Western Terrace

What it means: Community water systems must deliver an annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report) to all customers by July 1, covering the previous year. It must list all detected contaminants, compare them to MCLs, identify source water, and include educational language about lead. A violation means the report was not delivered on time or was incomplete.

Health effects: No direct health risk — this is an administrative transparency obligation. Failure means customers lack information to make informed decisions (e.g., whether to use bottled water for infants when lead is elevated).

Limit: No MCL — this is a reporting requirement

What it means: E. coli is a fecal indicator bacterium. Its presence in treated water is an acute health violation, meaning the system must notify customers within 24 hours. Detection requires immediate corrective action — typically a boil water advisory, investigation of contamination source, and system flushing.

Health effects: Most E. coli strains cause diarrheal illness. Some strains (e.g., O157:H7) produce toxins causing severe bloody diarrhea, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS — a form of kidney failure), and death — especially in children under 5 and the elderly. Even non-pathogenic strains in drinking water indicate that disease-causing organisms may also be present.

Limit: Zero (one confirmed positive sample = acute MCL violation)

What it means: When a system violates a drinking water standard, it must notify customers promptly: within 24 hours for acute violations (e.g., E. coli), 30 days for non-acute MCL violations, and 1 year for monitoring failures. A violation means the notification was late or missing — not that the underlying water issue is necessarily severe.

Health effects: No direct health risk from the notification violation itself, but delayed notification means customers may have consumed contaminated water without the chance to take protective action (boil water orders, bottled water use).

Limit: No MCL — compliance requires meeting specific notification deadlines

What it means: The 2013 RTCR (effective 2016) replaced the original TCR. It triggers automatic E. coli testing whenever total coliform is found. A single E. coli-positive sample is an acute MCL violation. It also requires systems exceeding 5% total coliform-positive samples to conduct a formal assessment and correct any deficiencies, helping prevent contamination before it escalates.

Health effects: Total coliform bacteria indicate that the disinfection barrier has been breached or fecal contamination is entering the system. E. coli specifically indicates fecal contamination and the possible presence of disease-causing pathogens (norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter). Illness can be severe in elderly, young children, and immunocompromised individuals.

Limit: Zero E. coli; ≤5% of monthly samples total coliform-positive