The Garrison and Huntsville Utilities drinking water compliance and supply team are committed to providing you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. During 2023, they monitored your drinking water continuously for potential contaminants to ensure it met the stringent requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Based on the 2023 analytical results, they announce that your drinking water met the SDWA standards and the drinking water provided to you on Redstone Arsenal is safe to drink.
Huntsville Utilities treatment facilities provided most of the drinking water to Redstone during 2023. Redstone purchased approximately 2.5 million gallons of potable water per day from Huntsville Utilities and supplemented this supply by producing approximately 0.2 million gallons per day at water treatment plant 3 on Redstone. Water treatment plant 1 on Redstone did not produce potable water during 2023 due to ongoing renovations. Huntsville Utilities used their two surface water plants as the primary sources for the potable water provided to Redstone Arsenal. The Tennessee River serves as the raw water source for these plants as well as both Garrison plants.
Source water assessments that provide baseline data for the quality of our raw water before it is treated are available during regular duty hours for review in the Environmental Management Division office at Garrison headquarters building 4488 on Martin Road, room A-336. These assessments identify the origins of potential contaminant sites and assessed their susceptibility to our raw water supply systems. Based on our assessments, the potential contaminant sites exhibited a low risk to Redstone Arsenal’s raw water supply.
Redstone’s drinking water met all of the stringent SDWA standards during 2023. Although our drinking water meets federal and state requirements, Redstone has learned through monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected in the drinking water. However, the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that our water is safe at or below these detection levels.
Be aware that all drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of these contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in the drinking water provided by public drinking water systems. The Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
The MCLs for various contaminants are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink two liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect. However, some people may be more vulnerable to these contaminants than the general population. People who are immuno-compromised such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly and some infants may be particularly more at risk to infections from these contaminants. People at risk should seek advice from their health care providers about drinking the water from their public water system. The EPA/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
Although there is not a problem with lead in drinking water at Redstone Arsenal, lead, if present in elevated levels, can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead contaminants in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The Garrison is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When the water has been sitting in the water lines for several hours (especially over the weekend), you can minimize the potential for elevated lead and iron level exposure by flushing the lines for two to five minutes before using the water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may have your water tested by calling 256-876-2801. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is also available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at epa.gov/safewater/lead.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include the following:
· 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 storm water 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 storm water runoff and residential uses.
· Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production. They can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
· Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
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 also pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or human activities.
The Garrison routinely monitors your drinking water for many constituents in accordance with federal and state safe drinking water laws and regulations. Again, as reflected in the 2023 test results, the drinking water produced by Redstone Arsenal and purchased from Huntsville Utilities is safe to drink and meets federal and state drinking water standards. If you have any questions about this report, or non-compliance, call the drinking water manager in the Garrison Environmental Management Division at 256-955-8135 or email christina.d.tucker.civ@army.mil.
Division staff said they can provide detailed tables which present the Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville Utilities drinking water monitoring data for 2023 as required.
The Garrison wants you to be informed about your drinking water utility. The environmental management staff expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to serve the Redstone community.
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