Renton’s Water Sources

IN 2020, the City of Renton obtained its drinking water from four sources:

1. Six downtown wells located in Liberty and Cedar River Parks, which draw water from the Cedar Valley Aquifer
2. Springbrook Springs, a small spring located in south Renton
3. The Maplewood wellfield located under the Maple- wood Golf Course
4. An agreement to buy water from Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), who source water from the Cedar and Tolt rivers

Our agreement with SPU began in January 2012. During 2020, SPU provided approximately 11.6 million gallons of water that were used by the Renton Boeing plant. Water is purchased from SPU primarily for the Renton Boeing plant and as a backup supply during summer peak use peri- ods. More information available at SPU: seattle.gov/util/ waterqualityreport.

In 2020, the combined four water sources produced approx- imately 2.51 billion gallons of water.

Providing Safe, Clean Water

THE WATER PUMPED from the downtown wells and Springbrook Springs is naturally very clean and needs minimal treatment. Chlorine is added to destroy bacteria, parasites, and viruses that could possibly enter our source water. Chlorine also protects water in the distribution system in case there is a contamination event like a water main break or backflow incident. Sodium hydroxide is added to slightly raise the pH of the water to help prevent the corrosion of household plumbing. Ortho-polyphosphates are added to reduce the internal corrosion of old cast iron water mains found in the neighborhood of West Hill. Fluoride is added to prevent tooth decay. The downtown wellfield produced 58% of Renton’s water in 2020. Springbrook Springs produced 19% of Renton’s water in 2020.

Maplewood water is clean as well, but due to naturally occur- ring minerals, it must first be treated before it is pumped into the distribution system. The treatment process consists of removing manganese, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia from the source water. Chlorine is added to protect the water in the distribution system and fluoride is added to prevent tooth decay. The Maplewood wellfield produced 23% of Renton’s water in 2020.

Water Use Efficiency

IN 2003, the Washington State Legislature passed the Municipal Water Law to address the increasing demand on the state’s water resources. The law established that all municipal water suppliers must use water more efficiently in exchange for water right certainty and flexibility to help them meet future demand. The Water Use Efficiency (WUE) Rule is part of this law and requires municipal water suppli- ers to report their goals and progress each year.

In early 2021, Renton hosted a public forum and updated the WUE goals as part of the Water System Plan Update. The city has proposed the following measurable goals:

1. Reduce DSL to 10 percent or less by 2022.
2. Limit the Maximum Daily Demand to Average Daily Demand peaking factor to less than 2.0.
3. Maintain an ERU value under 160 gpd/ERU (gallons per day/Equivalent Residential Unit)

As part of the Saving Water Partnership, the city also supports the regional 2019–2028 WUE goal to keep the total average annual retail water use of SWP members under 110 million gallons per day (mgd) through 2028 despite fore- casted population growth by reducing per capita water use.

WATER CONSUMPTION AND LOSSES

RENTON’S TOTAL WATER PRODUCED and purchased in 2020 was 2,510,150,705 gallons. Distribution system leakage (DSL) is reported in the 2020 Water Use Efficiency report to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) as a three- year rolling average, calculated to be 11.1%. Renton’s DSL for the 2020 calendar year was 12.3%, or 309,246,324 gallons. This is a 1.3% increase from 2019. Our three-year rolling aver- age increased by 0.6%. DSL reflects the amount of water and potential revenue that has been lost due to water theft, water main breaks and leaks, meter inaccuracies, and other causes.

WATER LOSS CONTROL ACTION PLAN

SINCE THE THREE-YEAR (2018–2020) annual average of the city’s distribution system leakage exceeds 10%, we are required by the state to develop and implement a Water Loss Control Action Plan. The city is taking the following actions, among others, to identify and reduce water loss in the distribution system:

• Continue the annual replacement of aging and leaky water mains.
• Conduct leak testing on old underground water reser- voirs and repair leaky joints on concrete floors and walls.
• Continue using Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology to detect leaks.

Salmon-Smart Habits

Summer is peak water use season—the time when rain stops and people use more water in their yards and gardens. It is especially import- ant to conserve water in summer and fall when stream flows are lowest. Your actions can help to protect salmon and their freshwater habitat.

