Consumer Confidence Report Water Quality Report 2015
Every Drop is Beautiful
Save Water. Nothing Can Replace It.
The City of Arlington’s conservation program is
part of a regional effort to help plan for future water
supply needs and meet the requirements of the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and
Texas Water Development Board. With a constant
concern over water quantity, the City of Arlington
is asking residents and businesses to comply
with City ordinances and use water wisely. The
City of Arlington appreciates your commitment to
conserving water and we encourage you to save
water and money by changing your water use habits
today. For more water conservation tips, visit www.
SaveArlingtonWater.com.
Arlington Water Utilities
2015 City of Arlington Laboratory Services group
For more information:
Water Quality:...................................817-575-8984
Laboratory Services water sample requests, water quality questions
or water quality problems. If you have questions concerning this
brochure, ask for the laboratory.
2015 Water
Quality Report
Customer Services:.............................817-275-5931
Open new or transfer account, billing inquiries, water conservation,
water and sewer rates.
Emergency Water, and
Sewer Services (24 hours):...................817-459-5900
Should I be worried about lead in
my drinking water?
Service interruptions, water leaks, sewer problems
Tarrant Regional Water
District (TRWD):................................817-237-8585
Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ):..................................512-239-1000
Lead seldom occurs naturally in water supplies
like lakes and rivers, and lead is rarely present in
water coming from the treatment plant. Lead enters
drinking water primarily as a result of corrosion or
wearing-away of materials containing lead in the
water system or home plumbing, such as pipes and
household plumbing. The City of Arlington does not
have any lead service lines (pipes carrying water to
your home). The most common source of lead in
drinking water is solder used to join copper pipes
or faucets made of brass or chrome-plated brass.
Older homes (built before 1930) are more likely to
have plumbing fixtures containing lead. There are
several things that can be done to minimize possible
exposure to lead in drinking water: 1. Flush your tap
water, particularly when the faucet has gone unused
for more than a few hours. Flushing for 1-2 minutes
clears water standing in your service lines and
ensures you are drawing fresh water from the main
water line. 2. Use only cold water for cooking and
drinking. Lead leaches more easily into hot water.
3. Make sure lead-free materials are used when
building a new home. More information about lead is
available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-
426-4791).
To participate in decisions concerning water:
Attend the Arlington City Council meetings, held on the 2 nd and
4 th Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber located at
City Hall, 101 West Abram Street.
Meeting schedule is posted online at
www.arlington-tx.gov/citycouncil/meeting-schedule/
To view City Council Agenda or to watch
a City Council meeting webcast, please visit
www.arlington-tx.gov/citycouncil/agendas/
Visit our website at:
www.ArlingtonTX.gov/water/CCR
Este informe incluye información importante sobre su agua
potable, si necesita ayuda para entender esta información
por favor llame al 817-575-8984.
Ban bao cao nay bao gom nhung thong tin can biet ve nuoc
uong. Moi chi tiet va thac mac xin lien lac 817-575-8984.
Arlington’s Water treatment plants can
produce 172.5 million gallons per day.
Photography: City of Arlington Laboratory staff
Published May 2016
Arlington
A
s you read through this report, you will notice that drinking water produced by Arlington Water Utilities
Water Fact
The Environmental Protection Agency
meets or exceeds all Federal and State drinking water quality regulations. Substances found in Arlington Sampling stations are installed
(EPA) Safe Drinking Water Hotline
100 homes around the
water are well below the maximum allowable levels. The information included in this report reflects the data at over
city to monitor water
D rinking water, including bottled water, may
quality.
collected from January 1 through December 31, 2015, unless noted otherwise.
reasonably be expected to contain at least small
amounts of some constituents. The presence of
How is Arlington water treated?
Is Arlington water safe to drink?
these constituents does not necessarily indicate
The water in Arlington is treated at two state of the art
Absolutely. Our employees take great pride in
that water poses a health risk. In order to ensure
water treatment plants. Ozone is used as the primary
producing and delivering to you, our customer, water
that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes
disinfectant. Aluminum sulfate and a cationic poly-
that meets all Federal and State regulations. To ensure
regulations that limit the amount of certain
mer are added to help dirt and other
your water is of the highest quality, Arlington Water
substances in water provided by public water
particles clump together and settle out
Utilities Laboratory closely monitors the drinking
systems. The treatment process removes these
during treatment. The water is then fil-
water at over 120 distribution
Reservoirs
substances from the raw water and provides
Raw water
Primary
tered through granular activated carbon
locations throughout
pump station
disinfection
further protection prior to sending it to the
(Ozone)
Filters
beds to remove smaller particles and
the city. In 2015, the
distribution system. More information about
substances that are dissolved in the
laboratory collected
Pre-Ozonation
contaminants and potential health effects can be
water. The water is then chloraminated
about 6,500 samples
Mixing Coagulation Sedimentation Secondary
obtained by calling the Environmental Protection
disinfection
(Chloramine)
chamber
basin
basin
(treated with chlorine and then ammo-
and performed
Agency’s (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Hotline
Clearwell storage
nia) as it enters the clearwell for storage.
about 13,500 tests
at 800-426-4791 or visiting the EPA website at
Chloramine is the secondary disinfectant that keeps
monitoring 144
www.epa.gov/safewater.
Distribution
the water safe on its way to your faucet.
analytes.
Arlington
Water Fact
Health information for Special Populations
You may be more vulnerable than
the general population to certain
microbial contaminants, such as
Cryptosporidium, in drinking water.
Infants, some elderly or immuno-
compromised persons such as those
undergoing chemotherapy for cancer;
those who have undergone organ
transplants; those who are undergoing
treatment with steroids and people
Water Conservation Efforts
Water is a precious and finite resource. It is
essential that water utilities audit their water
supplies and implement strategies to minimize water
losses in future years. Of the 19,456,325 gallons of
water treated by the City of Arlington,
Arlington
an estimated 2,045,677 gallons of
Water Fact
The lab checks for proper
water (10.5%) was lost due to a
residuals around
variety of reasons such as main disinfectant
the city every day
of the year
line breaks, leaks, unauthorized
consumption, etc. The City of
Arlington’s water conservation specialists
use state of the art technology to identify
and locate suspected leaks throughout the city.
Please report any suspected leaks to 817-459-6777.
with HIV/AIDS or other immune
system disorders can be particularly at
risk from infections. You should seek
advice about drinking water from your
health care provider.
Additional guidelines on appropriate
means to lessen the risk of infection
by Cryptosporidium are available
from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(800-426-4791).
There are no lead
service lines in
Arlington
Where does Arlington drinking water come from? Arlington purchases its water for treatment from
the Tarrant Regional Water District. The water is taken from four reservoirs. Cedar Creek, Richland-Chambers and Lake
Benbrook supply the John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant. Lake Arlington supplies the Pierce-Burch Water Treatment Plant.
Cryptosporidium Monitoring Information:
In 2015, Tarrant Regional Water tract and can cause an illness
District monitored all raw water called cryptosporidiosis.
sources for Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidiosis is typically
and found none in the source
an acute short-term infection
waters servicing Arlington.
but can become severe and
non-resolving in children
Cryptosporidium is a
and immuno-compromised
microscopic, disease-causing
individuals.
parasite, housed in a hard-
shelled egg-shaped oocyst.
Arlington uses coagulation,
When ingested, the oocyst splits filtration, and Ozone (the
open, releasing sporozoites.
primary disinfectant) to
These sporozoites invade the
further protect against
lining of the gastrointestinal
Cryptosporidium.