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Lee County Utilities Authority Palmyra Water System 2021 How Safe is Our Water? Lee County Utilities Authority is proud of the fine drinking water it provides. This annual quality report shows the sources of our water, lists the results of our test, and contains much important information about water and health. Lee County Utilities Authority will notify you immediately if there is any reason for concern about our water. We are happy to show you how we have surpassed water quality standards. The Authority contracts with the Georgia Environment Protection Division (EPD), Drinking Water Program, for laboratory and related services consistent with the Authority’s need to comply with the requirements of the National Drinking Water Regulations. (Copies of contracts are available for viewing in the Utilities Authority Office located at 905 US Highway 19 South, Leesburg, Georgia). Is our water safe to drink? Absolutely Lee County Utilities Authority has never had a violation of contaminant levels or other water quality regulations. More information is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.waterdata.com An E.P.D., inspection revealed no major violation in 2016. The Authority contracts with the State of Georgia Environmental Protection Division/ Department of Natural Resources to test the Authority’s water samples. Water Service The Authority draws its water from one aquifer. The aquifer is the Upper Floridian. A Source-Water Assessment has been performed for our area to provide baseline data about the quality origins of contaminants within our areas. This assessment indicates the susceptibility of our water system to such contaminants. To complete your understanding of our water supply, request a copy from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. How to Read This Table The table below lists all of the drinking water contaminants that we detected during calendar year 2021. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done during calendar year 2021. The E.P.D. of Georgia Dept, of Natural Resources requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because these contaminants do not change frequently. In the event a contaminant exceeds a trigger level more sampling and analysis will be performed to ensure safety and quality. Terms & Abbreviations used below: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): The level of a contaminant in drinking water below, which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLG allow for a margin of safety. Submitted Photo Prolific weeds like buttercup compete with underlying grasses and can reduce their growth in the spring. This reduces the amount of forage yield available for livestock grazing pastures, and fescue lawns or pastures may end up with bare spots as a result of this competition. What’s up, buttercup? Prolific weed competes with forage grasses and grains Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): The highest level of contaminant that is allowed in water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology. Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. N/A: Not applicable ND: Not detectable at testing limit ppb: parts per billion or micrograms per liter ppm: parts per million or milligrams per liter Contaminant Highest Level Detected MCL Major Source Violation Inorganic Lead (ppb) 0 ALU 5 Corrosion of piping system: erosion of natural deposits NO Copper (ppm) 1.3 ALU.3 Water additive to control NO Chlorine 1 4 microbes NO Inorganic Contaminates: Nitrates (ppm) 1 10 Found in Fertilizers NO Measured as Nitrogen Regulated and Unregulated Contaminants Although we ran many tests, no contaminants were found. The Environmental Protection Division of Georgia tests for Radon during water surveys. Required Additional Health Information To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPD establishes limits on the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water. Drinking water, including bottled water may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791). The sources of drinking water (tap and bottled) 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 can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: (A) Microbial contaminants: such as vimses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operation, and wildlife (B) Inorganic contaminants, such as sales and metal, which can be naturally- occurring or results from urban storm runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming (C) Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as stormwater runoff, and residential uses. (D) Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organics, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff and septic systems (E) Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities, hi order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink the EPA establishes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water and must provide the same protection for public health. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than others in the general population. Immune-compromised persons such as: individuals with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, individuals who have undergone organ transplants, individuals with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections; these individuals should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. The EPA and CDC provide guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791). National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Compliance Other Monitoring hi addition to the referenced testing, staff members are required to monitor the chlorine residual in the finished water daily. If you are interested in a more detailed report, contact Chris Boswell, General Manager at (229) 759-6056. We will be happy to answer any questions about Lee County Utilities Authority and our water quality. Call Tricia Holmes at 229-759-6056. Water Quality Data for community water systems throughout the United States is available at www.waterdata .com. The Lee County Utilities Authority Board meets the third Thursday of each month at the Page Tharp Governmental Building in the Opal Cannon Auditorium located at 102 Starksville Ave North, Leesburg, Georgia 31763. The meetings of the Utilities Authority are always open to the general public and meeting agenda and minutes are available at www.lee.ga.us Special to the Ledger By Paul Pugliese Prolific weeds such as buttercup compete with underlying grasses and potentially reduce their growth in the spring. This reduces the amount of forage yield available for livestock grazing pastures. Fescue lawns and pastures may end up with bare spots as a re sult of this competition. Prolific weeds like buttercup compete with underlying grasses and can reduce their growth in the spring. This reduces the amount of forage yield available for livestock grazing pas tures, and fescue lawns or pastures may end up with bare spots as a re sult of this competition. Spring has undoubted ly arrived in Georgia. Local pastures and lawns remind me of the lyrics from “Amer ica the Beautiful,” “Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.” Except that almost every call this week has been about amber waves of but tercup, something that neither livestock nor humans like to eat. In fact, this weed com petes with the grains and grasses that we are trying to grow. Although this common weed is not toxic to livestock, it has no redeeming characteristics to make it palatable. Buttercup (Ranunculus spp.) is one of the most prolific spring weeds and is easily recognized by its bright, glossy yel low flowers. Technically it is a winter annual weed, which means that it germinates in the fall and grows all winter long until it flowers in the spring. Buttercup will naturally begin to die out as we get closer to June and see warmer temperatures. The roots will not survive the summer heat in Georgia, but any seeds that are set now will start the cycle over in the fall. Prolific weeds such as buttercup compete with underlying grasses and potentially reduce their growth in the spring. This reduces the amount of forage yield available for livestock grazing pastures. Fescue lawns and pastures may end up with bare spots as a re sult of this competition, which allows more sum mer weeds to colonize and compete later in the season. Because fescue is a clump-forming grass, it will not spread or grow back into these bare spots. The key is to get annu al weeds under control before they flower and seed set, minimizing their return next year. Ideally, buttercup should be controlled prior to flowering in March or April. At this point, that ship has already sailed. Mowing to reduce flower and seed set can be an effective strategy to manage this weed and reduce the number of flowers and seeds that mature, but you would have to mow almost every week to keep the flowers in check. Fre quent mowing is more practical in a lawn than a pasture. Unfortunately, most people don’t recognize that they have a problem with buttercup until after the weeds start to flower. Take a close look at the cluster of leaves near the ground called the “basal rosette” — this is how buttercup be gins in late fall and early winter. Keep a look out for this earlier growth stage next year and be ready to take action for control. There are several good herbicide options for managing buttercup. Ideally, an herbicide containing 2,4-D com bined with a surfactant should be applied to winter annual weeds prior to flowering. These herbicides work better above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, so be sure to spray on a warm, sunny day. Applications with herbicide formulations that contain mixtures of 2,4-D and Dicamba also provide good to excel lent control of buttercup in the early stages of growth (less than 2-3 inches tall). Later in the spring, it will take a higher application rate to control flowering buttercup. There are several prod uct brands on the market that contain these herbi cides. Products that are safe to use in pastures with livestock include Weedmaster, Outlaw and others. Products labeled for home lawns include Trimec, Weed- B-Gon, Spectracide, etc. Be sure to read the label for application rates and safety precautions. Also, double check to make sure the product you choose has your grass species listed on the la bel. Some lawn grasses, such as centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass are limited to only a few selective herbicide op tions such as Atrazine. Lawns and pastures heavily infested with buttercups should be soil sampled every few years to rule out any nutrient deficiencies. Maintaining the proper soil pH and fertility is important to ensure the grass can outcompete any weeds that might try to return next season. Also, the mowing height or grazing height of your grass is important for suppressing many weed problems. Lawns and pastures that are overgrazed or mowed too low tend to have more weed issues. For example, tall fescue that is clipped or grazed below three inches tends to have more weed problems. Contact your local UGA Cooperative Extension office for more information about soil testing, recommend ed mowing heights, and stocking rates for livestock. For more informa tion on weed control in lawns, visit the UGA Extension turfgrass website at GeorgiaTurf. com. For weed control in pastures, visit the UGA Forages website at Geor- giaForages.com.