• Never dump oil or other chemicals down storm drains, and make sure no pollutants are leaking that could get washed into waterways (includ- ing pressure washing).
• Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing. Put sweepings in the garbage to prevent pollutants and debris from entering streams.
• Use automatic car washes that recycle water and perform proper disposal of detergents.
• Plant native plants and trees to reduce the need for watering, pest control and fertilization; and reap multiple benefits such as controlling ero- sion, reducing flooding, filtering pollution, and attracting wildlife.
• Use compost as a natural fertilizer on your lawn, flowers, and garden beds. Compost supports healthy plant roots and slowly releases water to plants. Avoid non-organic fertilizers.

Our COVID-19 Response

THROUGHOUT THE COVID-19 RESPONSE in 2020 and 2021, the City of Renton worked diligently to ensure the deliv- ery of safe drinking water to our customers and maintain adequate water supply for fire protection. For community resilience, one of our highest priorities bas been to ensure safe and reliable water comes out of the faucet for hand- washing and cleaning. In early March 2020, the City’s Water Utility staff implemented continuity of operations planning and took steps to reduce exposure for staff such that our water operations team could keep the system running and protected against pathogens. Our certified water treatment operators are mission critical, continuing to collect water quality samples from the system daily.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 has not been detected in drinking water supplies and the current risk to drinking water continues to be low. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recom- mends that Americans continue to use and drink water from their tap as usual.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

epa.gov/coronavirus/ coronavirus-and-drinking-water-and-wastewater

Ensuring Water Safety

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the DOH and EPA prescribe regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Washington Department of Agriculture regula- tions establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.

Creating a Sustainable, Water- Saving Garden this Summer

WATERING YOUR GARDEN

• Avoid evaporation by watering early in the morning and late at night.
• Water deeply, but infrequently. This encourages deep roots.
• Water lawns with one inch of water per week. Or, let areas of your lawn go brown and dormant, but water enough to moisten root zone once a month.

IRRIGATING CORRECTLY

• Inspect your irrigation system for leaks. An unusually green spot in the lawn may be a clue that there is a leak in the system.
• For automatic irrigation systems, install a rain shutoff device.

SELECTING THE RIGHT PLANT

• Pick plants that resist pests and require less water.
• Group plants by their needs. Place plants that need regu- lar watering together so that you don’t have to water the whole yard every day.
• Plant native plants and trees to reduce the need for watering, pest control and fertilization, and reap multiple benefits of controlling erosion, reducing flooding, filter- ing pollution and attracting wildlife.
• Make space for wildlife by planting native species and avoiding invasive and exotic plants. You can also pro- vide a small water source such as a birdbath and leave wild “buffers” of native plants along fencelines, ravines, streams, and shorelines.

USING COMPOST AND MULCH

• Use compost as a natural fertilizer on your lawn, flowers, and garden beds. Compost supports healthy plant roots and slowly releases water to plants.
• Mulch your shrub and tree beds with wood chips, leaves, or bark once per year to conserve water, reduce weeds, feed the soil, and prevent evaporation. Mulch should be several inches deep and one inch away from the plant stems.

Learn more about water-efficient gardening and access other outdoor videos, tips, tools, and rebates to help people preserve our region’s water for future generations at savingwater.org.

Water Your Garden with Recycled Water

There are many ways you can recycle the water you use indoors to help water your plants! Here are a few ideas:

Wash your fruits and vegetables in a bowl and pour that water in your garden.

Collect the water left in your glass after meals, and share that leftover water with your plants.

Put a bucket in the shower while your water heats up. Once the water cools, your plants will love a fresh drink of saved water!

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In 2020, the SWP youth education program conducted 348 in-classroom presentations to over 7,600 K–8 students. Two popular classes were the water cycle and the salmon life cycle. Many classes in 2020 were adapted to a new format and taught to students virtually. In Renton, Nature Vision taught 29 classes to 556 students in 2020 as part of this program.

The SWP continued the sprinkler timer rebate program. Nearly 50 customers replaced inefficient sprinkler timers with new WaterSense timers.

The SWP provided rebates for Premium toilets for residential and commercial cus- tomers. These fixtures use 1.1 gallons of water per flush (or less), at least 20% less water than a regular WaterSense fixture.

The Single Family Toilet Rebate Program upgraded 435 toilets to Premium toilet models and the Multifamily Toilet Replace- ment Program upgraded 88 toilets to Premium models.

