Some WI well water contains viruses
MADISON, WI, October 20, 2008 (Water Tech) — Research released last week by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the Marshfield Clinic, headquartered in Marshfield, shows that human viruses are present in most of the drinking water in this city, and could be infectious enough to cause illness if the city water were not chlorinated, according to an October 18 article in the Wisconsin State Journal.
During the study, six city wells were tested every month between September 2007 and September 2008. While no well tested positive in every sampling, gastrointestinal and respiratory viruses were found at least twice in every well. Samples were taken prior to being treated with chlorine, according to the article.
Researchers say they believe that the source of the viruses is the leakage of untreated sewage from the Madison sewer system into the wells, according to the article.
Neither the states nor federal government sets standards for viruses in drinking water, and communities are not required to treat for them. Hundreds of communities across Wisconsin do not chlorinate their drinking water, according to the article.
Ottawa’s water source contains toxic compounds
OTTAWA, October 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — This Canadian capital city’s main drinking water source, the site of a huge raw sewage spill in 2006, contains trace levels of at least 10 toxins, including the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), the pain reliever acetaminophen and the livestock antibiotic lasaloid A, an October 20 UPI report quoting an Ottawa Sun article said.
City officials found out about the results of the testing through a memo from the infrastructure services department. Testing took place this spring, taking raw water samples from the Ottawa River. Analysis of the samples found only low levels of the chemical compounds, so city officials have told residents not to worry, according to an October 20 CTV report.
One of the toxins detected in the water, BPA, recently was declared a hazardous chemical by the Canadian government. The government has banned it from use in polycarbonate baby bottles, as WaterTech Online™ reported.
Meanwhile, the city has received a 107-page report from its auditor general, Alain Lalonde, regarding the 2006 raw sewage spill. Lalonde’s October 22 report concludes that incompetent management and neglect of aging sewage and stormwater equipment were to blame for two weeks of unnoticed sewage dumping into the Ottawa River, the Ottawa Sun reported. The river supplies 338 million liters (89 million gallons) of water daily to 750,000 residents.
WQA promotes POU for meds removal
LISLE, IL, October 23, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Water Quality Association (WQA) released consumer-directed information in an October 22 PR Newswire press release stating that point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices are an option for reducing emerging contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals, that are in some tap water.
In the release, the WQA directs consumers to a guide for choosing home treatment devices released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The “Consumer Guide to Water Filters ” outlines POU and point-of-entry (POE) water treatment methods and equipment, and addresses how to find a qualified water treatment system dealer.
The release was prompted by a recent ABC News report on the issue of pharmaceuticals in water supplies. According to the report, “ABC News asked researchers to test a widely available water filter for the home. They found it greatly reduced the traces of drugs in the water.”
WaterTech Online™ requested on October 16 more information from ABC News on the water filter research, but that specific request has not been answered.
According to WQA Technical Director Joseph Harrison, POU systems are the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly treatment because less than 2 percent of all water consumed is ingested by humans. He said in the press release that while specific product performance standards have not yet been developed for pharmaceuticals, many POU technologies have proven effective for some emerging contaminants.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
This is a great article that talks about a press release from the Water Quality Association with regards to pharmaceuticals in drinking water. It is a very informative article, which further validates the need for a point-of-use system. Be sure to take a moment to read this and share this with the distributors in your network and your prospective customers. Multi-Pure is the best solution for all your drinking water needs!
You can also read NSF’s press release by clicking the link below:
www.nsf.org/consumer/newsroom/pdf/pharmaceuticals_water2.pdf
Norovirus outbreaks linked to drinking water: study
TORONTO, October 27, 2008 (Water Tech) — Findings from a study looking for patterns that might explain winter flare-ups of Norovirus-induced stomach flu, also known as gastroenteritis, may be linked to drinking water sources that also serve as sewage treatment outlets, The Canadian Press reported on October 27.
The research found that winter outbreaks were more likely to happen in the week after water temperatures in Lake Ontario dipped below 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit) or flow from the Don River into Lake Ontario was high. These findings suggest that under certain environmental conditions, noroviruses from human sewage may proliferate in bodies of water that are used both as municipal water sources and sewage treatment outlets, eventually finding their way back into human gastrointestinal tracts through drinking water, according to the report.
Lead author of the study, Amy Greer, is a post-doctoral fellow working on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases at the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She presented the findings at an October 26 joint scientific conference of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Washington, DC.
