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SWTP Source & Finished Water Monitoring
| Surface Water Treatment Plant Source & Finished Water Monitoring |
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Finished Water Monitoring at the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project Surface Water Treatment Plant
USEPA sets regulations that limit the amount of certain substances in drinking water. USEPA defines where and how often samples for each substance must be collected collected and how they must be analyzed. The table below shows only the substances found in compliance monitoring for the finished water at the Surface Water Treatment Plant. For surface water, USEPA also requires that specific treatment techniques are used and that the treatment techniques are effective. 2011 Results of Finished Water Compliance Monitoring at the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project Surface Water Treatment Plant
Regulated Substances we test for and have not detected in Surface Water Treatment Plant Finished Water
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| Metals/Minerals/Nutrients | ||
| Antimony (<1 PPB) Arsenic (<1 PPB) Barium (<0.1 PPM) Beryllium (<1 PPB) |
Cadmium (<1 PPB) Chromium (<1 PPB) Cyanide (<5 PPB) Mercury (<0.2 PPB) |
Nitrite (<0.01 PPM) Selenium (<5 PPB) Thallium (<1 PPB) |
| Disinfection By-Product | ||
| Bromate (<2 PPB) | ||
| Organic Chemicals | ||
| Alachlor (<0.2 PPB) Atrazine (<0.1 PPB) Benzene (<0.5 PPB) Benzo(a)pyrene [PAH] (<0.02 PPB) Carbofuran (<1 PPB) Carbon Tetrachloride (<0.5 PPB) Chlordane (<0.2 PPB) Chlorobenzene (<0.5 PPB) 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) (<0.1 PPB) Dalapon (<1.0 PPB) 1,2-Dibromoethane (EDB) (<0.01 PPB) 1,2-Dibromo 3-chloropropane (DBCP) (<0.02 PPB) Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (<0.6 PPB) Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (<0.6 PPB) Dichloromethane (<0.5 PPB) o-Dichlorobenzene (<0.5 PPB) p-Dichlorobenzene (<0.5 PPB) 1,2-Dichloropropane (<0.5 PPB) |
cis-1,2- Dichloroethylene (<0.5 PPB) trans-1,2- Dichloroethylene (<0.5 PPB) 1,1-Dichloroethylene (<0.5 PPB) 1,2-Dichloroethane (<0.5 PPB) Dinoseb (<0.2 PPB) Dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) (waived) Diquat (<0.4 PPB) Endothall (<9 PPB) Endrin (<0.01 PPB) Ethylbenzene (<0.5 PPB) Glyphosate (<6 PPB) Heptachlor (<0.04 PPB) Heptachlor epoxide (<0.02 PPB) Hexachlorobenzene (<0.1 PPB) Hexachlorocyclopentadiene (<0.1 PPB) Lindane (<0.02 PPB) Methoxychlor (<0.1 PPB) |
Oxamyl (Vydate) (<2.0 PPB) Pentachlorophenol (PCP) (<0.04 PPB) Picloram (<0.1 PPB) Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (<0.1 PPB) Simazine (<0.07 PPB) Styrene (<0.5 PPB) Tetrachloroethylene (<0.5 PPB) Toluene (<0.5 PPB) Toxaphene (<1.0 PPB) 2,4,5-TP (Silvex) (<0.2 PPB) 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene (<0.5 PPB) 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (<0.5 PPB) 1,1,2-Trichloroethane (<0.5 PPB) Trichloroethylene (<0.5 PPB) Vinyl Chloride (<0.5 PPB) Xylenes (Total) (<0.5 PPB) |
| Microbiological Contaminants | ||
| E. coli (Presence/Absence) | Total Coliform (Presence/Absence) | |
| Radiological Chemicals | ||
| Gross Alpha Particle Activity (<3 pCi/L) Radium 228 (<1 pCi/L) |
Gross Beta Particle Activity (<4 pCi/L) Uranium (<1 PPB) |
Radium 226 (<1 pCi/L) |
Important Information About Your Drinking WaterAll compliance monitoring samples collected must be analyzed by a certified laboratory within a specified time period. Bromate monitoring samples were collected on November 10, 2011, December 8, 2011 and January 6, 2012. However, the USEPA certified New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory Division did not analyze the samples within the specified time period. The laboratory did not notify the Water Authority of the problem with the operations. As a result, additional samples could not be taken within the specified monitoring period. The Water Authority is required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not the drinking water meets health standards. In November and December 2011 and January 2012, monitoring for bromate was not completed. Therefore, we cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time. Even though this was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what was done to correct the situation. What should I do?There is nothing you need to do at this time. Please be assured that if a situation arises so that the water is not safe to drink, you will be notified within 24 hours with announcements made on the radio and TV. What is being done?The Water Authority is using an alternative certified laboratory to perform the analyses. For more information, please contact Water Quality Specialist Mike Richardson at the Water Quality Information Line at phone number 857-8260, by mail at ABCWUA, P.O. Box 568, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail. |
