2014 Water-Quality-ReportANNUAL
WATER QUALITY REPORT
treated to add hardness, alkalinity
and for disinfection.
This improves the taste of the wa-
ter, reduces the corrosivity, and
keeps it safe to drink.
The Water Department diligently
operates and maintains the treat-
ment facility to ensure the de-
livery of reliable, safe and high
quality water to our customers.
The Town also has the ability to
provide you with water through
interconnections with the Cities
of Delray Beach or Boca Raton in
case of an emergency or for main-
tenance that requires our plant to
be shut down.
We want our valued customers
to be informed about your water
utility and encourage you to at-
tend Town Commission Meet-
ings or view them on line at www.
ci.highland-beach.fl.us. Meetings
are held at 1:30 p.m. on the first
and last Tuesday of each month at
the Town Hall Commission Cham-
bers, 3614 South Ocean Boulevard.
If you have any questions or con-
cerns about the information learn
more about your water utility,
please contact Edward Soper, Pub-
lic Works Director or Robert Ail-
stock, Water Plant Superintendent
at 561-243-2084.
TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACHWATER QUALITY REPORT
2014
In This Report
2014 Water
Quality Monitoring
Results
Our Monitoring
Process
How is Our Water
Treated?
Definitions &
Test Results Table
Why are
Contaminants
Present in Our
Water?
The Town of Highland Beach
is pleased to present our Water
Quality Report for 2014. Publi-
cation of this report allows us
the opportunity to keep you in-
formed about the excellent water
services we have delivered over
the past year.
Our goal has always been to pro-
vide our residents with a safe and
dependable supply of drinking
water. The source of the raw wa-
ter is from wells drawn from the
Floridan Aquifer. By using this
Aquifer the Town remains unaf-
fected during droughts and thus
is not subject to watering restric-
tions. We do, however, request
that citizens practice sensible con-
servation measures whenever pos-
sible due to the expense associat-
ed with pumping and processing
water that is used.
The Town of Highland Beach
Water Treatment Plant uses a
state-of-the-art method of Re-
verse Osmosis to treat the water
that is pumped from the Aqui-
fer. This process removes miner-
als and other contaminants from
the water but does not eliminate
dissolved gases. A degasification
system and two air scrubbers are
used to remove unwanted gases
from the water. The water is then
Our Monitoring Process
The Town of Highland
Beach Water Treat-
ment plant routinely
monitors for many
contaminants in your
drinking water ac-
cording to Federal and
State Laws; however,
only those detected
are included in the
table below. As water
travels over the land
or underground it can
pick up substances or
contaminants such as
microbes, inorganic
and organic chemi-
Definitions
In the test result table you may
find terms and abbreviations you
might not be familiar with. To
help you better understand these
terms, we have provided the fol-
lowing definitions:
Action Level (AL) - The concen-
tration of a contaminant which,
if exeeded, triggers treatment or
other requirements that a water
system must follow.
Maximum Contaminant Level
or MCL - The highest level of a
contaminant that is allowed in
drinking water. MCLs are set as
close to the MCLGs as feasible us-
ing the best available treatment
technology.
Maximum Residual Disinfec-
tant Level or MRDL - The high-
est level of disinfectant allowed in
drinking water. There is convinc-
ing evidence that addition of a
disinfectant is necessary for con-
trol of microbial contaminants.
Maximum Contaminant Level
Goal or MCLG - The level of a
contaminant in drinking water
below which there is no known
or expected risk to health. MCLGs
allow for a margin of safety.
Maximum Residual Disinfec-
tant Level Goal or MRDLG - The
level of a drinking water disin-
fectant below which there is no
known or expected risk to health.
MRDLGs do not reflect the ben-
efits of the use of disinfectants to
control microbial contaminants.
N/A - Not applicable.
ND - “ND” means not detected
and indicates that the substance
was not found by laboratory anal-
ysis.
Parts per billion (ppb) or
Micrograms per liter (μg/L) –
one part by weight of analyte to
1 billion parts by weight of the
water sample.
Parts per million (ppm ) or
Milligrams per liter (mg/L) –
one part by weight of analyte to
1 million parts by weight of the
water sample.
Highland Beach Water Tower
Contaminant
and Unit of
Measure
Copper (ppm)
Sodium (ppm)
Contaminant
and Unit of
Measure
Fluoride (ppm)
Sodium (ppm)
Trihalomethanes
(ppb)
Haloacetic Acids (PPB)
Chlorine (ppm)
Dates of
Sampling
(mo./yr.)
9/14
9/14
Dates of
Sampling
(mo./yr.)
12/14
12/14
8/14
8/14
Monthly
ActioN Level
Exceedance
Y/N
N
N
MCL
Violations
Y/N
N
N
N
N
N
Percentile
Result
90th
0.15
0.0017
Level
Detected
0.00
94
6.3 (Avg.)
2.45 (Avg.)
1.45 (Avg.)
No. of Sampling
Sites Exceeding
the AL
0
0
Range of
Results
N/A
N/A
3.8 - 8.8
1.8 - 3.1
1.0 - 2.0
cals, and radioactive substances.
All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected
to contain at least trace amounts of some contaminants. It’s important to remem-
ber that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.
The state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less than once per year
because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently.
Some of our data, though representative, are more than one year old.Photographer: Tina ValantNOTE: With the exception of chlorine, the tests shown above are performed once every three years.
Percentile
Result
90th
0.15
0.0017
Level
Detected
0.065
91
6.3 (Avg.)
2.45 (Avg.)
1.45 (Avg.)