While Greer cautioned that the findings are preliminary, she said, “So the question is, if we have a reservoir in the lake of environmental virus, essentially how is it that people are coming in contact with it? … Our findings may suggest that that [drinking water] might be something that we should look at.”
11 CA systems ordered to comply with arsenic rule
SAN FRANCISCO, October 28, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in an October 28 press release that it has ordered 11 public drinking water systems throughout the state of California to reduce the level of arsenic in their respective systems or face penalties of up to $32,500 per day for each violation.
The EPA’s orders require the systems to develop and meet a schedule to comply with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act’s arsenic standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb).
The EPA has issued orders to the following California public water systems:
? City of Delano, Kern County
? Tranquility Irrigation District public water system, Fresno County
? Armona Community Service District public water system, Kings County
? Public water system located at 21600 Eight Street East, Sonoma County
? Groskopf Warehousing & Logistics public water system, Sonoma County
? Lancelot Mobile Home Park public water system, Santa Rosa
? Rancho de Sonoma Mobile Home Park, Sonoma County
? Riverdale Public Utility District, Fresno County
? J Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma County
? Arvin Community Services District, Kern County
? Pla-Vada Woodlands Community Association, Nevada County
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP880 Series has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce Arsenic V.
Companies must pay $500K for Superfund cleanup
LOS ANGELES, September 24, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered seven companies to pay a total of $500,000 to help clean groundwater beneath a San Fernando Valley Superfund site that is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), according to a September 22 EPA press release.
Plumes of industrial chemicals have leaked into the groundwater, forcing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to take nearly half of its drinking water wells offline, according to an article in the Los Angeles Daily News.
The seven companies cited in the release are: Los Angeles By Products Co.; Pick Your Part Auto Wrecking; Waste Management Recycling & Disposal Services of California, Inc. dba Bradley Landfill & Recycling Center; Hawker Pacific Aerospace; the Wagner Living Trust; the Basinger B Trust; and the Basinger C Trust. These companies previously refused to enter into a $1.3 million voluntary settlement agreement to pump and treat groundwater in North Hollywood. Three companies did accept this agreement: Honeywell International, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corp., Calmat; and California Car Hikers.
Solvent contamination was first discovered in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1980s. The North Hollywood groundwater treatment system has removed volatile organic compounds such as TCE and PCE since 1989, according to the release.
Study: Iodinated DBPs more likely with chloramines
ATHENS, GA, September 25, 2008 (Water Tech) — Researchers have published for the first time a study that quantifies the levels of iodoacetic acid (iodo-acid) disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in North American drinking water treated with chloramines, producing a compound-by-compound toxicity analysis, according to a September 24 American Chemical Society (ACS) report.
Iodo-acid DBPs are more toxic to mammalian cells than bromoacetic acid, which is the most genotoxic (DNA-damaging) of the haloacetic acids (HAAs) regulated in the United States. Iodo-acid also has been shown to cause developmental abnormalities in mouse embryos, the study said.
The collaborative study is published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) and led by researchers Susan Richardson from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Exposure Research Laboaratory and Michael Plewa of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
In the study, analytical chemists, analytical biologists, engineers and toxicologists analyzed water samples from 22 US cities and one Canadian city. The study arose from their interest in the growing evidence showing that the formation of iodinated DBPs in drinking water may be higher when utilities use chloramines for disinfectants rather than chlorine, ozone, or chlorine dioxide. According to the study’s authors, the findings could present a conflict for water utilities seeking the best technique for disinfecting drinking water.
The research team found higher levels of iodo-acid disinfection DBPs at treatment plants with relatively short free-chlorine contact times, and the lowest level at a chlorine-only plant with long free-chlorine contact times, the report says.
Higher levels of iodo-acids also were found in coastal cities with higher levels of naturally occurring iodide in their source waters.
According to the report, the paper includes a simple engineering solution for water utilities to aid in determining the relative toxicity and occurrence of these DBPs. Then the utility can modify its disinfection approach to “produce very good water … that is less toxic and includes fewer DBPs,” according to Plewa.
High lead in some Bay City, MI, tap water
BAY CITY, MI, October 6, 2008 (Water Tech) — Recent sampling has revealed that 20 percent of samples collected from residences throughout this city’s water distribution system have exceeded the federal maximum contaminant level for lead in drinking water, according to an October 6 article in The Bay City Times.
John A. DeKam, Bay City Water Treatment Plant superintendent, said in the article that lead plumbing in homes, including faucets, are to blame for the high levels of lead in 14 of 69 samples. The city’s water is in compliance with state and federal drinking water regulations, he added.
