About 1,500 customers in the Carney areas of Baltimore County will receive notices that the presence of a chemical contaminant has been detected in their drinking water.

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works announced today that quarterly tests between July 2014 and June 2015 showed an elevated level of haloacetic acids (HAA5) at the Carney sampling location.

The maximum contaminant level for HAA5 is 60 parts per billion – the Carney location showed a value of 61 parts per billion.

“The annual averages for all other sampling locations were below the maximum contaminant level, including one in the same hydraulic zone of the water distribution system as the Carney site. Our most recent Carney sample value for HAA5 was below the maximum contaminant level,” today’s DPW press release stated.

The agency stressed that the level is not considered an emergency and residents do not need to boil water or take other corrective measures.

Haloacetic acids are five compounds which form when disinfectants react with natural organic matter in water.

People who drink water containing HAA5 in excess of the maximum level over many years may have an increased risk of cancer.