Comprehensive Water Quality Testing Ensures Drinking Water Safety

2009-12-14

Jacksonville, FL - JEA’s goal is to provide our community with safe, clean drinking water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. JEA’s water operations are among the industry’s best in cost and performance.

JEA’s water source is the Floridan aquifer, located 800 to 1,000 feet below land surface, and highly protected from chemical contamination by a thick layer of clay that prevents chemicals from entering the aquifer. The water is clean and fresh, and requires minimal treatment. The water is simply pumped from the wells, aerated to remove sulfur compounds, chlorinated for disinfection, and distributed to our customers.

To ensure the safety of JEA’s drinking water supply, JEA conducts a comprehensive monitoring program by collecting and analyzing water samples from various locations throughout are treatment area. These samples are tested for over 100 bacteriological and chemical components. In a typical year, JEA collects and tests over 25,000 water samples.

JEA mails an annual Water Quality Report to all of our customers and this publication presents the results of our water quality testing. This report documents that, while some contaminants have been detected in very small amounts, no contaminants have exceeded federal water quality standards. Manmade synthetic chemicals are not present on our drinking water supply.

Most of the contaminants present in our drinking water occur naturally in the aquifer at very low levels. Lead and copper found in drinking water occur from contact with household plumbing fixtures.

Disinfection is a chemical process used in JEA’s drinking water system where sodium hypochlorite is added in small quantities to inactivate (kill) pathogens (disease causing organisms) that can potentially be found in the source water or distribution system. Per federal and state regulations, drinking water utilities must maintain an adequate chlorine residual to ensure the water is free of pathogens.

Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids (disinfection by-products) are a group of chemicals that are formed when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in water. JEA monitors these levels and actively operates the water system to minimize the formation of these disinfection by-products.

You can inquire about your water quality or report a water quality problem by calling our Water Quality Hotline at 904-665-4560 or e-mailing us at waterquality@jea.com.

JEA Annual Water Quality Reports are available online in our publication library.

JEA is the eighth largest community owned electric utility in the United States, providing electric, water and sewer service to more than 875,000 accounts in northeast Florida.

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