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Indicators:  Rivers + Reservoirs

Drinking Water

Most large water companies delivered water that met all standards in 2006, but a few short-term problems led to a decline for a second year in a row.

Drinking Water Chart

Every public water utility submits monthly quality reports to the Department of Public Health. This indicator shows the percentage of monthly reports that demonstrate full compliance, after weighting the reports to account for the number of people served by each utility. Though long-term problems persist, they occur most frequently with small systems serving relatively few households. This indicator would show greater fluctuations if the larger systems failed to deliver good water. As in most years, most of the contamination problems of 2006 occurred in small systems, but a few short-term problems in larger systems caused this indicator to show a downturn for a second consecutive year. The most commonly encountered contaminants included bacteria and byproducts of disinfection, with an assortment of other chemicals and radioactive substances.