PWSID Number 001786
Annual Water Quality Report

City of Cullman Water Department
January – December 2020

We are pleased to bring you this year’s Annual Water Quality Report. This report is designed to keep you informed about the quality of water and services we deliver to you every day. We want you to understand the efforts we make to improve treatment processes and protect our supply. We are committed to the quality of your drinking water.

All information provided in this report has been collected and reported in accordance with the water quality standards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). We are proud to report that the water provided by the Utilities board of the City of Cullman meets or exceeds established water quality standards.

As you can see by the tables, our system had no violations of allowable limits of contaminants in drinking water. We’re proud that your drinking water meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements. We have learned through our monitoring and testing that some constituents have been detected. The EPA has determined that your water IS SAFE at these levels.

Who Provides My Water?

The Water Treatment Plant is owned and operated by the Utilities Board of the City of Cullman. The Utilities Board has only one customer, The City of Cullman. The Water Treatment Plant has provided water for many years and is recognized as an industry leader. Over the years the Water Treatment Plant has received numerous awards for excellence in management, operations, and employee achievement. The Water Plant has received the Optimized Plant Award for 11 out of 12 years. The plant award is given by ADEM. The Water Plant is attending Performance Based Training starting in 2011. The training is a 3 year long training session that ADEM provides to Surface Water Treatment Plants to help optimize the plant. The Cullman Water Plant has 13 Grade IV Certified Operators. Grade IV is the highest level of certification that ADEM recognizes.

Where Does My Water Come From?

The Utilities Board owns and operates one treatment plant receiving water from Lake Catoma and Duck River. The treatment is a conventional surface treatment process with a total capacity of 24MGD. The City owns and operates the distributions network within the city. Water quality samples are collected regularly. Samples include untreated and treated water taken at our treatment facility, sample sites throughout our service area, and at customers’ homes. The Source Water Assessment has been completed and updated to current status. The assessment is available for your review.

To provide a safe drinking water we use chlorine as our primary disinfectant, providing a minimum of 1.0 ppm entering the distribution system and maintaining at least .2 ppm throughout the system.

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 radioactive material, and it can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activities.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. People who are immuno-compromised such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS positive or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections.People at risk 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 microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations. While your drinking water meets EPA’s standard for arsenic, it does contain low levels of arsenic. EPA’s standard balances the current understanding of arsenic’s possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water.EPA continues to research the health effects of low levels of arsenic, which is a mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations and is linked to other health effects such as skin damage and circulatory problems.

Based on a study conducted by the Department with the approval of the EPA a statewide waiver for the monitoring of asbestos and dioxin was issued. Thus, monitoring for any of these contaminants was not required.

All drinking water, including bottled 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. MCL’s,defined in a List of Definitions in this report, are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 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.

Cullman Water Plant

The Cullman Water Plant has been issued a Very Small Systems Waiver for the Stage 2 Disinfection Byproduct Rule. This is for the (IDSE) Initial Distribution System Evaluation.

Ten Tips for Conserving Water

• Check your faucets inside and outside your home. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to 20 gallons of water a day.
• Check your toilets. Look for hidden leaks. A leaking toilet can waste up to 100 gallons of water a day. Think before your flush. Do not use your toilet for a trash can. Most toilets use 5 to 7 gallons of water each flush.
• Reduce your shower time. Most showers pour out between 5 and 10 gallons per minute.
• While brushing your teeth or shaving, don’t leave the water running. It adds up quick.
• Automatic dishwashers claim the most water in the kitchen – about 12 gallons per run. Make sure your dishwasher is fully loaded before you turn it on.
• Washing machines use 40 or more gallons a load whether it’s full or just a pair of socks. Save up for a full load and make your water work efficiently.
• Reduce watering your lawn to 1 or 2 times a week. A garden hose can pour out 600 gallons or more in only a few hours. Remember to water in the early morning or late afternoon and make your water work for you.
• Think about the amount of water it will take to wash your vehicle. Don’t let the water run. Shut it off between washing and rinsing.
• Locate your cutoff valves. Lots of water can be lost if you have a leak and have to search for your cutoff valve.
• If you see a leak, notify the water department immediately. We will check the leak and prioritize the problem.