Regardless, the city must now follow US Environmental Protection Agency regulations and conduct public education; increase the sampling frequency and quantity; resume a program to remove the utility’s portion of any remaining lead service lines going to homes; and “further optimize” the city’s water treatment processes.
The city has been conducting a lead service line replacement program since 1999; DeKam said in the article that the city still has 4,040 lead service lines to replace.
Tests on drinking water wells prompt pesticide ban
MADISON, WI, October 7, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has proposed adding about 1,830 acres to the area in Columbia County in southern Wisconsin where the pesticide atrazine is banned, according to an October 5 article in the Star Tribune.
The DATCP says tests on drinking water wells prompted the proposal. The tests indicated that the continued use of the common pesticide would contaminate groundwater. Exposure to high levels of atrazine can cause problems with the heart, lungs and kidneys, and long-term exposure can lead to cancer, according to the article.
If approved, the expansion would go into effect during the 2009 growing season, according to an October 1 article in Wisconsin Ag Connection. The added acres would connect two previously existing atrazine prohibition areas.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce TCE, a Atrazine.
High lead levels detected at NJ school
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ, October 15, 2008 (Water Tech) — High lead levels discovered on October 8 at Woodfern Elementary School, located here, have prompted school officials to ban the use of drinking fountains and take other precautionary measures, according to an October 14 article on www.mycentraljersey.com.
The school uses well water and tests for various contaminants each year. In two of 10 tests, the water tested “higher lead levels” than acceptable.
All water fountains have been covered or disabled, and containers of fresh water have been placed next to the fountains, the article said. Bottled water also is being delivered to the school. School water is being used for cooking.
McGowan Well Water Compliance Mgt. LLC is assisting school officials in developing a remediation plan, according to the article.
State requirement dictates that the water cannot be retested until the beginning of January 2009. The precautions will be in effect until that time, according to the article.
Bottled water has same contaminants as tap: study
WASHINGTON, October 15, 2008 (Water Tech) — “Drink filtered tap water” is one recommendation made in a study released October 15 by advocacy organization Environmental Working Group (EWG), based here, that found contaminants in 10 popular brands of bottled water.
Of the 10 brands of bottled water tested, just two brand names were released in the report: Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Choice and Giant Food Supermarket’s Acadia. All brands tested met federal safe drinking water standards; however, the two brands named violated a state of California standard for disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that is stricter than the federal standard.
According to the report, “Two of 10 brands tested, Wal-Mart’s and Giant’s store brands, bore the chemical signature of standard municipal water treatment — a cocktail of chlorine disinfection byproducts [DBPs], and for Giant Water, even fluoride. In other words, this bottled water was chemically indistinguishable from tap water. The only striking difference: the price tag,” the researchers wrote.
According to the report, the study’s lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals and other contaminants, such as bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, heavy metals and minerals, as well as other “tentatively identified industrial chemicals” used as solvents, plasticizers and propellants. The researchers said that some of the chemicals may have leached into the water from the plastic water bottles.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), headquartered in Alexandria, VA, responded to the EWG report, calling it “sensationalized science.” IBWA President Joe Doss said in the group’s October 14 press release, which was published in anticipation of the release of the EWG report, “The testing results show that only two bottled water brands didn’t meet a California state standard for one regulated substance.”
Doss noted that the California state standard for DBPs, 10 parts per billion (ppb), is eight times lower than the US Food and Drug Administration standard of quality for bottled water and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) maximum contaminant level for tap water at 80 ppb.
According to an October 15 Associated Press (AP) story on the report, “Wal-Mart said its own studies did not turn up illegal levels of contaminants. Giant Food officials released a statement asserting that Acadia meets all regulatory standards.” Giant Food also noted that Acadia is sold in mid-Atlantic states, so it does not need to meet California state standards.
The IBWA noted that the EWG report labels total dissolved solids, for which the EPA has established a non-enforceable secondary drinking water standard, as a “contaminant.” According to the IBWA, “While total dissolved solids are not permitted in distilled bottled water, they are important for the taste and character of spring and mineral water.”
In the EWG report, researchers write that the success of bottled water in the United States has been driven in part by concerns over tap water quality. The researchers, based on their findings, recommend policy changes, such as holding bottled water products to the same standards that publicly supplied water must meet and expanding resources dedicated to protecting source waters.