No. of Sampling
Sites Exceeding
the AL
0
0
Range of
Results
N/A
N/A
3.8 - 8.8
1.8 - 3.1
1.0 - 2.0
MCLG
1.3
0
MRDLG
or
MCLG
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
4.0
AL
(Action
Level)
1.3
15
MRDL
or
MCL
2.0
160
80
60
4.0
Likely Source
of
Contamination
Corrosion of household plumbing
systems; erosion of natural deposits.
Likely Source
of
Contamination
Erosion of natural deposits. Discharge
from fertilizer and almunium factories.
Salt water intrusion; leaching from soil.
By-product of drinking water
disinfection.
By-product of drinking water disinfection.
Water additive used to control microbes.
Why are Contaminants Present in Our Water?
The sources of drinking water (both
tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reser-
voirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land
or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in
some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from
the presence of animals or from hu-man activity.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
(A) Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may
come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock
operations, and wildlife.
(B) Inorganic contaminants, such
as salts and metals, which can be nat-urally-occurring or result from urban
storm water runoff, industrial or do-mestic wastewater discharges, oil and
gas production, mining or farming.
(C) Pesticides and herbicides, which
may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water
runoff, and residential uses.
(D) Organic chemical contami-nants, including synthetic and vola-tile organic chemicals, which are by-
products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also
come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
(E) Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or
be the result of oil and gas produc-tion and mining activities.
F) Lead, if present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health prob-
lems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking
water is primarily from materials and components associated with service
lines and home plumbing. The Town of Highland Beach is responsible for
providing high quality drinking wa-ter, but cannot control the variety of
materials used in plumbing compo-nents. When your water has been sit-
ting for several hours, you can mini-mize the potential for lead exposure
by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for
drinking or cooking.
If you are concerned about lead in
your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on
lead in drinking water, testing meth-ods, and steps you can take to mini-
mize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
How Is Our Water Treated?
A series of
membranes filter
the water inside the
Highland Beach
Reverse Osmosis
Water Plant.
Liquid Bleach is
used for disinfection
Highland Beach’s water plant uses
the process of reverse osmosis to treat
our water. The water plant utilizes
the Floridan aquifer, and draws water
from wells that are 1,200 feet deep.
Although raw water is quite pristine,
it is high in salinity (salt content).
To remove the salinity and other im-
purities, the raw well
water passes through
a series of mem-
branes. The system
uses 300 horse power
pumps that force the
water through the
membranes at very
high pressures, in ex-
cess of 350 pounds
per square inch (psi).
An anti-scalant is
used in order to protect the membranes from a build-up of solids that would
result in clogging, and phosphate is used as a corrosion inhibitor as protection
for the piping.
Before the finished water enters the distribution system, acid and sodium hydrox-
ide are added for pH adjustment, and chlorine is used as a disinfectant. The end
result is that Highland Beach residents enjoy very pure water that is crystal clear.
The next round of testing is scheduled for 2017.
Town of Highland Beach
3614 South Ocean Blvd.
Highland Beach, FL 33487
In order to ensure that tap water is
safe to drink, EPA prescribes regula-
tions which limit the amount of cer-
tain contaminants in water provided
by public water systems. FDA regu-
lations establish limits for contami-
nants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for pub-
lic health. MCLs are set at very strin-
gent levels. More information about
contaminants and potential health
effects can be obtained by calling the
Environmental Protection Agency’s
Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-
426-4791.
In our continuing effort to maintain
a safe and dependable water supply
and to comply with applicable regu-
lations it may, from time-to-time be
necessary to make improvements to
the water system. The costs of such
improvements may be reflected in the
rate structure or through ad valorem
taxes. In March 2015, voters passed
a referendum that approved the re-
placement of water lines on the side
streets of the Town and to construct
a system to re-mineralize the water as
part of the treatment process. Look
for project updates on our website or
on Channel 99.
The Department of Environmental
Protection performed a Source Water
Assessment in 2009 which indicated
there no potential sources of contam-
ination near our groundwater wells.
The assessment results are available
How Do We Ensure the Highest Quality of Water?
Town of Highland Beach
3614 S. Ocean Blvd.
Highland Beach FL 33487
Water Dept. Hours
Monday-Friday - 7:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Water Quality Questions
Contact: Edward Soper,
Director of Public Works
or Robert Ailstock,
Water Plant Superintendent
561/243-2084
www.ci.highland-beach.fl.us
Additional Contacts
Environmental Protection Agency’s
Safe Drinking Water Hotline:
800/426-4791 • www.epa.gov
Palm Beach County
Public Health Unit:
561/837-5900
Florida Department of Health:
904/791-1599
®2015 Town of Highland Beach. This publica-
tion may not be reproduced in whole or in part
without written authorization from the Town
of Highland Beach.
Highland Beach’s
water was in
compliance with all
State and Federal
Drinking Water
Standards
in 2014.
on the FDEP Source Water Assess-
ment and Protection Program website
at www. dep.state.fl.us/swapp.
Note: Some individuals may be more
vulnerable to contaminants in drink-
ing water than the general popula-
tion. Immunocompromised persons
such as people with cancer undergoing
chemotherapy, have undergone organ
transplants, or those who may have
HIV/AIDS or other immune system dis-
orders, some elderly, and infants can
be particularly at risk from infections.
These people should seek advice about
drinking water from their health care
providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on ap-
propriate means to lessen the risk of
infection by cryptosporidium and oth-
er microbiological contaminants are
available from the Safe Drinking Water
Hot Line 800-426-4791.