corporate limits are charged the same flat rate as described above but are charged three dollars and thirty-four cents ($3.34) per unit over the first two (2).

The NYS DOH has completed a source water assessment for this system, based on available information. Possible and actual threats to this drinking water source were evaluated. The state source water assessment includes a susceptibility rating based on the risk posed by each potential source of contamination and how easily contaminants can move through the subsurface to the wells. The susceptibility rating is an estimate of the potential for contamination of the source water, it does not mean that water delivered to consumers, is or will be contaminated. See section “Are There Contaminants In Our Drinking Water?” for a list of contaminants that have been detected. The source water assessments provide resource managers with additional information for protecting source waters into the future.

The public water supply serving the Village of Hamilton is derived of two drilled wells. The source water assessment has rated these wells as having a medium–high susceptibility rating for industrial contaminants as well as a high susceptibility rating for industrial solvents, nitrates, and microbials. These ratings are due primarily to the close proximity of permitted discharge facilities (industrial/commercial facilities that discharge wastewater into the environment and are regulated by the state and or federal government) to the wells. Based on submitted data, the well field could be prone to flooding. Please note, while the source water assessment rates these wells as being susceptible to microbials, the water is disinfected to ensure that the finished water delivered into your home meets the New York State Drinking Water Standards for microbial contamination.

County and State Health Departments will use this information to direct future source water protection activities. These may include water quality monitoring, resource management, planning and education programs. If you should have any questions or would like to review the Source Water Assessment in our office please feel free to contact the Madison County Department of Health at (315) 366-2526.

As the State regulations require, we routinely test your drinking water for numerous contaminants. These contaminants include: total coliform, turbidity, inorganic compounds, nitrate, lead and copper, volatile organic compounds, total trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, radiological and synthetic organic compounds. The table presented below depicts which compounds were detected in your drinking water. The State allows us to test for some contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. Some of our data, though representative, are more than one year old.

It should be noted that all drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may 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 Madison County Health Department at 315-366-2526.

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.}

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 New York State requirements. It should be noted that the action level for lead was exceeded at one collection site. We are required to present the following information on lead in drinking water:

Our system is one of the 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 an optimal range from 0.8 to 1.2 mg/l (parts per million). To ensure that the fluoride supplement in your water provides optimal dental protection, the State Department of Health requires that we monitor fluoride levels on a daily basis. During 2008 monitoring showed fluoride levels in your water were in the optimal range 100 % of the time. None of the monitoring results showed fluoride at levels that approach the 2.2 mg/l MCL for fluoride.

During 2008, our system was in compliance with applicable State drinking water operating, monitoring and reporting requirements.

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:

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:

Thank you for allowing us to continue to provide your family with quality drinking water this year. We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which is the heart of our community. Please call our office if you have questions.