Follow-Up Article on Water Quality by Mayor Brent Taylor
The Standard Examiner published, what I feel, was a balanced and well-written follow-up article on water quality and testing. I raised concerns about a previous article because it contained some incorrect information about Chromium-6 regulatory standards in California. I appreciate Mark Shenefelt's taking the time to address this issue in a follow-up.
Our water is rigorously tested and meets or exceeds all federal and state regulatory requirements. I cannot stress that enough. We are not even close to exceeding any regulatory level in our water for any contaminant, and we will always keep it that way. This does not mean there is no possibility of microscopic particulates of other elements in our water, because they simply exist in ALL groundwater sources and water delivery systems. Think about it: our water is drawn from where it has been sitting in soil and rock formations which contain particulates and contaminates (mostly naturally-occurring), and then runs through wells and pipes that are made from concrete, metal, and plastic, which can introduce microscopic particles as these pipes wear down over time. Of course, we filter and treat our water to remove contaminants, and we replace old pipes, but in some cases microscopic or trace levels may remain. By "trace levels," we are talking about things so small they are measured in "parts per billion" (less than 0.0000000001%). In some cases, expensive filtration and osmosis processes may be able to reduce such trace elements to at or near zero, but the cost is astronomical for very little to no actual health benefit. (For comparison: a gallon of filtered/osmosis bottled water costs about $1, whereas a gallon of our clean and healthy water delivered on demand directly to the faucets of your home costs about one fifth of one cent).
These regulatory standards are rarely "zero," because of practical limitations, and because trace levels of most elements do not pose a measurable risk to the consumer. Our water is regularly tested by independent laboratories and under state government supervision for compliance with these regulatory standards, and our water is not even close to reaching a single one of these regulatory limits for any contaminant and is entirely safe to drink.
We will continue to carefully monitor new scientific developments as we continuously improve our water system to deliver safe and clean water on demand to the homes of our City for less than one cent per gallon. The piping of safe and economical drinking water into individual homes is one of the most important public health achievements in world history, and we take the responsibility to continue to provide this important service to our citizens very seriously. – Mayor Brent Taylor
New Park Signs
As part of the ongoing City beautification effort, the Parks and Recreation Department has been installing new beautiful signs at our City parks. Big thanks to Weber County R.A.M.P. tax which is helping fund the signs!
CALLING NORTH OGDEN RESIDENTS! Our new magazine is in full swing and we would like to have some input from the community each month. We believe that community involvement is crucial to a vibrant and powerful publication. Here are some things we need help with this month:
1. PHOTO of the month!! - One of the most important parts of a great publication is the cover. CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS. We need great local photos that are the essence of our community and the time of year. Please submit high resolution photos in vertical orientation.
2. Nominations for our contest - Best Halloween Decorations - winner will receive $100 cash (send us their address so we can go see the decorations)
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS: We are starting a new section where we will feature community announcements. Please send us a picture of the person and what happened. Examples might include: Weddings, Anniversaries, Mission Calls, Career Advancement, Obituaries.
4. Precious Pets - Send us a photo and a brief description of your family pet(s) Pictures with their humans are fun too.
5. Resident Recipe - What is your favorite November Recipe? We would love to feature it in our publication. We would like to have a healthy and an indulgent recipe each month. A quality photo helps too.
6. Restaurant Review - Have you eaten at a restaurant lately that our residents might like to know about? Please put together a brief review and send it to us. (Positive only please)
7. Poem or Short Story or piece of art. We want to feature the talents and creativity of our community. The more relevant to the time of year the better. But please submit anything creative and we will see if we can feature it in the publication.
We are so grateful for the wonderful response we have received from the community. We are excited to be providing this to magazine to the community on an ongoing basis. Please join us in making it great each month. To submit, go online to www.connectionpub.com and click submit. You can call us with questions. 801-624-9652.
Miss North Ogden's Outstanding Teen, Samantha Gambles, had the opportunity this past weekend to compete at the Miss Utah's Outstanding Teen Scholarship Pageant along with 26 of the most talented and service-oriented young ladies in the state of Utah. She represented our City with grace and kindness and was awarded the Non-Finalist Interview Award for the highest score in a private interview with the judges as well as the Committee Award for her outstanding accomplishments and kindness. We are so proud! She will continue serving North Ogden City for the remainder of her year and will continue working on her platform "Heads Up! Helmet Safety Awareness".
One October Employee of the Month is Cooper Favero in Public Works. Congratulations Cooper! He gets a free half day off and some well-deserved recognition, including in our new, awesome City magazine.
Our September employee of the month was Teresa Gray. Teresa has been with North Ogden City since 2013. She is the first person you will meet as you visit Parks and Recreation. Teresa is an outstanding employee and great team player. She works with the Parks and Recreation team in gathering and compiling information and putting together races and events. Teresa is a skilled coordinator and helps with vendors and advertisers for the Cherry Days Celebration, rentals and reservations for the North View Senior Center, and helps keep our office running smoothly. She is always willing to lend a hand, and you may have seen her creative work at North Ogden City’s booth at the Weber County Fair. Teresa does a remarkable job and we are so glad to have her in the Parks and Recreation department.
