Henry County Water Quality Report assures drinking water safety
(Jackson, GA – July 8, 2016) With the ongoing crisis in Flint, Michigan focused on the issues of water quality and public health, HCWA customers should be comforted knowing their drinking water is clean and safe to drink, and not vulnerable to the type of lead contamination impacting that system.
The laboratory evidence, reviewed and authenticated by the state Environmental Protection Division (EPD), is provided in this year’s Henry County Water Quality Report, available on the Authority’s website at http://waterqualityreport.hcwa.com/report.pdf. Hard copies of the Report also are available at the HCWA Headquarters – Administration Office, located at 1695 Highway 20 West in McDonough. Customers also can request to receive a copy by mail by calling 770-957-6659.
The Water Quality Report, or Consumer Confidence Report, tells customers what is in their drinking water and why. In the case of the 2016 Report, HCWA drinking water met or exceeded all industry safeguards for water quality, reflected in water samples and laboratory tests conducted from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2015.
The lab data analyzed during this past calendar year for inclusion in the 2016 Water Quality Report includes measures of regulated substances found in Henry County tap water, with assurances for the public that detected amounts are well within the limits allowed by Georgia EPD, in accordance with the federal guidelines of the Safe Drinking Water Act enforced by the U.S. EPA.
The HCWA received no violations of regulatory limits on potential contaminants – whether organic, inorganic, or microbiological, or as the result of disinfectants or disinfectant by-products used in the drinking water treatment process.
The goal of the Henry County Water Quality Report is to provide consumers of HCWA tap water with accurate, scientific data reflecting the quality of the system’s drinking water.
In addition to the Water Quality Data featured in the 2016 Water Quality Report, the HCWA also provides an overview of its system, including the five drinking water reservoirs owned and operated by the Authority, with 18 billion gallons of raw water storage – a supply that could support the HCWA system for an estimated 500 days. The HCWA also has two water treatment plants with a combined production capacity of 37 million gallons per day (MGD), 14 storage tanks with 29 million gallons of finished drinking water storage, and approximately 1,400 miles of transmission mains within the distribution system.
The Henry County Water Quality Report outlines the treatment technologies and processes used to assure the safety of HCWA tap water, including specific information about lead and copper testing.
Water Quality Reports became a regulatory requirement of public water utilities following the 1996 Amendments by Congress to the Safe Drinking Water Act, in an effort to increase the public’s “right to know” about the nature of their drinking water.
Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
Phone: 770-757-1681
Email: jcwood@uga.edu OR chris@jwapr.com