The researchers also offer advice for consumers searching for safe drinking water: Use a carbon filter — either a point-of-use device or a pitcher — to remove many of the contaminants found in public water supplies. They also recommend consumers drink filtered tap water out of a stainless steel bottle and lobby policymakers to improve and fund source water protection programs.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
News about the quality of bottled water, combined with the high cost of bottled water and the environmental concerns about bottled water give consumers many reasons to drink tap water filtered by a Multi-Pure Drinking Water System.
Bottled water versus tap: Which is safer to drink?
LOS ANGELES, October 13, 2008 (Los Angeles Times) — Those ubiquitous plastic water bottles have been increasingly vilified in recent years. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, among others, have banned them from purchase with city funds. A few trendsetting restaurants, and even some markets and hotels, have banned them too.
The trend has left many consumers wondering: Isn't bottled safer than tap?
"Bottled water isn't any safer or purer than what comes out of the tap," says Dr. Sarah Janssen, science fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, which conducted an extensive analysis of bottled water back in 1999. "In fact, it's less well-regulated, and you're more likely to know what's in tap water."
Bottled and tap water come from essentially the same sources: lakes, springs and aquifers, to list a few. In fact, a significant fraction of the bottled water products on store shelves are tap water -- albeit filtered and treated with extra steps to improve taste.
To read complete story, click on the link below:
www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-he-nutrition13-2008oct13,0,4063450.story
Multi-Pure Commentary:
We all know that tap water filtered through a Multi-Pure Drinking Water System is the healthiest, tastiest, and most refreshing water available. Talk about it! Talk about it! Talk about it!
One out of 8 New Jersey private wells contaminated
TRENTON, NJ, August 28, 2008 (Water Tech) — One in eight private wells in New Jersey is contaminated, violating at least one limit for drinking water contaminants, according to a recently released New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) report, the Asbury Park Press reported on August 28.
According to the DEP report, which is based on data gathered during real estate transactions or by landlords between September 2002 and April 2007, water samples were taken from 51,028 private wells tested under the Private Well Testing Act of 2001.
Bill Wolfe, head of the nonprofit advocacy group New Jersey Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said in the article that, based on the 12.5 percent violation rate, most people who have not sold their homes probably have not had their wells tested and should do so.
The Asbury Park Press reported that New Jersey has an estimated 400,000 private wells used for drinking water. Statewide, a total of 6,369 private wells exceeded one or more of the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for Safe Drinking Water Act primary drinking water contaminants linked to health concerns. The contaminants include arsenic, mercury, nitrate, total coliform and fecal coliform, gross alpha particle activity (a measure of radioactivity) and volatile organic chemicals, according to the report.
Other data from the report indicated that one well exceeded six limits, three wells exceeded five limits, and three wells exceeded four limits.
Mysterious goo threatens drinking water
EPHRATA, WA, August 29, 2008 (Water Tech) — Investigators have identified the mysterious goo, which has been leaking from more than 2,000, 55-gallon barrels into groundwater at the unlined Ephrata landfill, as industrial paint solvents and sludge, medical waste and radioactive materials, according to an August 28 article in The Wenatchee World.
The last of the barrels were removed this month and have been shipped to disposal facilities in Utah and Arkansas. They were buried in the landfill in 1975, according to the article.
Although it is still not known how extensively the groundwater has been contaminated, aquifers under the dump have tested positive for high levels of organic compounds, metals, petroleum products, solvents, pesticides and other chemicals after state-mandated testing began monitoring groundwater in 1988. Officials believed the barrels were the source of the contamination but could find no record of what the barrels contained. Of the 2,353 drums discovered, 1,084 had leaked, according to the article.
To determine the extent of the contamination, contractors will sample the soil, drill into bedrock and test the water that accumulated at the bottom of the drum cache. Cole Carter, site manager for the landfill cleanup project, said in the article that if the chemicals have leaked into larger aquifers or may eventually reach them, there is potential for drinking water contamination.
Perchlorate find prompts warning in MA town
HAMILTON, MA, September 2, 2008 (Water Tech) — High levels of perchlorate in this town’s drinking water have prompted city officials to issue a warning for many in the community, according to an August 30 report on WBZ-TV.
Hamilton Water District officials said a sample taken on August 13 found levels of perchlorate at 44.4 parts per billion (ppb); the Massachusetts maximum contaminant level (MCL) for perchlorate is 2 ppb. A second sample taken on August 28 returned the same results. A sample taken from another location in the system contained 32.2 ppb, the report said.
