LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Jan. 15, 2009)—The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission announced that the Hollywood Water System in St. Mary’s County was connected to the Lexington Park Water System on Tuesday, December 30, 2008. Customers of the Hollywood Water System were previously served by well water from the Aquia Aquifer with arsenic concentrations slightly above the EPA Maximum Contamination Level of 10 parts per billion (ppb).
In 2001, EPA lowered the limit from 50 ppb to 10 ppb in response to concerns that a life time of exposure to arsenic above this level may result in increase risk of cancer, diabetes and other adverse health effects. Federal regulations require by January 23, 2009 all public water systems with arsenic concentrations above 10 ppb must be treated or supplied by other sources with an arsenic concentration below 10 ppb.
Water now supplying the Hollywood area comes primarily from the deeper Patapsco Aquifer and arsenic concentrations in the Patapsco Aquifer are undetectable.
Source: St. Mary's County Government