If you would like to know more about the information contained in this report, please contact Brian Schult at (608) 437-9431.
The average hardness of our water is 353 parts per million, which equates to 21 grains of hardness. This is a question that is often asked by our customers when setting up their water softeners.
The Utility Commission Meeting is at 7:00 pm in the board room of the Municipal Building on the second Tuesday of every month.
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 Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water hotline (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/AIDS or other immune systems 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 contaminants are available from the Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water hotline (800-426-4791).
|
Source
ID |
Source |
Depth
(in feet) |
Status |
|
3 |
Groundwater |
800 |
Active |
|
4 |
Groundwater |
777 |
Active |
|
5 |
Groundwater |
1395 |
Active |
|
6 |
Groundwater |
1345 |
Active |
To obtain a summary of the source water assessment please contact, Brian Schult at (608) 843-7613.
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.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
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. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which shall provide the same protection for public health.
|
Term |
Definition |
|
AL |
Action
Level: The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers
treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. |
|
HA
and HAL |
HA:
Health Advisory. An estimate of acceptable drinking water levels for a
chemical substance based on health effects information. HAL: Health Advisory
Level is a concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, poses a health
risk and may require a system to post a public notice. Health Advisories are
determined by US EPA. |
|
HI |
HI:
Hazard Index: A Hazard Index is used to assess the potential health impacts
associated with mixtures of contaminants. Hazard Index guidance for a class
of contaminants or mixture of contaminants may be determined by the US EPA or
Wisconsin Department of Health Services. If a Health Index is exceeded a
system may be required to post a public notice. |
|
Level
1 Assessment |
A
Level 1 assessment is a study of the water system to identify potential
problems and determine, if possible, why total coliform bacteria have been
found in our water system. |
|
Level
2 Assessment |
A
Level 2 assessment is a very detailed study of the water system to identify
potential problems and determine, if possible, why an E. coli MCL violation
has occurred or why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water
system, or both, on multiple occasions. |
|
MCL |
Maximum
Contaminant Level: The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in
drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best
available treatment technology. |
|
MCLG |
Maximum
Contaminant Level Goal: 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. |
|
MFL |
million
fibers per liter |
|
MRDL |
Maximum
residual disinfectant level: The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in
drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant
is necessary for control of microbial contaminants. |
|
MRDLG |
Maximum
residual disinfectant level goal: The level of a drinking water disinfectant
below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not
reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial
contaminants. |
|
mrem/year |
millirems
per year (a measure of radiation absorbed by the body) |
|
NTU |
Nephelometric
Turbidity Units |
|
pCi/l |
picocuries
per liter (a measure of radioactivity) |
|
ppm |
parts
per million, or milligrams per liter (mg/l) |
|
ppb |
parts
per billion, or micrograms per liter (ug/l) |
|
ppt |
parts
per trillion, or nanograms per liter |
|
ppq |
parts
per quadrillion, or picograms per liter |
|
PHGS |
PHGS:
Public Health Groundwater Standards are found in NR 140 Groundwater Quality.
The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, poses a health risk
and may require a system to post a public notice. |
|
RPHGS |
RPHGS:
Recommended Public Health Groundwater Standards: Groundwater standards
proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The concentration of
a contaminant which, if exceeded, poses a health risk and may require a
system to post a public notice. |
|
SMCL |
Secondary
drinking water standards or Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels for
contaminants that affect taste, odor, or appearance of the drinking water.
The SMCLs do not represent health standards. |
|
TCR |
Total
Coliform Rule |
|
TT |
Treatment
Technique: A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant
in drinking water. |
Your water was tested for many contaminants last year. We are allowed to monitor for some contaminants less frequently than once a year. The following tables list only those contaminants which were detected in your water. If a contaminant was detected last year, it will appear in the following tables without a sample date. If the contaminant was not monitored last year, but was detected within the last 5 years, it will appear in the tables below along with the sample date.
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Site |
MCL |
MCLG |
Level
Found |
Range |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
Violation |
Typical
Source of Contaminant |
|
HAA5
(ppb) |
D2 |
60 |
60 |
1 |
1 |
No |
By-product
of drinking water chlorination |
|
|
TTHM
(ppb) |
D2 |
80 |
0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
No |
By-product
of drinking water chlorination |
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Site |
MCL |
MCLG |
Level
Found |
Range |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
Violation |
Typical
Source of Contaminant |
|
BARIUM
(ppm) |
2 |
2 |
0.029 |
0.005
- 0.029 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
Discharge
of drilling wastes; Discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural
deposits |
|
|
FLUORIDE
(ppm) |
4 |
4 |
1.0 |
0.6
- 1.0 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
Erosion
of natural deposits; Water additive which promotes strong teeth; Discharge
from fertilizer and aluminum factories |
|
|
NITRATE
(N03-N) (ppm) |
10 |
10 |
4.09 |
0.00
- 4.09 |
No |
Runoff
from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; Erosion of natural
deposits |
||
|
SODIUM
(ppm) |
n/a |
n/a |
38.90 |
1.99
- 38.90 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
n/a |
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Action
Level |
MCLG |
90th
Percentile Level Found |
Range |
#
of Results |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
Violation |
Typical
Source of Contaminant |
|
COPPER
(ppm) |
AL=1.3 |
1.3 |
0.7260 |
0.0333
- 5.1400 |
1
of 20 results were above the action level. |
9/6/2023 |
No |
Corrosion
of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits; Leaching from
wood preservatives |
|
LEAD
(ppb) |
AL=15 |
0 |
3.00 |
0.00
- 211.00 |
1
of 20 results were above the action level. |
9/6/2023 |
No |
Corrosion
of household plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits |
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of human-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950. The following table list PFAS contaminants which were detected in your water and that have a Recommended Public Health Groundwater Standard (RPHGS) or Health Advisory Level (HAL). There are no violations for detections of contaminants that exceed the RPHGS or HAL. The RPHGS are levels at which concentrations of the contaminant present a health risk and are based on guidance provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Note: The recommended health-based levels in the table below were in effect in 2024. These levels were revised by WDHS in 2025. They can be found here https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/water/gws.htm.