The SWP presented nine Savvy Gardener classes in the spring, summer, and fall of 2020 with 243 attendees. These classes enable gardeners to create and maintain healthy landscapes that are good for fam- ilies and the environment. Renton hosted three of these classes with a total of 89 participants.

Bathroom Leaks

The faster you fix a leak, the better! Bathrooms are a great place to start looking for leaks since over half of all home water use takes place in the bathroom.

FAUCETS

Turn the faucet on and off. Then, look and listen for water dripping out of the faucet or pooling around the base of the fixture.

SHOWERHEADS

Turn the showerhead on and look for any dripping water or stray sprays at connection points.

TUBS

Turn the tub on, then divert the water to the shower. If there is still a lot of water coming from the tub faucet it may be time to replace the spout diverter.

More Tips for Indoor Water Use

• Scrape, do not rinse, dishes before using a dishwasher.
• Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or shaving.
• Choose five-minute showers instead of baths.
• Always run full laundry and dish loads.
• Thaw frozen food in the fridge, not by running water.

Fix Leaks, Prevent Water Waste from Leaking Toilets

Look, listen, and lift the lid to detect toilet leaks.

Look at the bowl of your toilet to see if water flows from the tank when you have not flushed. If water is dribbling into the bowl, you have a leak.

Listen to the tank. If it sounds like it is re-filling even when you haven’t flushed, that means you have a leak.

Lift the top off your toilet’s tank and check to see if the rubber seal or “flapper” looks worn out. If the rubber is cracking or not creating a complete seal, you have a leak.

You can detect silent leaks with food coloring. Put food coloring or a dye strip in the tank, don’t flush, and see if the color appears in the bowl. If it does, you have a leak.

To fix leaks, call a local plumber or do-it-yourself using the videos and tools at: savingwater.org/how-to-videos. Many of the repairs may be simpler than you think.

Lead and Your Health

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

The City of Renton Water Utility is responsible for provid- ing 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 mini- mize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for

30 seconds to two 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 Hotline at 800-426-4791 or epa.gov/safewater/lead.

If you flush your tap, you can use the flushed water for water- ing plants or general cleaning. Hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead. Only use water from the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking, and especially for making baby formula. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures, and solder. The most common problem is brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures that can leach lead into the water, especially hot water. Until seven years ago, the legal limit for “lead-free” pipes was up to 8% lead. As of January 1, 2014, all newly installed water faucets, fixtures, pipes, and fittings must meet new lead-free requirements, which reduce the amount of lead allowed to 0.25%. However, these requirements do not apply to exist- ing fixtures, such as those found in many older homes.

Lead Prevention in Renton

RENTON WORKS TO PREVENT the corrosion of not only lead, but other metals such as copper and iron. First, the pH of the water is adjusted to prevent the corrosion of house- hold plumbing—the major possible source of lead in our water. Second, in areas of the city with cast iron water mains (West Hill), ortho-polyphosphates are added to prevent corrosion. To make sure this treatment is working, water is periodically tested at residential taps. This testing is in compliance with the DOH’s Lead and Copper Rule. More information is available at doh.wa.gov/leadandcopperrule.

Fluoride

IN 1985, the citizens of Renton voted to have fluoride added to the city’s drinking water. Fluoride levels were adjusted in 2016 to meet the DOH’s new recommended level of 0.7 ppm. More information on fluoride can be found at the CDC at cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs.

Water Hardness

RENTON’S WATER FALLS within the slightly hard, moder- ately hard, and hard range, depending upon the customer’s water source within the City. The most recent water hardness testing showed 54 ppm for the downtown wells, 69 ppm for Maplewood, and 125 ppm for Springbrook Springs. A water’s hardness is dependent upon the levels of two natu- rally occurring soluble minerals—calcium and magnesium. Hard water may cause scale buildup in cooking pans, sinks, and water heaters, and may require using more soap to form a lather. This means that dish washing and clothes washing require relatively less soap than in other areas where the water is hard. If you do not know which water source your drinking water comes from, the water utility can help.

WATER HARDNESS SCALE

Water Quality Topics

Water Quality for Brewers

FOR BREWERS IN OUR COMMUNITY, specific water quality parameters are often of interest. Below are the values for the minerals and parameters generally requested. These numbers are the annual range of values. Renton’s water comes from multiple sources and depending upon your location, you may receive water from one source or a combi- nation of our water sources.

How Can I Get Involved?

The City of Renton welcomes your interest in its water system. The Renton City Council is the city’s decision-making body and meets on the first four Mondays of each month at 7 p.m.