What Is Bromate?Bromate is one of the principal by-products of the use of ozone to treat source water containing bromide. Ozonation is one of the treatment processes used at the surface water treatment plant. How much Bromate is in our water?The Water Authority monitors monthly for bromide in the source water and for bromate in the finished water. The chart below shows results from January through September 2011. The Water Authority did not operate the surface water treatment plant in October 2011. Even with varying levels of bromide in the source water, no bromate was produced at the surface water treatment plant 
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Source Water Monitoring for the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project
Just How Safe Is It?
For many years, the Water Authority has monitored the Rio Grande to establish a water quality baseline. Samples are collected at various sites along the river from the Heron Lake outlet to Albuquerque’s diversion dam site. Heron Lake stores San Juan-Chama water. Visit USGS website for monitoring results
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It takes about three hours for water to travel from the diversion dam (pictured on left) to the settled water ponds at the surface water treatment plant. After settling for at least a day in the ponds, it only takes two or three hours of treatment to produce the clean, finished drinking water pictured on the right.
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The monitoring results compare favorably to USEPA drinking water quality standards. Because no metals, minerals, or nutrients nor organic substances have been detected in excess of USEPA standards, river water will meet requirements for those substances. Likewise, levels of radionuclides detected in the river water are far below USEPA standards and the risk of radioactivity potentially flowing from Los Alamos is extremely low.
Water treatment will remove particulate matter from the water including turbidity, sediment and microbial contaminants such as bacteria, Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The Water Authority monitored for Cryptosporidium in the San Juan-Chama surface water (source water) from June 2008 to May 2010. Cryptosporidium was detected at low levels in only four out of the 24 monthly samples collected. No additional treatment is required because of the low occurrence of Cryptosporidium in the San Juan-Chama surface water. Additional monitoring is not required until 2016.
Ozone and granular activated carbon filtration are effective in removing organics, including pharmaceutically active compounds that may have found their way into the river. If such compounds show up, they will be oxidized, then absorbed onto the filters.
Surface water treatment plant operator checks the settling rate.
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Additional samples will be collected every year to determine water quality changes over time. This information will assist the Water Authority in modifying or refining treatment or identifying the need for additional treatment to ensure the high quality of our drinking water.
Download Results for Voluntary Monitoring
From 2007-2008, the Water Authority operated a Pilot Plant. Results of source and finished water monitoring from that effort are provided below:
2007 Pilot Plant: Source Water Quality Voluntary Monitoring Results
2007 Pilot Plant: Finished Water Quality Voluntary Monitoring Results
2008 Pilot Plant: Source Water Quality Voluntary Monitoring Results
2008 Pilot Plant: Finished Water Quality Voluntary Monitoring Results
Since the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project came online, the Water Authority has conducted additional monitoring. Results from late 2008 through 2011 are summarized below:
San Juan Chama Drinking Water Project Source Water Quality Voluntary Monitoring Results
2008-2011
San Juan Chama Drinking Water Project Finished Water Quality Voluntary Monitoring Results
2008-2011
Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Product Occurrence Monitoring Report
Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Product Occurrence Monitoring Report Update - March 2012