Water and Pollution Control Department

Drinking Water Supply Characteristics

	Sampling Parameter	Ames Water Quality, (mg/L)	Drinking Water Standards, (mg/L)
ROUTINE
	Hardness	139 - 192	---
	Iron	0 - 0.26	0.3 (Secondary Standard)
	pH	9.2 - 9.7	---
	Chlorine residual	1.61 - 2.87	<= 4.0
	Fluoride	0.42 - 1.41	4.00
	Microbiological	0% of samples positive (Minimum 50 samples per month)	5% positive / month
INORGANIC
	Ammonia	0.65	---
	Antimony	<0.005	0.006
	Arsenic	<0.002	0.05
	Barium	<0.05	2
	Beryllium	<0.002	0.004
	Cadmium	<0.001	0.005
	Calcium	152 mg/L as CaCO3	---
	Chloride	36	250
	Chromium	<0.01	0.1
	Copper	0.01	1.3 (Action level)
	Lead	0.001	0.015 (Action level)
	Magnesium	11 mg/L as CaCO3	---
	Mercury	<0.001	0.002
	Nickel	<0.05	0.1
	Nitrate (as N)	<0.1	10
	Nitrite	0.1	1
	Perchlorate	<0.004	---
	Potassium	2	---
	Selenium	<0.01	0.05
	Sodium	22	---
	Sulfate	83 - 110	250 (Secondary Standard)
	Thallium	<0.001	0.002
	Zinc	<0.02	5 (Secondary Standard)
ORGANIC
	Volatile Organic Compounds
	Benzene	<0.0005	0.005
	Bromobenzene	<0.0005	---
	Bromomethane	<0.001	---
	Carbon tetrachloride	<0.0005	0.005
	Chlorobenzene	<0.0005	0.1
	Chloroethane	<0.001	---
	Chloromethane	<0.0005	---
	2-Chlorotoluene	<0.0005	---
	4-Chlorotoluene	<0.0005	---
	Dibromomethane	<0.001	---
	m-Dichlorobenzene	<0.0005	---
	o-Dichlorobenzene	<0.0005	0.6
	p-Dichlorobenzene	<0.0005	0.075
	1,1-Dichloroethane	<0.0005	---
	1,2-Dichloroethane	<0.0005	0.005
	1,1-Dichloroethene	<0.0005	0.007
	cis-1,2-Dichloroethene	<0.0005	0.07
	trans-1,2-Dichloroethene	<0.0005	0.1
	1,2-Dichloropropane	<0.0005	0.005
	1,3-Dichloropropane	<0.0005	---
	2,2-Dichloropropane	<0.0005	---
	1,1-Dichloropropene	<0.0005	---
	cis-1,3-Dichloropropene	<0.0005	---
	trans-1,3-Dichloropropene	<0.0005	---
	Ethylbenzene	<0.0005	0.7
	2,4 -Dinitrotoluene	<0.002	---
	2,6 -Dinitrotoluene	<0.002	---
	Ethylene dibromide	<0.00002	0.00005
	Methyl tert-Butyl Ether	0.005	---
	Methylene chloride	<0.001	0.005
	Nitrobenzene	<0.010	---
	Styrene	<0.0005	0.1
	1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane	<0.0005	---
	1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane	<0.0005	---
	Tetrachloroethene	<0.0005	0.005
	Tetrochloroethylene	0.0006	---
	Toluene	<0.0005	1
	1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene	<0.0005	0.07
	1,1,1-Trichloroethane	<0.0005	0.2
	1,1,2-Trichloroethane	<0.0005	0.005
	Trichloroethene	0.0011	0.005
	1,2,3-Trichloropropane	<0.0005	---
	Vinyl chloride	<0.0005	0.002
	Total Xylenes	<0.0005	10
	Pesticides/Herbicides
	Acetochlor	<0.002	---
	Alachlor	<0.0001	0.002
	Aldicarb	<0.001	0.003
	Aldicarb sulfone	<0.001	0.002
	Aldicarb sulfoxide	<0.001	0.004
	Aldrin	<0.00005	---
	AMPA	<0.01	---
	Atrazine	<0.0001	0.003
	Butachlor	<0.0001	---
	2,4-D	<0.0002	0.07
	Carbaryl	<0.001	---
	Carbofuran	<0.001	0.04
	Chlordane	<0.0002	0.002
	Dalapon	<0.0002	0.2
	Dicamba	<0.0002	---
	cis-1,2 -DCE	0.0005	0.070
	trans-1,2 -DCE	<0.0005	---
	Total DCPA	<0.0002	---
	4,4 -DDE	<0.0008	---
