2002 Annual Report
Bonita Springs Utilities

 2002 Water Quality Report

2002 BONITA SPRINGS UTILITIES WATER QUALITY REPORT

OUR MISSION: QUALITY SERVICE FOR OUR MEMBERS

Bonita Springs Utilities is a not-for-profit water and wastewater utility dedicated to providing safe, reliable potable water and wastewater treatment, emphasizing responsible protection of our resources at the most effective cost to all members. At the same time, we will defend our policy of socially and environmentally sound management of employee, plant and fiscal resources. We are proud to continue to earn our community’s trust as your locally owned and operated utility.

THE WATER WE DRINK

In 1971, a group of residents formed Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc. (BSU) to provide potable water for a handful of homes. Since then, BSU has grown with Bonita Springs, and now provides water service to more than 20,000 homes and businesses within its 50-square-mile service area.

This report, required by law, provides data about the quality of the water provided by BSU during 2002. BSU welcomes the opportunity to share this information with you. It’s important that you know where our water comes from, what it contains, and the risks that our water treatment is designed to prevent. Informed customers are our best allies in maintaining safe drinking water.

We’re happy to report that our drinking water meets all federal and state requirements. The Board of Directors and staff of Bonita Springs Utilities are pleased to present this report.

WHERE OUR WATER COMES FROM

Bonita Springs’ drinking water production starts with water located deep beneath the ground. This groundwater comes from the lower Tamiami aquifer, a thick sequence of porous limestone and clay beneath the earth’s surface. This valuable resource provides the safest and highest quality water available in the area.

Bonita Springs Utilities owns and operates two well fields. One is located at East Terry Street parallel to I-75, and the other is located east of Bonita Grande. The wells have an average depth of 100 feet.

Bonita Springs Utilities follows the principles and practices recommended by many experts within the utility industry to ensure our members a safe, reliable and efficient water system. We test and monitor your water to ensure compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements and are committed to your health, safety and welfare.

CONTAMINANTS

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, in some cases, radioactive material. It can also pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes limits on the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits, which must provide the same protection for public health, for contaminants in bottled water.

All 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 the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AlDS or other immune system disorders, 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 appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminates are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Note: Bonita Springs Utilities is not required to test for the unregulated contaminant Cryptosporidium because our source water is from wells, not surface waters.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

1. Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.
2. Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can occur naturally or can result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming.
3. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, stormwater runoff and residential use.
4. Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organics, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and also can come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff and septic systems.
5. Radioactive contaminants, which can occur naturally or result from oil and gas production and mining activities.

IN CONCLUSION

Bonita Springs is one of the fastest growing communities in Southwest Florida. To accommodate continued growth, Bonita Springs Utilities has expanded the lime-softening water plant to a treatment capacity of 10.5 million gallons per day. We are in the construction stages to further increase our plant capacity with the addition of a 6 million-gallon-a-day reverse osmosis water plant. Construction will be completed by the end of 2003. This will preserve our well fields by drawing the source water from a different, deeper aquifer and ensure that all our present member-customers will continue to enjoy an adequate, safe supply of drinking water.

As our population continues to grow, demand for water will continue to increase. Our responsibility is to provide quality water to every tap. Everyone, however, must help protect our community’s valuable water resources to maintain them in a usable form for present and future generations.

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