Northampton Borough Municipal Authority 2023 Annual Water Quality Report
The Board of Directors, Management, and Employees of the Northampton Borough Municipal Authority (NBMA) are very pleased to provide you this drinking water quality report for the calendar year 2023. The main purpose of this report is to familiarize the customers of the quality of water they consume daily and to inform you of NBMA services and the effort we put forth to ensure quality drinking water is delivered to all NBMA customers. NBMA serves the Boroughs of Northampton, North Catasauqua, Coplay, portions of Allen Townships in Northampton County and portions of Whitehall Township and North Whitehall Townships in Lehigh County.
Watershed and Treatment
The NBMA system has two surface water sources. The Lehigh River is the major source and supplies approximately 3,000,000 gallons daily to the NBMA system consisting of about 40,000 customers. Spring Mill Dam, our secondary source, is located immediately west of the filtration plant in Cementon, and it supplies approximately 310,000 gallons of water per day. The water from these sources is blended at the NBMA Water Filtration Plant, located at 5200 Second Street, Coplay (Cementon), PA. The filtration plant is designed and permitted to produce up to 8,000,000 gallons of drinking water per day. Treatment includes: raw water pumping; addition of chemicals for adsorption of organic contaminants and coagulation of colloidal solids; clarification and filtration to remove suspended solids and microbiological contaminants; disinfection with ultraviolet technology and chlorine; and finally adjustment of pH and alkalinity to protect the distribution system from corrosion.
As source water assessment on our sources was completed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The assessment found that the source water is most susceptible to contamination from local roads, auto repair shops and residential developments. Overall, the watershed has a moderate risk of significant contamination.
A summary report is available HERE.
Complete reports were distributed to municipalities, local planning agencies, and DEP offices. Call the PADEP Regional Office at 570-826-2511 for full copies.
We are pleased to announce that our drinking water, as a result of our reliable treatment process, meets Federal and State requirements. No exceeded contaminant levels were experienced by NBMA in 2023.
Contact List
If there are any questions concerning this report or NBMA in general, call the main office. Non-English copies of this report can be obtained by contacting the main office. Las copias espanolas de este informe pueden ser obtenidas entrando en contacto con la oficina principal.
Este informe contiene información importante acerca de su agua potable. Haga que alguien lo tranduzca para usted, ó hable alguien lo entienda.
Public Water System ID # - 3480057
Main Office: 1 Clear Springs Drive
Northampton, PA. 18067
TEL - (610) 262-6711
FAX - (610)-262-6796
Water Treatment Plant
5200 Second Street
Coplay, PA 18037
(610) 262-6792
Email: service@nbma.org
Public Participation
Board Meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month at the NBMA Headquarters Building, 1 Clear Springs Drive, Northampton. Tours of the filtration plant for special interest groups and schools can be scheduled by calling the Authority office.
Water Analysis
NBMA routinely tests for contaminants in your drinking water to meet Federal and State set regulations. To ensure that it is potable, filtration plant operators test the drinking water every two hours, twenty-four hours a day, in our Pennsylvania State certified laboratory. A detected contaminant testing matrix table including data from January 1 to December 31, 2023 (unless otherwise noted) is attached for your information.
All drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least a small amount of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, contact the EPA' s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
The sources of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, 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 human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided to the public. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottles of water which must provide the same public health protection.
Definitions
This table and descriptive information may present terms or symbols that are unfamiliar to you. Here are some definitions for your information.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)- The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCL's are set as close to the MCLG's 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 health risk. MCLG's allow for a margin of safety.
Parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/l)- One ppm corresponds to one minute in two years.
Parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per liter (ug/l)- One ppb corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L)- A measure of the radioactivity in water.
MRDL- Maximum residual disinfectant level. The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water.
MRDLG- Maximum residual disinfectant level goal. The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected health risk. MRDLG’s do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
Treatment Technique- A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Action Level- The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
Raw Water- Water directly from the source, prior to treatment.
Finished Water- Water after treatment and disinfection and ready for distribution.
NTU- Nephelometric turbidity units.
NA- Not Applicable
Non-Detected Contaminants
NBMA also tests for many other contaminants that are not listed on the contaminant testing table. They were not included on the main table because they were not detected in our water. These include twenty-one volatile organic contaminants; fifteen synthetic organic contaminants; nine inorganic contaminants; and three microbiological contaminants.
Unregulated Contaminants
NBMA has also monitored the source water for Crytposporidium. This is a commonly found microbial parasite in surface water. It is capable of causing a disease called crytposporidiosis. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and nausea. Healthy individuals usually can overcome the illness in a few weeks. However, immunocompromised individuals are at greater risk of developing serious, chronic illness. Cryptosporidium must be ingested to develop disease, and there are many ways other than drinking water that this parasite can be spread. Our monitoring concludes that Cryptosporidium is present in the raw source. At present, there is absolutely no evidence indicating that our customers should be concerned with Crytposporidium.
NBMA has also tested for other unregulated contaminants that were not detected. For information regarding unregulated contaminant monitoring results, contact our main office at 610-262-6711.
Health Information
Some individuals may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. These include immunocompromised persons such as those 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 reduce the risk of infection by Crytposporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
Educational Information
Occasionally, some slight tastes and odors can be detected in the drinking water. These are due to occasional higher levels of naturally occurring organic compounds in the raw water. Powdered activated carbon is added to minimize these tastes and odors and at no time does this affect the quality of water.
Northampton Borough Municipal Authority continually strives to improve and upgrade the filtration plant and distribution system facilities in order to meet state and federal standards.
Detected Contaminant Table
View the Detected Contaminant Table HERE.
