City of Prescott Water? 

As we all know the word “water” in our community takes on many data monitoring facets from do we have a shortage of water? is our water safe to drink? how hard is our water? are we drinking arsenic? and where does our water come from? The City of Prescott produces its water from six wells within the Town of Chino Valley, one well in the airport area and there is an additional well in the development stages in the airport area. These wells are drilled into the aquifer underlying the Little Chino Sub-Basin and have a production yield from 420 to 3,300 gallons per minute. These wells are pumped in different combinations to meet the daily demand of Prescott usage. In 2011 the City of Prescott pumped 6,821 acre-feet of water from these wells and delivered the water to approximately 22,198 customers through 400 miles of pipeline and 30 water storage tanks throughout the Prescott service area. Using the scale of “grains per gallon” our Prescott water is considered to be moderately hard to hard at 6.6 to 7.4 grains per gallon. As our water moves through soil and rock it dissolves small amounts of minerals and holds these in solution. Calcium and magnesium dissolved in the water are the two most common minerals that make water hard. On the scale of Milligrams per liter, our range is 113 to 127, which again is in the moderately hard to hard range. Arsenic treatment systems have been installed at the wells to treat and maintain arsenic levels below the new federal standard. The maximum contaminant level for regulated arsenic in 2011 was 10, our wells detected the highest level of 5.9, with a tested range of 2.8-5.9. The City of Prescott also treats its water with chlorine to prevent the development of bacterial contamination that could occur in the water storage and distribution systems. If you ever detect a chlorine taste or odor, a container of water can be placed in the sunlight for two hours or stored overnight in the refrigerator to help dissipate the chlorine taste or odor. If a very strong chlorine taste or odor is detected, you can contact Harry Brown, Water Operations Superintendent at (928) 777-1118 and a technician will be sent out to take a chlorine residual sample from your location.

In reviewing the City of Prescott Annual Water Quality Report the water standards based on mandatory health-related levels established by the EPA and ADEQ, our water is well within the acceptable range. In several areas our water tested below levels where there is no known or expected risk to health. I would like to see a change in the results of water testing since there are no comparables from year-to-year and as water consumers it is important for us to see the various intervals of testing from year-to-year, not just the current year. I realize that some concentrations are not expected to vary significantly from year-to-year, however as water users and consumers we are entitled to know what levels of compounds are on the rise and what chemicals are falling. There are microbial contaminants, inorganic contaminants, pesticides and herbicides, organic chemical contaminants and even radioactive contaminants, that may be present in source water. The EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems and it is important to remember that 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, so all drinking water may reasonably be expected to contain small amounts of contaminants. Keep in mind that wells are the only source of water for the City of Prescott. The City of Prescott did not receive any violations on water quality during 2011. So a great big A+++++ to the City of Prescott for good quality drinking water.