City officials turned off the well that contained the higher levels of perchlorate and warned pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children, and those with hypothyroidism not to drink the town’s water. Perchlorate has been used as an ingredient in rocket fuels and explosives.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) was the first state in the nation to set drinking water and waste site cleanup standards for perchlorate, which interferes with thyroid function and, consequently, can impair human development and metabolism, according to the MassDEP Web site.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Perchlorate.
Elevated lead levels found at eight schools
BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO, September 4, 2008 (Water Tech) — Eight elementary and high schools here are providing bottled water to students after elevated levels of lead were detected in the buildings’ drinking water, according to a September 3 article in The Community Press.
Water testing was performed in anticipation of the resumption of classes after summer recess. There are no lead pipes in any of the buildings, and the source of the lead is thought to be lead solder or brass fixtures. Water sitting in the pipes during the summer months may have encouraged leaching, according to the article.
The acceptable upper limit for lead in school water is 0.010 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The levels discovered at the schools ranged from 0.0121 mg/L to 0.0262 mg/L, according to the article.
Water fountains at the schools have been bagged to prevent use and the pipes will be flushed until lead levels return to acceptable limits, according to the article.
The groundwater under the city of Troy is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) from the East Troy Superfund site. The VOCs also have contaminated a nearby drinking water well field. Adding the site to the NPL enables the EPA to further study the sources of contamination and plan ways to clean all affected locations, according to the release.
Two of the three Region 5 sites recommended for placement on the NPL, the Behr Dayton Thermal System VOC Plume in Dayton, OH, and the New Carlisle Landfill in New Carlisle, OH, also involve contaminated water. Groundwater at the Behr Dayton site is contaminated with TCE, and in New Castle, public and private wells have been found to contain vinyl chloride above the safe drinking water level, according to the release.
A total of six sites were added to the NPL nationwide, bringing the total to 1,258. Eleven new sites are proposed nationwide. The EPA updates the list twice a year, according to the release.
The original AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water, the AP reported. Positive tests were reported in 17 areas, including Reno, NV; Savannah, GA; Colorado Springs, CO; and Huntsville, AL. Results are pending in three other areas.
The most recent test results, added to data disclosed by communities and water utilities for the March AP report, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drinking water that contains trace levels of pharmaceutical compounds.
Boston, Phoenix and Seattle found no detections of pharmaceuticals in their drinking water supplies.
Cities that reported finding pharmaceuticals in their supplies detected substances similar to those found in other cities’ supplies and reported on in March. One such substance is the anti-convulsant carbamazepine.
According to AP, the overwhelming majority of US cities have not tested drinking water for pharmaceuticals. One of them, New York City, maintains that testing “is not warranted at this time.”
The EPA discovered contaminated water in the wells about two years ago, and more recent testing indicates the pollution of a groundwater plume by dry cleaning products.
The aquifer has a “honeycomb” type of formation, said Chris Villareal, project manager for the EPA. This means there are many potential pathways throughout the area through which contaminants can migrate. The EPA will need to take samples from the aquifer and monitor its levels before knowing if water treatment is necessary, according to the article.
Residents were unaware of the contamination and had been using water from the contaminated wells for years before being hooked up to the public water supply.
The EPA will continue water well testing and meet with the Edwards Aquifer Authority to discuss the possibility of contamination, according to the article.
Increased nitrate levels in US groundwater, study finds
PUEBLO, CO, September 16, 2008 (Water Tech) — Data from a US Geological Survey (USGS) study on nitrate levels in groundwater published in the September-October issue of Journal of Environmental Quality indicates that levels of nitrate concentration in well networks have significantly increased in predominately agricultural areas across the United States.
This study, which was conducted as part of the USGS federally funded National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program, examined decadal-scale changes in nitrate levels in 495 wells in 24 well networks. A well network is a set of about 30 wells randomly selected to examine groundwater quality in a region. Each well network was sampled once during 1988-1995 and again in 2000-2004. Seven of the 24 well networks showed an increase in nitrate concentrations. The median nitrate concentration of three of these well networks that saw an increase exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level for nitrates of 10 milligrams per liter, according to the abstract.
EPA not likely to set national perchlorate limit
WASHINGTON, September 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon, is expected to rule as early as September 22 that it will not set a drinking water safety standard for the rocket fuel and fireworks chemical perchlorate, according to a September 22 Washington Post article.
