Annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR)

                                                     Year 2008

                                           Lincoln Water District

                                                3 Taylor Street

                                             Lincoln Maine 04457

                                            Tele: 207-794-2921

                                             Fax: 207-794-2985

E-mail: lwd1@roadrunner.com

Introduction:

We at the Lincoln Water District are once again proud to present our annual water quality report and to inform you that the drinking water that the Lincoln Water District delivered to your home or business met or exceeded all state and federal drinking water standards and requirements. This report includes all testing of your drinking water completed from January through December 2008.  You need to know that the federal government requires us to use very specific language in this report that can often be confusing or even alarming to some people. We at the Lincoln Water District continue to be your source of safe drinking water for you and your family.

Where Does Your Water Come From:

Your drinking water supply comes from a ground water aquifer that currently supplies all of the municipal water needs of the town of Lincoln and Howland. The location of the gravel esker aquifer is in the most southerly part of the town of Lincoln and is part of a major glacial stream deposit that extends in a north-south direction. The District operates and maintains 4 gravel packed wells in the aquifer. This water source has been in use since the fall of 1961, and feeds 27 miles of water transmission and distribution mains in Lincoln, supplying 129 public fire hydrants, 28 private fire services and 1500 water service connections (customers). The District average daily pumping rate is 850,000 gallons per day (gpd). In the event of a power failure, water pressure and flow would be maintained from two 500,000 gallon standpipes (above ground tanks) located at the top of Pinkham Street and one 500,000 gallon underground concrete tank located off the Transalpine road on fish hill. The water source from the gravel packed wells is pumped directly into the distribution system with no filtration or chemicals added, since the quality of the water is such that disinfection of the source water at the wells is not a requirement. Sodium Hypochlorite is added to our water to protect against bacteriological contaminants during the summer and winter months and high construction activities. The District owns and maintains a healthy forestland that acts as a natural filter to the watershed to ensure the highest quality of water collects in the aquifer. The District continues to manage the forest land and gravel esker caring for almost 600 acres of unspoiled forest land. We limit the amount of recreational use of the watershed for the protection of our drinking water supply. We do what has to be done to protect this irreplaceable resource from threats by managing a number of protection programs to keep the forest and aquifer healthy and safe.

Substances That May Be Found In Drinking Water:

To ensure that Lincoln’s water is safe to drink, the EPA regulates and limits the amount of certain contaminants in water that is provided by the Lincoln Water District system. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of contaminants. The presents of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. The source of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) can 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 human activity.

Substances 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 in storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming, (pesticides and herbicides), which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses. (Organic chemical contaminants), including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas station, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems. (Radioactive contaminants), which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activates.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immune compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, people who have under gone 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 has guidelines on appropriate means to lesson the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hot Line (1-800-426-4791). You may also call the Maine Drinking Water Program (DWP) at (1-207-287-2070.

In 2008, our system was granted a “Synthetic Organics Waiver”.  This is a three year exemption from the testing/monitoring requirements for pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other industrial chemicals.  This waiver was granted due to the absence of these potential sources of contamination within a half mile radius of the water source.

If you have any questions or concerns about this report, or this water utility, please contact Ronald R. Gray, Superintendent, at 1-207-794-2921.

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 Trustee meetings that are held on the second Tuesday of each month at the District office, 3 Taylor Street, at 7:00 pm.

Customer Alert:

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing.

The Lincoln Water District is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking.  If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hot Line or at http:// www.epa.gov/safe water/lead.

Security Protection:

The Lincoln Water District has increased security throughout the water system. The District has a quality staff of water professionals that includes both certified operators and office staff.  The District water employees recognize their important responsibility to you and use their professional experience and training to work together to ensure the ongoing quality of the drinking water that is delivered every day to your homes and business.

If you have concerns or see any activity in the South Lincoln wellhead protection area, or anywhere in the distribution system. Please contact the district office or law enforcement (police) immediately, for example, if you see a fire hydrant running, chances are we are flushing the mains, but give us a call day or night if you aren’t sure.

We at the Lincoln Water District, Ronald R. Gray, Superintendent, Burton Weed, Chairman, Lynn Sanderson, Treasurer, Lee Haskell, Clerk, David Emery, Assistant Superintendent, Jeffrey Day, Utility Foreman, Patrick Langley, Operations,  Nancy Osborn, Office Manager, and Brenda Chandler, Billing Clerk, work around the clock to provide you with top quality water.  We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which is the heart of our Community, our way of life and our children’s future.

