LaVERGNE, Tenn. -- Some LaVergne residents received letters in the mail recently concerning the city's drinking water.

Video: City Issues Letter To Residents About Drinking Water

The letter told residents that the city of LaVergne exceeded the level for trihalomethanes.

The EPA does not consider the level a violation or to have any adverse effects on human health from short-term exposure. Water officials said residents would have to consume large amounts of the water for 20 years to see any significant health problem.

According to drinking water standards, a public water system is obligated to send out a public notice for any exceedance. For what is considered a maximum contaminant level exceedance, a notice is required within 30 days.

Water officials said last summer’s dry, hot weather led to the creation of the chemical but that the situation has improved dramatically since. The officials said the high levels appeared last summer.

"We had some extremely drought times, high temperatures, the lake was at a lower level and the water was a little bit hard to treat," said Thomas Champagne of Severn Trent Services.

Champagne said the levels are now back to normal but that the high levels are being averaged in.

The water is still safe for bathing and cooking and does not need to be boiled, according to the city.

"The water is fine coming out at the tap. We test it daily," Champagne said.

Kelli Williams said she and her family are using bottled water, because they are still concerned.

"We haven’t been drinking the water. We do still cook with the water, and we do still use the ice, but we haven’t been drinking it. We’ve just been drinking bottled water," Williams said.

Residents are urged to consult their doctor if they have specific health concerns.

The EPA investigated LaVergne’s water treatment plant in 2006 after the water department released too much of a treatment chemical into the system, which gave the water a pink-tinted color.

Since then, new management said it has fine-tuned the plant and that it wants to assure customers that the water is safe.

Officials said a repeat of the problem is unlikely because the area has already received so much more rain already.

Related Link:

Letter Sent To LaVergne Residents