The EPA has maintained that perchlorate, which has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children, poses developmental health risks to humans. Earlier this year, the EPA announced that perchlorate, which also is naturally occurring, was included on its most recent Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 3), as WaterTech Online™ reported. The CCL 3 includes possible drinking water contaminants that may need to be regulated to ensure the protection of drinking water.
The EPA’s efforts to help determine if regulation of perchlorate in drinking water would “meaningfully” reduce risks to human health has faced opposition from the Bush administration for years. The Washington Post reported: “According to a near-final document obtained by The Washington Post, the EPA’s ‘preliminary regulatory determination’ — which was extensively edited by White House officials — marks the final step in a six-year-old battle between career EPA scientists who advocate regulating the chemical and White House and Pentagon officials who oppose it.”
The document estimates that up to 16.6 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate at a level many scientists consider unsafe. Independent researchers, using federal and state data, put the number at 20 million to 40 million, the article said.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Perchlorate.
BOZEMAN, MT, August 8, 2008 (Water Tech) — Human error at this city’s water department prompted a possible episode of drinking water contamination, according to an August 8 Associated Press article on www.montananewsstation.com.
According to the article, a subcontractor hired to install new software on the computer system that controls the city’s water storage, distribution and wastewater services forgot to put the system back online when he finished on August 7. This caused a decrease in pressure and the possibility that the water could be contaminated with fecal bacteria and chemicals.
Local officials are asking that residents do not drink the water, even if it has been boiled, because that could increase the contamination, according to the article.
LONDON, ONTARIO, August 12, 2008 (Water Tech) — A proposal to ban the sale of bottled water on city-owned property is scheduled to go before the City Council here on August 18 after the city’s environment and transportation committee passed a recommendation calling for the ban, according to an August 12 article in The London Free Press.
During the committee’s August 11 meeting, the regularly scheduled public forum turned into a heated discussion among those in attendance, the article said.
On June 9, the City Council voted in principle to stop selling bottled water in city offices, cafeterias and parks in an effort to reduce waste. Jay Stanford, director of the city’s environment and solid waste programs, said the recommendation calls for the gradual phase-out of the sale of plastic water bottles, as WaterTech Online™ reported.
Sewage spill threatens WA drinking water
POST FALLS, ID, August 14, 2008 (Water Tech) — A raw sewage spill discovered in the early hours of August 11 is feared to have contaminated the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, which provides drinking water to the Spokane, WA, area, according to an August 13 article in The Seattle Times.
Up to 130,000 gallons of raw sewage from the Post Falls wastewater system spilled at the Idahline Lift Station, which raises sewage to a higher elevation for treatment, according to the article.
A hydrologist has been hired to determine whether the sewage could seep into the aquifer. The spill occurred over the weekend but was not detected until early Monday morning because of a broken wire in the alarm system, according to the article.
Biologist: DC tap water ‘abominable’ for fish
WASHINGTON, August 18, 2008 (Water Tech) — The recently renovated National Aquarium — which at the age of 135 is the nation’s oldest aquarium — is seeking a higher profile despite the local water quality issues that complicate filtration and treatment, according to an Associated Press article in The Washington Post.
At a recent briefing, aquarium officials discussed the quality — or lack thereof — of the local tap water.
“D.C. water is abominable. It cannot sustain life,” Andy Dehart, director of biological programs at the aquarium, said in the article.
“But it’s safe to drink!” Executive Director Bob Ramin told the audience, according to the article.
Dehart responded to Ramin by specifying that the water was not safe for fish or invertebrates.
The water flowing from taps in the nation's capital is treated with chloramine year-round and with chlorine in the summer. In order to sustain aquarium life, these chemicals must be removed using activated carbon and the mineral zeolite.
The aquarium has added a new part to its water treatment system after a four-year, $1.6 million upgrade funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which studies what marine creatures need to survive in captivity. Recent trends in aquarium water quality focus on replicating the animals’ natural environments, according to the article.
Filters, fractionators and biofilters have recently been added under the advice of consultant Andy Aiken, life support engineer at the Baltimore National Aquarium.
YANKTON, SD, August 18, 2008 (Water Tech) — For the fourth quarter in a row, the city of Yankton has been forced to issue a notice informing residents that tests by the South Dakota Department of Environmental and Natural Resources indicate that the city’s drinking water contains an excess of trihalomethanes (THMs), according to an August 17 article in the Press & Dakotan.
Jerry Busby, water treatment plant supervisor in Yankton, said in the article, “There will probably be one or two more [notices], unfortunately. The water has basically stayed the same, but [the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)] dropped the THM level from 100 parts per billion (ppb) to 80 ppb on an annual running average.”
