The water in McKinney, Texas meets or exceeds all state and federal requirements for water quality and is safe to drink. McKinney’s system was also handed a superior rating by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

McKinney’s water is derived from a bevy of factors and filtering procedures. The city is required to meet certain state and federal regulations, but McKinney aims to surpass that quality with its own processes. The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requires water systems to test for more than 100 contaminants and must meet 91 regulations for water safety and quality.

McKinney receives treated water from the NTMWD (North Texas Municipal Water District), which supplies water to approximately 1.8 million people across 10 counties in the North Texas region. The NTMWD reservoir system consists of five surface water supply sources. 

Lavon Lake is McKinney’s main water supply with additional sources that include Jim Chapman Lake, Lake Texoma, Lake Tawakoni, and the East Fork Raw Water Supply Project

Rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells comprise the rest of McKinney’s drinking water. With those sources come contaminants that need to be reduced or altogether eliminated. From viruses to bacteria and pesticides to radioactive materials, there is much to be concerned about. 

Public water and bottled water are governed by different entities as the U.S. EPA regulates water provided by public water systems while the Food and Drug Administration establishes regulations for bottled water.

In a recent assessment of the McKinney water sources, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concluded that the water is susceptible to particular contaminants and infants, some elderly, or immunocompromised are at risk. 

Lead, in particular, is one serious threat to human health and can leak into water lines from service lines and home plumbing. One remedy to protect yourself against potential lead is flushing your tap for 30 seconds to two minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you’re concerned about your water, getting it tested is always recommended. 

The NTMWD has also been testing for Cryptosporidium, which is a microscopic parasite affecting the digestive tracts of humans and animals, the past few years. There hasn’t been any record of Cryptosporidium in that time and the NTMWD will continue to test. 

 

Below are the contaminants that were tested in the McKinney water supply and none of them reached the maximum threshold.

  • Antimony is one source of contamination that is derived from petroleum refineries, fire retardants, ceramics, and electronics.
  • Arsenic also comes from the erosion of natural deposits as well as runoff from orchards, glass and electronics production wastes.
  • Both Barium and Selenium come from the discharge of drilling wastes, the discharge from metal refineries and the erosion of natural deposits. 
  • Cyanide is a discharge from steel and metal factories. It also is a discharge from plastic and fertilizer factories.
  • Fluoride is a result of erosion of natural deposits while also being a water additive that promotes strong teeth as well as a discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories.
  • Nitrate is the runoff from fertilizer use, the leaching from septic tanks and sewage, and erosion of natural deposits.
  • Beta and photon emitters are the decay of natural and man-made deposits.
  • Combined Radium and Uranium are derived from the erosion of natural deposits. 
  • Chromium is produced from the discharge from steel and pulp mills as well as the erosion of natural deposits. 
  • Synthetic organic contaminants including pesticides and herbicides such as atrazine and Simazine are caused from a runoff from herbicides used on row crops.
  • Haloacetic acids and total trihalomethanes are by-products of drinking water disinfection. 
  • Chloramines, Bromate, TTHM (total trihalomethanes) and haloacetic acids are a by-product of drinking water chlorination. 
  • Chloroform and Bromoform are also by-products of drinking water disinfection.
  • Copper and lead are the corrosion of household plumbing systems, the corrosion of natural deposits and the leaching from wood preservatives.
  • Turbidity, which is a measurement of the cloudiness of the water caused by suspended particles, comes from soil runoff.
  • Total Coliform bacteria are used as indicators of microbial contamination of drinking water because testing for them is easy. While not disease-causing organisms themselves, they are often found in association with other microbes that are capable of causing disease.

Solutions

There are several methods to neutralize and eliminate these potential threats thanks to Basin Water Solutions. 

Your first option is a Whole House Water Filtration system and water softeners, which filter out and lessen the hardness of water. Measured in grains per gallon (GPG), hardness refers to the amount of dissolved Magnesium and Calcium in your water. Anything above 3 GPG is considered harmful to the home plumbing, appliances, water heaters, and fixtures. Furthermore, Chloramines are common disinfectants for drinking water, especially in industrial water. Water softeners will properly balance out the minerals and you won’t have to worry about Chloramines.

Basin Water Solutions also offers Water Treatment and Commercial Water Treatment that uses the latest integrated technologies to effectively remove Iron, Calcium, Manganese, Arsenic, heavy metal, Fluoride, Sulfide, Nitrate and many other contaminants from water sources.

Finally, Reverse Osmosis can filter your water by getting tap water across a semipermeable membrane in order to get rid of any impurities that may be in the water. Furthermore, the process gets rid of salt and other inorganic solids by removing them from the solution. Chloramine, Chlorine, Fluoride, pesticides, Nitrates, Sulfates and others are removed via Reverse Osmosis.

These methods are great options to clean and purify your water. Basin Water Solutions can install, repair, and maintain these systems with superior customer service. 

Contact us today!