City of Cando
PO Box 396
Cando, ND 58324
701-968-3632

We are pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.  This report is designed to inform you about the safe clean water we deliver to you every day.  Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water.  We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources.  We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water.

Cando’s water supply consists of three (3) wells that draw groundwater from an unnamed aquifer.  The ground water is then treated at a lime softening plant and stored in either the underground or overhead reservoirs until it is used by the city.  Currently the water treatment plant can treat water at a rate of 600 gpm.

The city of Cando participates in the Wellhead Protection Program, which is designed to help protect the quality of the city’s ground water source.  Copies of the well head protection plan are available from our office that provides more information, such as, potential sources of contamination.

Our public water system, in cooperation with the North Dakota Department of Health, has completed the delineation and contaminant/land use inventory elements of the North Dakota Source Water Protection Program.  Based on the information from these elements, the North Dakota Department of Health has determined that our source water is not likely susceptible to potential contaminant.

No significant sources of contamination have been identified.

This report has been prepared to describe the quality of our water and what it means.

If you have any questions concerning this report or your water utility, please contact Duane Holien, our Public Works Director, at (701) 968-3821.  We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility.  If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled City Council meetings.  They are held on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7:00 pm at the City Hall in Cando.

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 posed 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 (1-800-426-4791).

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

The City of Cando routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. This table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2007, or the most recent test results available.

As authorized and approved by EPA, the state has reduced monitoring requirements for certain contaminants to less often than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.  Some of our data [e.g., for organic contaminants], though representative, is more than one year old.

The sources of drinking water (both tap 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:

Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil production, mining or farming.

Pesticides and herbicides, which come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff and residential uses.

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.

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 Environmental Protection Agency (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.

In the table on page 3, you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we've provided the following definitions:

Not Applicable- (N/A)

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.

Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (mg/l) - one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

Picocuries per liter (pCil) - picocuries per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.

Action Level (AL) - The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Treatment Technique (TT) - A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Maximum Contaminant Level - The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is 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 - The “Goal” (MCLG) is 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.

* No sites exceeded the lead or copper action levels for the most recent round of sampling in 2006.

EPA requires monitoring of over 80 drinking water contaminants.  Those contaminants listed in the table above are the only contaminants detected in your drinking water.

Unregulated contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water standards.  The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA indetermining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether futureregulation is warranted.

Your water system monitors for a number of unregulated organic contaminants, which couldindicate a contamination of the water supply from a pesticide or petroleum spill or leak.  

Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in the community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing. If you are concerned about elevated lead levels in your home’s water, you may wish to have your water tested and flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using tap water. Additional information is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

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 (1-800-426-4791).

MCL’s are set at very stringent levels. To understand the possible health effects described for many regulated contaminants, a person would have to drink 2 liters of water every day at the MCL level for a lifetime to have a one-in-a-million chance of having the described health effect.

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 (1-800-426-4791).

Tampering with a public water system is a federal offense.  Report suspicious activity to local law enforcement immediately.   

If you are aware of non-English speaking individuals who need help with the appropriate language translation, please phone Duane Holien at (701)968-3821.

Please call Joni Morlock, Cando City Auditor at (701)968-3632 if you have questions concerning your water system.

The city of Cando works diligently to provide top quality water to every tap.  We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life and our children’s future.

The City of Cando would appreciate it if large volume water consumers would please post copies of this annual Drinking Water Quality Report in a conspicuous location or distribute them to tenants, residents, patients, students, and or employees, so individuals who do consume the water but do not receive a water bill, can learn more about our water system.