Thank you for allowing us to continue providing your family with clean quality water this year. In order to maintain a safe and dependable water supply we sometimes need to make improvements that will benefit all of our customers. These improvements are sometimes reflected as rate structure adjustments.

Please call our office if you have questions, at 207-794-2921 or email us at lwd2@roadrunner.com

Water Test Results

The Lincoln Water District routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws. The following water tests are the results of our monitoring:

                                     PWSID ME0090860

LINCOLN WATER DISTRICT

2008 Consumer Confidence Report

Water Test Results

      Contaminant             Date       Results          MCL       MCLG           Source

      Microbiological

      TOTAL COLIFORM (1)    2008         0  pos       1  pos/month     0  pos    Naturally present  in the

                                                                                                  Or 5%                                          environment.

      Inorganics

        ARSENIC  (2)       2/19/2008         1.7 ppb       10  ppb    0  ppb      Erosion of  natural deposits.                                                                                                                              Runoff from orchards, glass

                                                                                          and electronic production wastes.

        BARIUM                         2/19/2008                        0.002 ppm        2  ppm     2  ppm   Discharge of drilling wastes.                                                                                                                Discharge from metal refineries.                                                                                    Erosion of natural deposits.                                                                                                                                                   

          CHROMIUM                    2/19/2008                               1.9  ppb        100  ppb    100  ppb                   Discharge from steel & pulp mills                                                                                                                    Erosion of natural deposits.                             

          COPPER 90TH % VALUE     1/1/2008-              0.41 ppm    AL=1.3  ppm    1.3  ppm           Corrosion of household plumbing               (4)                                              12/31/10                                                                                                                                     systems

            FLOURIDE (3)                         2/19/2008                0.1 ppm              4 ppm                4 ppm    Erosion of natural deposits.  Water                                                                                                           additive which promotes strong                                                                         teeth.                                                                                        

       LEAD 90TH % VALUE  (3)     1/1/08-           3  ppb    AL=15  ppb      0  ppb    Corrosion of household plumbing                                                                                    12/31/10                                                                                                                                         systems.

          NITRATE NITROGEN           2/19 /2008          .79  ppm   10  ppm         10      Runoff from fertilizer use,

sewage. Erosion of natural   deposits.

      Radionuclides

      GROSS ALPHA SCREEN            2/13/2006   0.561 pCi/l     15  pCi/l       0  pCi/l   Erosion of natural deposits.

      (4)

      RADON SCREEN  (5)            3/17/2003   504  pCi/l      4000 pCi/l        N/A      Erosion of natural deposits.

     Chlorine Residual

    The average chlorine residual that the Lincoln Water District maintains in its transmission and distribution mains is

       .25 ppm to protect the water system users from bacteria, such as coliform bacteria that may be present.

     Definitions:

     Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no   known or expected

     risk to health.

Running Annual Average (RAA): The Average of all monthly or quarterly samples for the last year at all sample locations.

Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant that, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system

     must follow.

     Units:

     ppm = parts per million or milligrams per liter (mg/L).                                       pos = positive samples.

     ppb = parts per billion or micrograms per liter (µg/L).                                       ntu = nephelometric turbidity units.

     pCi/L = picocuries per liter (a measure of radioactivity).

     Notes:

1)       Total Coliform Bacteria:  Reported as the highest monthly number of positive samples, for water systems that take < 40 samples per month.

2)       Arsenic:  The U.S. EPA adopted the new MCL standard in October 2001.  Water systems must meet this new    standard..

3)       Lead/Copper:  Action levels (AL) are measured at consumer’s tap.  90% of the tests must be equal to or below

        the action level.

       4)    Gross Alpha:  Action level over 5 pCi/L requires testing for Radium.  Action level over 15 pCi/L requires testing

               for Radon and Uranium.

5)       Radon:  The State of Maine currently recommends follow-up action (treatment) for Radon levels in drinking water above 4000 pCi/L.

The U.S. EPA is considering setting lower standards for Radon in drinking water.

     All other regulated drinking water contaminants were below detection levels.

The Lincoln Water District increased its rates as of April 1, 2008.

The new schedule of rates are as follows:

** COST OF WATER AT SELECTED USAGES**

QUARTERLY RATES JANUARY 1, 2003

To Convert Cubic Feet to Gallons, Multiply Cubic Feet by 7.48052 = Gallons