2023 Drinking Water Quality Report

Carson & Underwood Water Systems

Spanish (Español) – Este informe contiene informacion muy importante sobre la calidad de su agua potable. Por favor lea este informe o comuniquese con alguien que pueda traducir la informacion.

Lead Service Line Identification

In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), the first significant changes in over 30 years. The EPA’s new rule, referred to as the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), aims to strengthen the LCR to better protect children and communities from the risks of lead exposure. One of the EPA identified priority improvements for the LCRI is proactive and equitable lead service line replacement (LSLR). Compliance with the LSLR provisions requires the PUD to create an inventory of water system connections identifying any lead service lines in need of replacement prior to the October 16, 2024 deadline.

For the Carson and Underwood water systems, the service line ownership is split meaning that the system (PUD) owns the portion up to the meter and the customer owns the portion of the service line from the meter to the house.

To complete a service line inventory of both water systems, the PUD will use a variety of methods including historical records review, identifying service line materials during normal operations, and service line investigations. If any lead service lines are identified, a plan for replacement of those lines will be prepared and submitted to the Department of Health.

While the PUD has no knowledge of any lead in our water systems, we consider compliance with the LCRI an important step in protecting our customers drinking water quality.

Source Water Assessment

Washington’s Source Water Assessment Plan (SWAP) is available at Washington State Department of Health website. The susceptibility rating is an assessment of the delineated area around the listed water sources through which contaminants, if present, could migrate and reach our source water. By default, the DOH assigns a susceptibility rating of “high” for all springs and surface water sources.

Substances Expected To Be in Drinking 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 the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline, call the Safe drinking Water hotline at (800) 426-4791.

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, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. The following substances may be present in source water (drinking water quality is determined by testing for these contaminants).

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

Water Quality Data

The Water Quality Table on the next page lists all the drinking water contaminants that we detected during the calendar year of this report. Although many more contaminants were tested, only those substances listed below were found in your water. All sources of drinking water contain some naturally occurring contaminants. At low levels, these substances are generally not harmful in our drinking water. Removing all contaminants would be extremely expensive, and in most cases, would not provide increased protection of public health. A few naturally occurring minerals may improve the taste of drinking water and have nutritional value at low levels.

Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done in the calendar year of the report. The EPA or the State requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not vary significantly from year to year, or the system is not considered vulnerable to this type of contamination. As such, some of our data, though representative, may be more than one year old. In this table you will find terms and abbreviations that might not be familiar to you. To help you better understand these terms, we have provided the definitions.

Lead in Drinking Water

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, 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 Carson and Underwood Water Systems have never used lead service lines. Homes built before 1987 are more likely to have lead plumbing. Some faucets and certain kinds of solder could also have lead in them, even those installed recently. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize 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 methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at United States Environmental Protection Agency Website.

Water Hardness

The Carson Water System water is considered soft with readings ranging between 25 and 40 ppm on the hardness scale. Underwood water is considered moderately hard with readings ranging between 60 and 80 ppm.

pH Levels

The pH levels typically range from 6.8 to 7.5 in Carson and 7.3 to 8.0 in Underwood.

Parts Per Million (PPM) Table

Water Use Efficiency

In 2003 the State Legislature passed the Municipal Water Law, which directed the Department of Health (DOH) to adopt a rule that establishes Water Use Efficiency (WUE) requirements for all municipal water suppliers. There were several components in the requirements of the rule. These requirements included auditing for leakage, setting WUE goals, and submitting annual reports to the State DOH.

The Skamania PUD set goals to reduce the average residential water usage by 2% over a 6-year period and reducing the peak day demand by 12 gallons per day (GPD). These goals focus on customer water use and water savings. All users are encouraged to conserve water in their daily lives.

The distribution water mains in Carson and Underwood are aging and leaks are the primary cause of unaccounted use. Although we have made large strides in replacing old waterlines, we still have 11 miles of steel pipe from the 1950s that are scheduled for replacement. We complete ongoing leak detection efforts to help identify underground leaks that are not visible from the surface. The DOH goal for unaccounted water use is 10% or below in Carson and 20% or below in Underwood based on a 3-year rolling average. The current 3-year rolling average for unaccounted use is 30.3% in Carson and 20.8% in Underwood.

Customer Feedback Welcome

There are several ways you can get involved in water quality issues:

• You can communicate with elected officials
• Participate in public hearings
• Attend Skamania PUD Commission meetings

The Skamania PUD Board of Commissioners meets at 9 a.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month (when Tuesday is a holiday, the meeting is held the following day) at Skamania PUD, 1492 Wind River highway in Carson. Board sessions are open to the public. Please check the meeting agenda on our website.

For more information please contact us at:

• PO Box 500
  1492 Wind River Highway Carson, WA 98610
• (509) 427-5126
• Skamania website
• Email Skamania PUD