Water Report Analysis: Portsmouth, Virginia, Water Quality Assessment

This report analyzes the water quality of Portsmouth, Virginia, based on the 2018 water report. The report discusses the water sources, including Cohoon, Speight’s Run, Lake Meade, and Lake Kilby. It addresses the failure to report certain contaminants in 2017, while also highlighting that the detected contaminants are below the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). The report details the presence of microbial, inorganic, and organic contaminants and also mentions the addition of ammonia and fluoride for water treatment. The report also references the presence of radioactive contaminants. The analysis emphasizes the importance of maintaining water quality standards for public health and safety.

Running head: REPORT ANALYSIS
Water Report Analysis of Portsmouth, Virginia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1WATER REPORT ANALYSIS
The annual water report found under Consumer Confidence Reports is a good
indicator to adjudge the water quality level of a local region. The following section of the
paper will analyse the water quality report for the region of Portsmouth, Virginia, for the year
2018.
The water for this region is delivered from source lakes, specifically Cohoon,
Speight’s Run, Lake Meade and Lake Kilby. According to the report, the waterworks system
has failed to perform scheduled reporting with Cryptosporidium samples and also missed the
regular monitoring for inorganic contaminants in the year 2017. This indicates the failure of
the system to report the presence of harmful contaminants such as thallium, selenium,
mercury, beryllium, barium, arsenic and antimony to the Virginia Department of Health.
However, the report mentions that the presence of these contaminants is very low and non-
detectable, that is, below the levels determined by the Maximum Contaminants Levels
(MCLs) and is, therefore, safe to use (Foster and Stephanie).
The report states that the water may contain microbial contaminants such as bacteria
and viruses, inorganic contaminants, herbicides and pesticides and organic chemical
contaminants. The major concern with the safety of the water usage is the presence of
radioactive contaminants. These radioactive contaminants may be the result of dissolving of
naturally occurring minerals or the mining activities
The water is added with ammonia and fluoride, which helps to form chloramines,
maintain long-lasting residual in the distribution system and aid in the oral health of the users
(Zhang and Qingrui). These measures are taken to meet the federal standards and produce
high-quality water to the local users.

2WATER REPORT ANALYSIS
References
Foster, Stephanie A., et al. "Arsenic Drinking Water Violations Decreased across the United
States Following Revision of the Maximum Contaminant Level." Environmental science &
technology 53.19 (2019): 11478-11485.
Zhang, Qingrui, et al. "Selective and efficient removal of fluoride from water: in situ
engineered amyloid fibril/ZrO2 hybrid membranes." Angewandte Chemie International
Edition 58.18 (2019): 6012-6016.