2015 Water Quality Report

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From JEA Managing Director and CEO, Paul McElroy

We are proud to bring you the 2015 Annual JEA Water Quality Report.

The data in this report shows that the Floridan aquifer, our pristine groundwater source, continues to provide JEA customers with high-quality drinking water. This document provides a comprehensive summary of JEA's drinking water quality results from the most recent sampling period. It also represents an average of 45,000 tests performed every year by our team of laboratory scientists and technicians who, along with water operations, work hard every day to assure the safety of our drinking water for our customers.

We are proud to serve more than 329,000 water customers in a four county service area–a number that’s growing quickly. To serve that growth, we’re building a new water treatment plant in Northwest Jacksonville, expanding or replacing plants in Nassau and St. Johns Counties, and updating or rehabilitating older plants and wells throughout our service territory.

At JEA, we know the water we deliver to your home or business is a major driver of the health and economic development of our region. That’s why we work hard to manage and maintain Northeast Florida’s water resources for you and for generations to come.

Sincerely,   
Paul McElroy
JEA Managing Director & CEO

2015 Water Quality Monitoring Results

To find out which grid services your home, please see our Drinking Water Service Areas map. 

FDEP Source Water Assessment and Protection Program

In 2015 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) performed Source Water Assessments on our systems. These assessments were conducted to provide information about any potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of our wells. The number of potential sources and susceptibility level of contamination identified for all wells in our systems are shown in the table below. Potential sources of contamination could include landfills, above and underground fuel storage tanks, dry cleaning facilities, and wastewater disposal areas. The assessment results are available on the FDEP Source Water Assessment and Protection Program website.

Connect With Us

You can inquire about your water quality, report a water quality problem, or comment about this report using the following contact methods:

• Call us at 904-665-6000
• Email waterquality@jea.com
• Write to us at JEA Water Quality, 1002 N. Main Street, Jacksonville, FL 32206, Attention: Water Quality Report
• Speak with our market researchers or our drinking water pollsters who call throughout the year
• Attend our  Public Board Meetings

Request a Printed Copy of the 2015 Water Quality Report

• Request a copy of this report by calling our Customer Care Center at 904-665-6000 or toll free at 1-800-665-5542.
• Pick up a printed copy at any branch of the Jacksonville Public Library.
• Download a PDF version of the report.

Terms and Abbreviations

To help you better understand terms included in the Water Quality Monitoring Results, we've provided the following definitions:

• Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.
• Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): 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.
• Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): 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.
• Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL): 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.
• Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG): 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.
• Non-Detect (ND): Not detected and indicates that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis.
• Not Required (NR): Secondary Contaminants with sample results below the MCL are not required to be reported.
• Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (μg/l): One part by weight of analyte to 1 billion parts by weight of the water sample.
• Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l): One part by weight of analyte to 1 million parts by weight of the water sample.
• Picocurie per liter (pCi/L): Measure of the radioactivity in water.
• Variances and Exemptions: State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL under certain conditions.

Note: MCLs are set at stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated consituents, a person would have to drink two liters of water every day at the MCL for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described effect.

Additional Information

Lead: 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. JEA is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components.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 epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Heath Effects: Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

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).

The Annual Water Quality Report is provided to all customers of community water systems on an annual basis as required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments.

JEA routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. Except where indicated otherwise, this report is based on the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2015. Data obtained before January 1, 2015, and presented in this report are from the most recent testing done in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations. Out of more than 100 contaminants for which JEA routinely tests, only those that have been detected appear in the tables.

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:

1. Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.
2. Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.
3. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.
4. Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
5. Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

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

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. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.