	Dieldrin	<0.00005	---
	Dinoseb	<0.0002	0.007
	Endrin	<0.00005	0.002
	EPTC	<0.001	---
	Lindane	<0.00005	0.0002
	3-Hydroxycarbofuran	<0.001	---
	Methomyl	<0.001	---
	Methoxychlor	<0.00005	0.04
	Metolachlor	<0.0001	---
	Metribuzin	<0.0001	---
	Molinate	0.005	---
	Oxamyl	<0.001	0.2
	Picloram	<0.0002	0.5
	Propachlor	<0.0001	---
	Simazine	<0.0001	0.004
	Terbacil	<0.002	---
	Toxaphene	<0.001	0.003
	2,4,5-TP (Silvex)	<0.0002	0.05
	Total PCB as DCBP	<0.0005	0.0005
	Synthetic Organic Chemicals
	Benzo(a)pyrene	<0.0002	0.0002
	bis(2-Ethylhexyl)adipate	<0.005	0.4
	bis(2-Ethylhexyl)phthalate	<0.005	0.006
	1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane	<0.00002	0.0002
	Glyphosate	<0.01	0.7
	Heptachlor	<0.00005	0.0004
	Heptachlor Epoxide	<0.00005	0.0002
	Hexachlorobenzene	<0.00005	0.001
	Hexachlorocyclopentadiene	<0.00005	0.05
	Pentachlorophenol	<0.0002	0.001
	Total Organic Carbon	1.3	---
	Disinfectant Byproducts
	Bromoacetic acid	<0.001	---
	Bromate	<0.01	0.01
	Bromochloroacetic acid	<0.001	---
	Bromodichloromethane	<0.001	---
	Bromoform	<0.001	---
	Chlorate	<0.02 - 0.33	---
	Chlorite	<0.02	1
	Chloroacetic acid	<0.002	---
	Chloroform	<0.001	---
	Dibromoacetic acid	<0.001	---
	Dibromochloromethane	<0.001	---
	Dichloroacetic acid	0.003	---
	Total Trihalomethane	0.004	0.08
	Trichloroacetic acid	<0.001	---
	Total HAA5	0.003	0.06
RADIOLOGICAL
	Radon 222, pCi/L	28 - 50	300
	Gross alpha (+), pCi/L	<1.3 - 2.0	15
	Radium 226, pCi/L	<0.5	---
	Radium 228, pCi/L	<0.8	---
	Combined Radium, pCi/L	0.9	5

National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations (NSDWRs or secondary standards) are non-enforceable guidelines regulating contaminants that may cause cosmetic effects (such as skin or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, or color) in drinking water. EPA recommends secondary standards to water systems but does not require systems to comply.

Microbiological standards allow no more than 5.0% of all samples to test total coliform-positive in a month. (For water systems that collect fewer than 40 routine samples per month, no more than one sample can be total coliform-positive per month.) Every sample that tests positive for total coliform must be analyzed for either fecal coliforms or E. coli. If two consecutive total coliform-positive samples are detected and at least one is also positive for E.coli or fecal coliforms, the system has an acute MCL violation.

Lead and copper are regulated by a Treatment Technique that requires systems to control the corrosiveness of their water. If more than 10% of tap water samples exceed the action level, water systems must take additional steps. For copper, the action level is 1.3 mg/L, and for lead is 0.015 mg/L.

Water and Pollution Control Department

Drinking Water Supply Characteristics

ROUTINE

INORGANIC

ORGANIC

Volatile Organic Compounds

Pesticides/Herbicides

Synthetic Organic Chemicals

Disinfectant Byproducts

RADIOLOGICAL