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Water & Your Health


Water Quality Report

GCWW publishes an annual Water Quality Report for its customers.  Updated by April 1 of each year, this publication complies with the U.S. EPA's National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Consumer Confidence Reports.
 


Water Quality Monitoring

Every year GCWW performs monitoring for a wide variety of water quality parameters to understand the water characteristics and to ensure that the finished water quality meets the high expectations of our community. Some monitoring is required by regulations but much of it is performed to ensure proper treatment and to ensure protection of the drinking water. Below is information regarding substances commonly asked about; as well as links to the latest tables containing data acquired by GCWW. The data table includes information from both of our treatment plants as well as from our source waters before treatment.

To learn more about drinking water and drinking water quality, please go to:
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water
 

 

Emerging Compound Test Results

 

The Ohio River provides for an abundant and reliable supply of water throughout the region.  As with most surface water sources in the United States, the river also poses some challenges with treatment of the water for consumption.  GCWW has historically been at the forefront of drinking water research and uses information and knowledge gained to  learn more about our source waters and develop appropriate solutions when needed.  As part of this continued effort, GCWW had done extensive monitoring for chemicals of emerging concern.  Although these chemicals are not regulated and monitoring is not required, GCWW believes it is in the best interest of public health to gather information about these compounds in our environment.


Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule

Every five years the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is required to develop a list of up to thirty unregulated contaminants and requires public water systems to monitor for them and report the data to the USEPA for evaluation.  This requirement is called the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR).

The USEPA uses the results of this monitoring to assess the frequency of occurrence and the levels of these contaminants in drinking waters across the United States.  The USEPA then uses this information to determine if regulations should be set for these compounds that would provide a meaningful risk reduction for water consumers.  If the USEPA determines that meaningful risk reduction could be achieved through regulation, then the USEPA will continue along the path of developing a regulation addressing the specific contaminant. 

For more information on the UCMR and the USEPA’s rule making process, please go to:

To date, the USEPA has required four rounds of UCMR monitoring covering a wide range of contaminants.  The results of GCWW testing for these four rounds are linked here:

Tips to Ensure High-Quality Water

Once GCWW water passes beyond the water main and curb stop valve (generally near the property line), the water enters the private plumbing system. Private plumbing systems are owned by the property owner and can sometimes impact the taste, odor and appearance of water. It is up to every customer to understand and maintain their private-plumbing system, including all water-using devices.

View our "Tips to Ensure High-Quality Water" page to learn more about actions you can take as a customer. This will ensure that you receive the highest-quality water – from the source to the tap!

Drink To Your Health

Experts recommend drinking 8 cups of water per day (some of this water may come from foods). Drinking GCWW tap water is a good way to do this.