HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 9394INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
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To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
June 14, 2011
Page 1 of 1
At the June 7, 2011, pre- council meeting, the City Council inquired about why the City prints and mails
the City's annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
In 1993. a cryptosporidium outbreak occurred in Milwaukee, killing 100 persons and causing 300,000 to
become ill. Recognizing that safe drinking water was and is an important public health issue, Congress
amended the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1996 to require water utilities to mail each of its customers a
"consumer confidence report," which the City refers to as its Drinking Water Quality Report. Based on the
congressional mandate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed minimum
requirements that utilities must meet in preparing this annual report and specified measures the utility must
take to protect public health. These mandates can be found in 42 U.S.0 Chapter 6A, Section 300g- 3c(4).
Because EPA has delegated the regulation of drinking water to the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ), TCEQ promulgated more specific regulations in Title 30 of the Texas Administrative
Code (TAC), Chapter 290, Subchapter H.
In accordance with federal and state regulations, the report must contain specific information such as charts
listing substances detected in drinking water and include precise wording regarding public health. The
Drinking Water Quality Report must also contain information on what is in the water, how these substances
may get into the water, where the water comes from, and how a consumer can obtain additional information
on what is being done to protect the City's water source.
The report's delivery and record keeping requirements are outlined in 30 TAC Chapter 290, Subchapter H.
Section 274. Both federal and state law require the report to be mailed to every customer that gets a bill and
a good faith effort to distribute the report to water consumers that do not get a bill, such as apartment
dwellers or those who work in Fort Worth but live elsewhere. There is currently not an option for the City
to email the report to its customers. As required, the water quality report is also posted on the Water
Department's web site in both English and Spanish.
The Water Department produced its first report in 1998. The cost of the annual report preparation and
distribution is approximately $85,000. The report is mailed to every customer who receives a City water
bill and to those who reside in multi - family housing in Fort Worth, about 266,000 copies. The Drinking
Water Quality Report has also been placed at all Fort Worth Public Libraries and parks and community
services facilities. The Water Department offers neighborhood associations and community organizations
the opportunity to have a representative speak about the report.
If you have any additional questions about the Drinking Water Quality Report, please contact Water
Director Frank Crumb at 817 -392 -8207.
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Tom Higgins
Interim City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS