Community Water Company is pleased to present this annual Water Quality Report to its customers. In 2024, the water we delivered met or surpassed all primary federal and state drinking water standards. This report is designed to help you, the water user, make informed decisions regarding your drinking water. We believe you will find this Water Quality Report informative and enlightening. Above all, we want to maintain your confidence in our efforts to provide you with safe drinking water.
Community Water Company is a non-profit water utility with members located in unincorporated Pima County and the Town of Sahuarita. We delivered an average of 2.06 million gallons of water to about 22,000 people (approximately 92 gallons per person daily). Our service area is approximately eight square miles, located roughly between Anamax Road to the north, the Santa Cruz River to the east, FreeportMcMoRan mine to the west, and Mission Twin Buttes Road to the south. We currently have 18 full-time employees. Their responsibility is to reliably deliver drinking water that meets all regulated standards.
The attached report contains information about our public water system, drinking water sources, drinking water contaminants, vulnerable populations, source water assessment, definitions, lead information, water quality data on regulated contaminants, and water quality on unregulated contaminants.
There are ways to protect our water sources, such as properly disposing of household chemicals and automotive waste, which can help minimize the risk of groundwater contamination by reducing the potential for runoff and leaching. For more information, call Pima County landfills at (520) 690-5749. Hazardous waste collections occur periodically in the Green Valley/Sahuarita area each year. For more information, please contact the Green Valley Council at (520) 648-1936 for the collection date, time, and location.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality uses the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards to regulate the levels of certain contaminants that may be present in water delivered by public water systems. Please call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information Helpline at (800) 426-4791 for more information about contaminants and potential health effects.
The Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water, establishing limits for contaminants to provide similar protection for public health. The agency can provide information about bottled water by calling (888) 723-3366.
Nitrate in drinking water above 10 ppm is a health risk for infants under six months of age. High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause “blue baby syndrome.” Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of rainfall or agricultural activity. Ask your health care provider for advice if you are caring for an infant and detect nitrate levels above 5 ppm.
Arsenic levels less than or equal to the MCL of 10 ppb in your drinking water meet EPA’s standards. EPA’s standard balances the current understanding of arsenic’s possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water. EPA continues to research the health effects of low levels of arsenic, which is a mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentrations and is linked to other health effects such as skin damage and circulatory problems.
Hardness measures the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water. It is generally reported in parts per million, but users of water softeners who test for hardness may be more familiar with the measure of grains per gallon. They should multiply parts per million by .0584. Water hardness delivered to our customers can range from about 3.6 to 6.3 grains per gallon.
Sodium levels in 2024 ranged between 41 and 71 milligrams per liter (mg/L), which is approximately 9-17 milligrams of sodium in an 8-ounce glass of water. One liter is approximately equal to 33.82 ounces. To reduce sodium intake from drinking water, some of our customers with low-sodium diets who also utilize water softeners have chosen to use potassium chloride as a substitute for sodium chloride in their brine tanks.
Consumer Confidence Report for Calendar Year 2024
Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre el aqua usted bebe. Tradúscalo ó hable con alguien que lo entienda bien. Tradúscalo ó hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.
Recursos e información sobre el CCR para los consumidores
| Public Water System ID Number | Public Water System Name |
|---|---|
| AZ0410004 | Community Water Company Of Green Valley |
| Contact Name and Title | Phone Number | E-mail Address |
|---|---|---|
| Arturo Gabaldon, Administrator | 520-625-8409 | arturo@communitywater.com |
We want our valued customers to be informed about their water quality. If you would like to learn more about public participation or to attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings, please contact us for additional information.
This is our annual report about your drinking water quality, also called a Consumer Confidence Report or CCR. Having clean, safe water is one of the most important services we provide, and we want you to be as informed as possible about your drinking water.
This report provides you with information about where your water comes from, results of sampling that we have performed, and any issues or violations that happened over the previous year. This water quality report includes a table with the most recent water testing results within the last 5 years. The table shows if different germs and chemicals were in a safe range and met the health standards of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Look for the column in the table called “TT or MCL violation,” to see if your utility found unsafe levels of any germs or chemicals.
You may also find real-time information about our water system at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Drinking Water Watch website.
Drinking Water Sources
The 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 and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals, human activity, or radioactive material.
Our water source(s): Our water system has 4 wells that draw water from the Upper Santa Cruz sub-basin of the Tucson Active Management Area basin.
Source Water Assessment
Making the water safe to drink starts by protecting the place it comes from. We work with state scientists at ADEQ to examine water at its source to look for possible pollutants. We examine the hydrogeological nature of the land surrounding the water source and focus on how well the water source is protected from contamination. This is called a Source Water Assessment (SWA).
