Required water analysis: The State College Borough Water Authority is required under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA) to monitor for specific contaminants. The frequency of monitoring for these contaminants depends on the contaminant, its risk to human health and the detection of the contaminant in the water. These contaminants include Synthetic Organic compounds, Volatile Organic Compounds Inorganic Compounds, Fluoride, Disinfectant Residual as well as other compounds. When these contaminants are detected in the drinking water they must be reported in the Annual Quality Water Report or Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). Please refer to our CCR for more information. All of the results of required SDWA analysis can be found by using the following link to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protections drinking water reporting system. http://www.drinkingwater.state.pa.us/dwrs/HTM/SelectionCriteria.html Please select the search option “Public Water System ID”. On the next page enter 4140096 into the PWSID box. You may then select the information you are seeking by following the instructions provided on the website.
What is UCMR? UCMR is the Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule set forth by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. UCMR dates back to 1996 when the Safe Drinking Water Act was amended to require that once every 5 years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue a new list of no more than 30 unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems (PWSs). The data provides the EPA and other interested parties with scientifically valid data on contaminants in drinking water. The data serves as the primary source of information the agency uses to help guide regulatory decisions. State College Borough Water Authority has been required to participate in the first three UCMR monitoring programs and are required to participate in UCMR4, which will begin in late 2017 and 2018. For more information on UCMR please follow the link provided. https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr .
Pharmaceuticals testing: The State College Borough Water Authority tested for pharmaceuticals in 2014 and 2015 at all of our source waters. While these contaminates are not currently regulated SCBWA believes that it is important to analyze for them in order to get a better understanding of the regions water quality. The pharmaceuticals testing involved not only analysis for pharmaceuticals but also analyzed for Endocrine Disrupters and Personal Care Products. These types of compounds enter into the groundwater through on-lot septic systems, improper disposal of products containing these compounds and some of the compounds can come from agricultural operations.
Basic Chemistry: The State College Borough Water Authority collects data on basic chemistry parameters on a regular basis utilizing in-house capabilities. In addition to in-house testing, SCBWA confirms the in-house data with third party analysis of basic chemistry parameters. Those parameters include Hardness, Calcium, Iron, Manganese, Conductivity and several other parameters.