The Utilities Committee oversees Water Utility issues. They meet the first and third Monday of the month at 3:30 p.m.

At the time of publication, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, councilmembers are attending meetings remotely through Zoom. Public testi- mony during public hearings and audience comments will be accommodated through Zoom and by telephone, but the public is requested to sign up for such testimony by emailing cityclerk@rentonwa.gov in advance.

Members of the Utilities Committee for 2021 are:

Angelina Benedetti, Chair Valerie O’Halloran, Vice-Chair Kim-Khánh Văn, Member

Call the City Clerk’s office at 425-430-6510

for meeting or agenda information, or check the City Council calendar at rentonwa.gov/council.

PFAS Chemicals

PFAS IS AN ACRONYM for “per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances.” PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in many consumer products, including food wrappers, fabrics, and carpets, to make them resistant to water, oil, grease, stains, and heat. Certain types of firefighting foam may contain PFAS. Even though PFAS compounds aren’t manufactured in Washington State, there are known cases of PFAS contamina- tion in drinking water linked to the use of firefighting foam.

The EPA has established a health advisory level (HAL) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctyl sulfonate (PFOS) at 70 parts per trillion (ppt). This is not a regulatory standard, but in Washington state the DOH is currently considering setting a state standard for PFAS. The Renton Water Utility tested for perfluorinated compounds in 2014 and 2015 under an EPA rule for unregulated contaminants. Perfluorinated compounds were not detected in any of the drinking water samples.

For more information, please visit epa.gov/pfas and ecology.wa.gov/pfas.

Lead Testing in Schools

THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH has developed a program to provide voluntary testing for lead in drinking water in elementary schools. For updated infor- mation, please visit: doh.wa.gov/LeadinSchools.

Seattle Public Utility’s Masonry Pool in the Cedar River Watershed

Your Water is Safe

Water from the City of Renton Water Utility and Seattle Public Utilities meet all regulatory standards, ensuring that your water is safe to drink.

NA

0.7

0.3–1.1

1.15

1.0–1.3

Naturally present in the environment

0.3

0.4

1.5

0.2

0.7

0.15–3.1

0.4–0.5

1.4–1.7

ND–5

0.6–0.8

0.04 0.02–0.18

0.4 0.3–0.5

1.2 1.1–1.3

0.7 0–0.8

Soil runoff

Erosion of natural deposits

Erosion of natural deposits

Disinfection by-products

Water additive to prevent tooth decay

AL: Action Level – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.

MCL: Maximum Contaminant Level – The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

MCLG: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal – The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

MRDL: Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level – The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

MRDLG: Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal – The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

MRL: Minimum Reporting Level

NA: Not Applicable

ND: Not Detected

NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Unit – Turbidity is a measure of how clear the water looks. The turbidity MCL that applied to the Cedar supply in 2020 is 5 NTU, and for the Tolt supply it was 0.3 NTU for at least 95% of the samples in a month. 100% of Tolt samples in 2020 were below 0.3 NTU.

ppb: 1 part per billion = 1 ug/L = 1 microgram per liter. 1 ppm = 1000 ppb.

ppm: 1 part per million = 1 mg/L = 1 milligram per liter. 1 ppm = 1000 ppb.

46. Treatment Technique – A required process
    intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Questions about this report:

Water Utility Engineering at 425-430-7287

Water discoloration, taste, or odor:

Water Quality at 425-430-7400

(7 a.m.–3:30 p.m.) or 425-430-7500 after hours or weekends

To report water pressure problems, water leaking in the streets, or water leaking at a meter:

Water Maintenance at 425-430-7400 (7 a.m.–3:30 p.m.) or 425-430-7500 after hours or weekends

If you are moving and need to arrange for a change of water service, or for general billing questions:

Utility Billing at 425-430-6852

This report contains important information about your drinking water. Have someone translate it for you, or speak with someone who understands it.

Este informe contiene información importante acerca de su agua potable. Haga que alguien lo traduzca para usted, o hable

con alguien que lo entienda.

Tài liệu này có tin tức quan trọng về nước uống của quý vị. Hãy nhờ người dịch cho quý vị, hoặc hỏi người nào hiểu tài liệu này.

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Karkari biyaha inta aadan isticmaalin.

WATER QUALITY REPORTS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AT:

rentonwa.gov/waterquality