Our system has not yet received a SWA because we either did not exist when ADEQ last conducted assessments, were inactive, received all our water from another provider at that time, or ADEQ did not conduct an assessment for our system.
Further SWA information can be found on ADEQ’s website: Source Water Protection.
Requests for further SWA information may also be sent to ADEQ via email at: sourcewaterprotection@azdeq.gov.
Drinking Water Contaminants
Contaminants are any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water. Contaminants 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 occur naturally in the soil or groundwater or may result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharge, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.
Pesticides and Herbicides which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.
Disinfectants such as chlorine, added to water to control microbes, and Disinfection By-products formed by interactions between disinfectants and natural organic materials in water.
Organic Chemical Contaminants including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
Radioactive Contaminants which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
Vulnerable Population
Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone 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.
More information about contaminants, their potential health effects, and the appropriate means to lessen the risk can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or visiting the website Ground Water and Drinking Water.
Lead Informational Statement:
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.
Community Water Company Of Green Valley is responsible for providing high quality drinking water and removing lead pipes, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components in your home. You share the responsibility for protecting yourself and your family from the lead in your home plumbing. You can take responsibility by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family’s risk.
Before drinking tap water, flush your pipes for several minutes by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a load of dishes. You can also use a filter certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead in drinking water.
To address lead in drinking water, public water systems were required to develop and maintain an inventory of service line materials by Oct 16, 2024. Developing an inventory and identifying the location of lead service lines (LSL) is the first step for beginning LSL replacement and protecting public health. Please contact us if you would like more information about the inventory or any lead sampling that has been done.
If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to learn about testing your water, please contact us. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is also available at: Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water.
Water Quality Data – Regulated Contaminants
The following terms are related to water quality data presented in the following table(s):
Action Level (AL): The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment, or other requirements.
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 no known or expected risk to health exists.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL): The level of disinfectant added for water treatment that may not be exceeded at the consumer’s tap.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG): The level of disinfectant added for treatment at which no known or anticipated adverse effect on health of persons would occur.
Minimum Reporting Limit (MRL): The smallest measured concentration of a substance that can be reliably measured by a given analytical method.
Not Applicable (NA): The EPA has not established a MCL and/or a MCLG for this contaminant.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L): Measure of the radioactivity in water.
ppm: Parts per million or Milligrams per liter (mg/L)
ppb: Parts per billion or Micrograms per liter (μg/L)
ppt: Parts per trillion or Nanograms per liter (ng/L)
ppm = 1000 × ppb
ppb = 1000 × ppt
The following water quality data only contain results for detected contaminants in your drinking water. Some results are from earlier years than the current year. This is because, according to regulation, some contaminants are monitored less frequently than once per year. The most recent results are shown in the table.
| Disinfectants | MRDL Violation? | Average | Range | MRDL | MRDLG | Sample Date | Likely Source of Contamination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chlorine/Chloramine (ppm) | N | 0.55 | 0.38 to 0.69 | 4 | 4 | 2024 | Water additive used to control microbes |
| Disinfection By-Products | MCL Violation? | Highest Location Average | Range | MCL | MCLG | Sample Date | Likely Source of Contamination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) (ppb) | N | 7.0 | 4.8 to 7 | 80 | N/A | 7/2024 | Byproduct of drinking water disinfection |
| Lead & Copper | AL Violation? | 90th Percentile | Number of Samples Exceeding the AL | AL | MCLG | Sample Date | Likely Source of Contamination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper (ppm) | N | 0.14 | 0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 7/2024 | Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits |
| Radionuclides | MCL Violation? | Average or Highest Level Detected | Range | MCL | MCLG | Sample Date | Likely Source of Contamination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Emitters including uranium (pCi/L) | N | 6.1 | 5.5 to 6.1 | 15 | 0 | 7/2023 | Erosion of natural deposits |
| Combined Radium-226 & -228 (pCi/L) | N | 1.10 | 0 to 1.1 | 5 | 0 | 7/2023 | Erosion of natural deposits |
| Inorganic Chemicals (IOC) | MCL Violation? | Average or Highest Level Detected | Range | MCL | MCLG | Sample Date | Likely Source of Contamination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic (ppb) | N | 6.6 | 0 to 6.9 | 10 | 0 | 2024 | Erosion of natural deposits, runoff from orchards, runoff from glass and electronics production wastes |
| Barium (ppm) | N | 0.021 | 0 to 0.021 | 2 | 2 | 7/2023 | Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries; Erosion of natural deposits |
| Fluoride (ppm) | N | 1.72 | 0.53 to 1.72 | 4 | 4 | 7/2023 | Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; fertilizer/aluminum factories |
| Nitrate (ppm) | N | 2.9 | 0.4 to 2.9 | 10 | 10 | 1/2024 | Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits |
| Sodium (ppm) | N | 71 | 41 to 71 | N/A | N/A | 7/2023 | Erosion of natural deposits |
1 Arsenic is a mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high concentration and is linked to other health effects, such as skin damage and circulatory problems. If arsenic is less than or equal to the MCL, your drinking water meets EPA’s standards. EPA’s standard balances the current understanding of arsenic’s possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water, and continues to research the health effects of low levels of arsenic.
