Important Announcement about Friday Harbor Drinking Water

July 20, 2007

Important Announcement about Friday Harbor Drinking Water

Dear Town of Friday Harbor Water User:

The State of Washington changed some of the drinking water quality standards and while the Town is in compliance with all of the other requirements, we regret to inform you that once again, the Town's water system currently does not meet one of these new standards. We believe that our water continues to be safe for most people to use, but you do have a right to know what has happened, what you should do, and what the Town is doing to try to correct the situation.

Currently, we use chlorine as a disinfectant for our water. Unfortunately, when chlorine has long-term contact with any organic material, such as leaf foliage, which is present in the Trout Lake reservoir, it produces a byproduct called triahalomethanes (THM).

In the past the acceptable level of THM’s was 100.0 micrograms/liter (ug/L). The new acceptable level has been lowered to 80.0 ug/L. Because of higher than normal rainfall last winter which washed more organic material into the lake, our second quarter 2007 test results revealed that the Town was unable to meet this new standard. Our 12 month average for triahalomethanes is 87.15 ug/L.

This is not an immediate risk to your health. If it had been, we would have notified you immediately. However, some people who drink water over a long period that exceeds the acceptable level of triahalomethanes could experience problems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous system, or may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

You may wish to filter your drinking water by using activated carbon filters or simply leaving your tap water standing in a pitcher in the refrigerator overnight. These simple procedures help lower the THM’s.

The Town will continue to make adjustments in our treatment process and more aggressively flush out our water mains to remove as much organic matter as possible. We will also explore the option of installing automatic flush stations on some of our mains. Our challenge is to find the most efficient and cost effective way of providing water to our users that will be safe for everyone to use. We will continue to explore different treatment options until we provide water that meets all State and Federal standards.

We will keep you informed of our progress.

Sincerely,

David F. Jones, Mayor         C. King Fitch, Town Administrator

Disinfection Byproduct Levels Above Drinking Water Standards
Friday Harbor Water System (ID #26595)
San Juan County

07/20/2007