|
Typical
Source of Contaminant |
Drinking
water is one way that people can be exposed to PFAS. In Wisconsin,
two-thirds of people use groundwater as their drinking water source. PFAS
can get in groundwater from places that make or use PFAS and release from
consumer products in landfills. |
||||
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Site |
RPHGS
or HAL (PPT) |
Level
Found |
Range |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
|
PFBS
(ppt) |
450000 |
0.51 |
0.00
- 0.51 |
5/8/2023 |
|
|
PFHXS
(ppt) |
40 |
3.37 |
0.00
- 3.37 |
5/8/2023 |
|
|
PFOS
(ppt) |
20 |
0.52 |
0.00
- 0.52 |
5/8/2023 |
|
|
PFOA
(ppt) |
20 |
1.20 |
0.00
- 1.20 |
5/8/2023 |
|
|
PFHXA
(ppt) |
150000 |
2.82 |
0.00
- 2.82 |
5/8/2023 |
|
|
PFOA
AND PFOS TOTAL (ppt) |
20 |
1.72 |
0.00
- 1.72 |
5/8/2023 |
|
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Site |
MCL |
MCLG |
Level
Found |
Range |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
Violation |
Typical
Source of Contaminant |
|
GROSS
BETA PARTICLE ACTIVITY (pCi/l) |
n/a |
n/a |
6.5 |
0.0
- 6.5 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
Decay
of natural and man-made deposits. MCL units are in millirem/year. Calculation
for compliance with MCL is not possible unless level found is greater than 50
pCi/l. |
|
|
GROSS
ALPHA, EXCL. R & U (pCi/l) |
15 |
0 |
5.7 |
5.0
- 5.7 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
Erosion
of natural deposits |
|
|
RADIUM,
(226 + 228) (pCi/l) |
5 |
0 |
3.4 |
0.7
- 3.4 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
Erosion
of natural deposits |
|
|
GROSS
ALPHA, INCL. R & U (n/a) |
n/a |
n/a |
5.7 |
5.0
- 5.7 |
8/16/2023 |
No |
Erosion
of natural deposits |
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Site |
MCL |
MCLG |
Level
Found |
Range |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
Violation |
Typical
Source of Contaminant |
|
ATRAZINE
(ppb) |
3 |
3 |
0.0 |
0.0
- 0.0 |
5/8/2023 |
No |
Runoff
from herbicide used on row crops |
Unregulated
contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water
standards. The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA
in determining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and
whether future regulation is warranted. EPA required us to participate in this
monitoring.
|
Contaminant
(units) |
Level
Found |
Range |
Sample
Date (if prior to 2024) |
|
METHYL-TERT-BUTYL-ETHER
(ppb) |
0.75 |
0.00
- 0.75 |
Within
the last 12 months we conducted Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring in
accordance with US EPA rules. We are required to inform you of this sampling.
We are only required to include results showing detections within this report;
however, if you would like a copy of all results, please contact us at (608)
843-7613.
Lead can cause serious health effects in people of all ages, especially pregnant people, infants (both formula-fed and breastfed), and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and parts used in service lines and in home plumbing. Mt Horeb Waterworks is responsible for providing high quality drinking water and removing lead pipes but cannot control the variety of materials used in the plumbing in your home. Because lead levels may vary over time, lead exposure is possible even when your tap sampling results do not detect lead at one point in time. You can help protect yourself and your family by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family's risk. Using a filter, certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead, is effective in reducing lead exposures. Follow the instructions provided with the filter to ensure the filter is used properly. Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula. Boiling water does not remove lead from water. Before using tap water for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula, flush your pipes for several minutes. You can do this by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a load of dishes. If you have a lead service line or galvanized requiring replacement service line, you may need to flush your pipes for a longer period. If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, contact Mt Horeb Waterworks (Brian Schult at (608) 843-7613). Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at https://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
We are required to develop an initial inventory of service lines connected to our distribution system by October 16, 2024 and to make the inventory publicly accessible. You can access the service line inventory here/by: CCR was published in a local newspaper and each customer served by the water system was informed in newspaper. The CCR will not be mailed out but is available upon request.
Publish: 06/05/25