Water Quality Table – Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (Required Reporting)
In 2024 your drinking water was sampled for the presence and concentration of 29 different per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are man-made chemicals that are resistant to heat, water, and oil. They have been used since the 1940s to manufacture various consumer products, including fire-fighting foam and stain resistant, water-resistant, and non-stick items. Many PFAS do not break down easily and can build up in people, animals, and the environment over time. Scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain PFAS can be harmful to people and animals, depending on the level and duration of exposure.
To learn more about this group of chemicals, we encourage you to visit the ADEQ website PFAS Resources.
You may also read the ADEQ-provided “PFAS 101 Fact Sheet” or view ADEQ’s Introduction to PFAS video on YouTube.
In 2027, six of the PFAS compounds will become regulated contaminants with the following proposed MCL’s:
| Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) | Proposed MCL | MRL | Definitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (ppt) | 4.0 ppt | 4 | * Hazard Index (HI): The Hazard Index MCL represents the maximum level for mixtures of PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA, and/or PFBS allowed in water delivered by a public water system. A Hazard Index greater than 1 indicates potential health concerns and requires a system to take action. |
| Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) (ppt) | 4.0 ppt | 4 | * Health-Based Water Concentration (HBWC): The HBWC for a compound is the level at which no health effects are expected. For PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO DA, the HBWC is the same as the MCL. PFBS, while having no MCL individually, does have a HBWC. The Hazard Index is calculated using the HBWC’s (see below). |
| Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)* (ppt) | 10 ppt (MCL=HBWC) | 4 | |
| Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)* (ppt) | 10 ppt (MCL=HBWC) | 3 | Low levels of multiple PFAS that individually would not likely result in adverse health effects may pose health concerns when combined in a mixture. The Hazard Index for PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO DA, and PFBS compounds is calculated by summing the ratios of each compound’s measured concentration in drinking water to its HBWC. |
| Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO DA) (GenX chemicals)* (ppt) | 10 ppt (MCL=HBWC) | 5 | |
| Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)* (ppt) | HBWC = 2000 ppt | 3 | For example, if the lab results (ppt) came in as follows: 3.2 for PFNA, 3.7 for PFHxS, 5.5 for HFPO DA, and 16.3 for PFBS, |
| Calculated Hazard Index (HI) | 1 (no units) * | N/A | the calculated HI = (3.2 / 10) + (3.7 / 10) + (5.5 / 10) + (16.3 / 2000) = 1.5 |
Your drinking water was also tested for lithium. Lithium is a naturally occurring metal that may concentrate in brine waters; lithium salts are used as pharmaceuticals, in electrochemical cells and batteries, and in organic syntheses.
| Metals | Average | Range | Sampling Date | MRL | Analytical Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium (ppb) | 73 | 35 to 166 | 6/2024 | 9 | EPA 200.7, SM 3120 B, ASTM D1976-20 |
No PFAS Contaminants were detected in your water.
TIER 3 PUBLIC NOTICE
Violation of Consumer Notification Requirement for Lead and Copper Tap Monitoring Results
In 2024, Community Water Company of Green Valley conducted lead and copper tap water monitoring as required by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule. Samples were collected from homes throughout our distribution system to ensure that lead and copper levels remained below federal action levels.
Community Water did not provide the individual monitoring results to the residents who participated in the sampling within 30 days, as required by federal regulations (40 CFR 141.85(d)). Customers were notified within 32 and 86 days.
This was a reporting and notification violation, not a violation of drinking water quality standards. All sample results were within allowable limits, and there was no immediate risk to public health.
If you have any questions or want more information about your sample results, please contact: Trey Harris at (520) 625-8409, Monday through Friday, during regular office hours from 8 AM to noon and 1-4 PM. Additional information about Community Water Company is available at our website: communitywater.com