| 1. I am installing a water softener. What is the “hardness” of PUD water?
Here are some sample results for hardness. Hardness is not a frequently required water test and therefore the results below may be several years old. In some sources, hardness can vary annually by 10-20% with the hardest water often in the winter and the softer water in the spring and summer as the water levels recharge. In the chart below, hardness is shown per system and area served (several systems have multiple sources). All of our sources are groundwater and the amount of hardness can range significantly depending on which source is serving your service location. |
||
| System (Area) | Hardness (in mg/l Calcium Carbonate) |
Hardness in (grains/gallon) |
| Quimper (Airport) | 200 | 12 |
| Quimper (Kala Point) | 185 | 11 |
| Quimper (Port Hadlock) | 176 | 10 |
| Quimper (Chimacum) | 136 | 8 |
| Bywater Bay (Shine) | 100 | 6 |
| Bywater Bay (Alpine Court ) | 120 | 7 |
| Gardiner (Gardiner) | 110 – 120 | 6 – 7 |
| Snow Creek (Uncas) | 107 | 6 |
| Quilcene (Quilcene) | 90-100 | 6 |
| Lazy C (Brinnon) | 85 | 5 |
| Triton Cove (Brinnon) | 16 – 24 | 1 -1.5 |
| LUD#3 (Ocean Grove) | 200 | 12 |
| For more information on how to access public water system data, see #2 below. | ||
| 2. How can I find out what is in the water coming into my home?
Under the Clean Drinking Water Act we are required to test on a schedule for certain potential contaminants. The water quality test results performed for compliance with state and federal regulations are posted on the Department of Health’s Sentry Internet Database. Anyone can query the Sentry system by water system name or system number to find these results. Below is the list of our systems. Enter the name of the system, then click on the ID number for more info. Click on “Samples” tab and look for the source number based on where you are. For instance, if you live in Eagle Ridge, your water system is “Quimper” and your source is SO12. Click on “Exceedances” to see if samples tested over the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Note that most of the listed results are below the detection limit of the analytical method and are designated a “LT”. For those samples that measured something in the water above the detection limit, it has an “EQ” next to it. |
||
| System Name (Area) | Water System ID # | Active Source (pumping rate) |
| Quimper (Airport) | 05783 | S10 (67 gpm) |
| Quimper (Port Hadlock) | 05783 | S06 (200 gpm) |
| Quimper (Chimacum) | 05783 | S05 (1500 gpm) |
| Quimper (Woodland Hills) | 05783 | S11 (40 gpm, summer) |
| Quimper (Eagle Ridge) | 05783 | S12 (15 gpm) |
| Gardiner LUD #1 (Gardiner) | 07877 | SO1 (300 gpm) |
| Snow Creek (Uncas) | 01220 | SO1 (30 gpm) |
| Bywater Bay (Shine) | 02043 | SO1 (150 gpm) |
| Bywater Bay (Alpine Crt) | 02043 | SO2 (30 gpm) |
| Quilcene (Quilcene) | AB292 | SO1 (28 gpm) |
| Lazy C (Brinnon) | 02676 | SO3 (50 gpm) |
| Triton Cove (Maple Ave.) | 89477 | SO1 (65 gpm) |
| Triton Cove (Williams Addition) | 89477 | SO3 (15 gpm) |
| We are also required to submit a consumer confidence report (CCRs) annually to all of our customers to inform them of any contaminants found in their water. We are in the process of uploading the CCRs to the website. | ||
3. Does the PUD chlorinate?
Yes, in most of our systems, chlorine is required to adequately disinfect the water. We work hard to keep chlorine at the appropriate level that it does not cause taste problems. If you do smell a lot of chlorine, it is often an indicator that there is not enough chlorine in the system (indeed, this is the opposite of what one would think). Please call or email to tell us if you can easily smell chlorine (swimming pool smell). Some of our systems with deep well sources do not need chlorine. Gardiner is the best example of a source that does not require any treatment.