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Shawnee Public Water System
Consumer Confidence Report
2000 Water Quality Report

Dear Customer,

The following Water Quality Report is a mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Safe Drinking Water Act was amended in 1996 to require all community water systems to deliver a brief annual water quality report to their customers. The report includes language that is not suggestive of a problem for Shawnee customers. The purpose of this report is to inform you about the quality of water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We take great care in our efforts to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water sources.

Shawnee Twin Lakes and Wes Watkins Reservoir provide all our water. The lakes supply surface water to the 8 million gallon per day Shawnee Water Treatment Plant. In addition to the residents, businesses, and industries in Shawnee, the Shawnee Public Water System supplies potable water to Pottawatomie County Development Authority and the City of Meeker.

Improvements Under Construction

In order to maintain a safe and dependable water supply, Phase 1 of the Water Treatment Plant Project is under construction. We plan to make additional improvements to the treatment facility and distribution system that will benefit all of our customers. System improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments. There has been no increase in the rates since July 1, 1994.

In 1999, the City of Shawnee employed the consulting firm of Holloway, Updike and Bellen, Inc. to determine improvements needed to enable the plant to comply with pending changes in the Report continued regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Lamar Industries, Inc. of Shawnee is the contractor chosen to provide the Phase 1 construction. Phase 1 includes the construction of an additional clarifier, covers for it and the existing clarifier and filers, renovation of the filters, including valves and operators, and individual turbidimeters for each filter. 

We believe this is a great tool for educating and communicating with our customers. If you would like something clarified or, if you need additional information, please contact James B. Cole, Public Works Director, at 878-1662. This report shows our water quality for 2000 and explains what it means. We want to inform our valued customers about their water utility. You are welcome to attend any of the regularly scheduled meetings of the Shawnee City Commission/Shawnee Municipal Authority. Meetings are on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall.

The Shawnee Public Water System routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws. The table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2000. (Some of the data may be more than one year old because the state allows us to monitor for some contaminants less often than once per year.)

Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated constituents, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide your family with clean, quality water this year. 

Respectfully,

James B. Cole
Director of Public Works

(1) Total Coliform. In Augustl there were two (2) positive samples. Re-tests indicated that there was no violation.

(73) TTHMs [Total Trihalomethanes]. Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

* Action Level – 90% of samples must be below this level.

What does this mean?

The table shows that our system exceeded the MCL for total trihalomethanes in 2000. Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.  The City of Shawnee has addressed this problem by employing the engineering firm of HUB+Garver to determine needed improvements to meet current and future regulations.  Phase 1 of our water treatment plant improvements is underway. Construction commenced on February 26, 2001. Additional improvements are planned.

TTHMs are by-products of the disinfection process. The MCL limit is 100 parts per billion calculated on a running quarterly average. The highest quarterly average for 2000 was 144 parts per billion. The quarterly average for the first quarter of 1999 was 56 parts per billion.

All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by constituents that are naturally occurring or are man-made.  Those constituents can be microbes, organic or inorganic chemicals, or radioactive materials.  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 the water poses a health risk.  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/AIDS 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 microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).