Yankton’s water averages 92-94 ppb, Busby said.
Yankton began to experience heightened levels of THMs after the US Army Corps of Engineers created sandbars upriver to provide habitat for endangered birds. Towns upriver from the sandbars do not have problems with excessive THMs, according to the article.
Officials are looking into several solutions, including leasing equipment to introduce chlorine dioxide to the city’s treatment process. They have also considered obtaining water from wells, which would reduce impurities, protect the water treatment system from zebra mussels and reduce the amount of sediment flowing through the system.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce THMs, a VOC.
CHICAGO, August 20, 2008 (Water Tech) — Research published on August 19 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has linked low-level arsenic exposure, including possibly through drinking water, to type 2 diabetes, according to an August 19 Associated Press report on CNN.
Through the analysis of 788 Americans’ medical tests, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that subjects with low levels of inorganic arsenic loads in their urine carried more than triple the risk of developing the disease than those with even lower arsenic loads. This data follows previous research that indicates an increased risk of diabetes with high levels of arsenic exposure.
How arsenic contributes to diabetes is not yet known, but studies have found impaired insulin secretion in pancreatic cells treated with arsenic compound, according to the article.
Concerning the policy implications of the new findings, Molly Kile, an environmental health research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, wrote an accompanying editorial in JAMA, stating, “Urinary arsenic reflects exposures from all routes — air, water and food — which makes it difficult to track the actual source of arsenic exposure let alone use the results from this study to establish drinking water standards.”
Known cancer risks linked to arsenic caused the arsenic limit in public water systems to be lowered to 10 parts per billion in 2001, and it is recommended that private well owners self-test their water. The US Geological Survey has mapped the level of groundwater contamination by arsenic.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP880 Series has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce Arsenic V.
MUSKEGON, MI, August 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — According to a report by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the state released a total of 26 billion gallons of raw or partially treated sewage into surface water due to combined sewer overflows in 2007, a 30 percent reduction from 2006, an August 21 Associated Press (AP) report on www.mlive.com said.
Combined sewer overflows occur when rainwater overwhelms sewer systems that handle both wastewater and stormwater. Dumping sewage prevents water from backing up into residential basements, according to the report.
Detroit was responsible for 88 percent of the dumped sewage. Grand Rapids, which ranked second to Detroit, dumped less than one hundredth of a percent of Detroit’s total, according to the report.
Local, state and federal agencies have been working since the late 1980s to reduce combined sewage overflows into the Great Lakes, a drinking water source, the report said. In 1989, the state provided $2.8 billion in low interest loans to help cities separate combined sewer lines and upgrade wastewater treatment systems.
Kitchen may hold answers for contaminated water
YAKIMA, WA, August 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — While looking for ways to clean toxic groundwater at the Hanford nuclear reservation, the most contaminated nuclear site in the nation, researchers have again turned to the kitchen cabinet, according to an August 24 Associated Press article in The Seattle Times.
This week, researchers will inject 1,500 gallons of vegetable oil mixed with 50,000 gallons of water into the soil at the site near the Columbia River. An estimated 80 square miles of groundwater near the Pacific Northwest’s largest waterway is contaminated by radioactive waste exceeding state and federal drinking water standards. Federal officials are particularly concerned about a plume of hexavalent chromium, a contaminant that moves easily through water, which stretches for 1.25 miles along the Columbia River shore. Injecting the oil is expected to increase the food supply for natural microbes and remove oxygen from the groundwater, thereby enabling the chromium to convert to the nontoxic form for up to seven years, according to the article.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Hexavalent Chromium.
Small system’s contamination may have natural source
INDIO, CA, August 26, 2008 (Water Tech) — Natural sources may be to blame for the presence of perchlorate in a well at La Quinta Ridge Mobile Home Park, according to an August 25 article on www.kesq.com.
Dr. Mark Matsumoto of the University of California Riverside’s Chemistry Department said in the article, “Perchlorate can be found in [non-industrial] places for a couple of reasons. First there is some natural perchlorate.”
The rocket fuel ingredient perchlorate can result from activities relating to fuel or explosives production or use and can seep into well water over time. Deserts are particularly vulnerable to this, because the chemical will build up and not wash away, according to the article.
The managers of the mobile home park will face fines unless they hook the park into the city’s water supply by August 28, according to the article.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Perchlorate.
AR city’s supplies contain too much TCE
FORREST CITY, AR, August 27, 2008 (Water Tech) — Trichloroethylene levels that exceed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) have been detected in 70 percent of the water supplied to this city’s system, according to an August 21 article in the Times-Herald.
The high trichloroethylene, or TCE, levels occurred from June 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, for a total of four violations. The city’s supply contained an average of 0.010 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of TCE. The federal MCL for the solvent TCE is half that, at 0.005 mg/L.
In compliance with state and federal regulations, the Forrest City Water Utility has drafted a letter detailing the violation for its customers. The letter states, “The [US Environmental Protection Agency] sets drinking water standards and has determined that trichloroethylene is a health concern at certain levels of exposure. This chemical is a common metal cleaning and dry cleaning fluid.”
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce TCE, a VOC.
Please Note: iwaterdrops is intended to be an informational and educational news bulletin for Multi-Pure Independent Distributors. The news articles included are excerpted from the publications shown. The contamination problems and health effects reported occurred in the community or region identified in the article. Please check your local newspapers and magazines for stories about pollutants and water treatment problems in your own community.
WASHINGTON, July 18, 2008 (Water Tech) — Five environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 17 in Tallahassee, FL, claiming that the federal government is violating the Clean Water Act by failing to set standards for farm and urban runoff, according to a July 17 Associated Press article on www.cbsnews.com.
The groups say in their lawsuit that the failure to set standards for farm and urbran runoff is polluting Florida’s waterways, thereby encouraging algae growth and increasing the risk of contaminated water supplies.
The plaintiffs, which include the Florida Wildlife Federation, The Sierra Club, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida and the St. Johns Riverkeeper, said they hope that the suit will force the EPA to implement standards for every state. Currently, most states have vague limits, if any at all, according to the article.
“It’s a priority for the EPA to have states adopt science-based numeric standards to control nutrient pollution,” EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles said in an e-mail quoted in the article.
According to the article, the lawsuit says that the EPA acknowledged 10 years ago that Florida needed to promptly develop runoff standards to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act.
STILLWATER, NY, July 21, 2008 (Water Tech) — Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been detected in wells that supply drinking water to this village, according to a July 21 article in The Daily Gazette.
The well testing was performed in connection with planned dredging of the Hudson River to remove PCB contamination. As WaterTech Online™ previously reported, a stretch of the Hudson River will undergo dredging for PCBs, considered a human carcinogen, which ended up in the river decades ago due to industrial pollution.
This is the first time PCBs have been found in Stillwater’s public water supply. Mayor Ernest Martin said in the article, “The levels remain well below the New York state maximum contaminant level of 500 nanograms per liter. Therefore, the water provided by the village of Stillwater remains potable and well under and within the [state Health Department] standards.”
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce PCB.
Gas drilling threatens NYC’s supply, report says.
ALBANY, NY, July 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — Although the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says that plans to drill for natural gas near the New York City watershed pose little risk for water contamination, a joint media investigation has revealed hundreds of instances of drinking water contamination in states where natural gas drilling has been performed, according to a July 22 article in the Times Union.
ProPublica, which describes itself as an independent, nonprofit newsroom in the public interest, and New York City public radio station WNYC completed the investigation.
Reassured by an initial statement from state environmental officials, the state Legislature approved a bill to streamline the permitting process for a proposed huge influx of wells that could bring the state more than $1 billion in annual revenue, according to the article. Gov. David Paterson has until July 23 to sign the bill, and the DEC has said that drilling permits could be issued in 12 weeks.
At least nine companies are trying to obtain drilling rights in what is called the Marcellus Shale, a gas-rich rock layer that lies 9,000 feet below ground and which some geologists believe contains enough gas to meet the nation’s gas needs for two years, according to the article.
To extract the gas, a mixture of sand, water and chemicals is shot into the earth with enough force to fracture the rock and release the gas bubbles. Most of the water seeps back out, now laden with toxins, according to the article. The US Department of Energy lists this water as among the most toxic of any oil industry byproduct. The discharge of this water into surface or groundwater means that it could wind up in New York City’s tap water, according to the article.
DEC officials told ProPublica and WNYC that it was not aware of the incidents in other states involving water contamination in connection with such drilling, which included toxic chemicals in the water table in New Mexico and 300 chemical spills that affected groundwater in Colorado. The department also said the water would be shipped to Pennsylvania and treated in specialized plants there. An executive at a Pennsylvania plant, whose number was provided to ProPublica by the DEC, denied this in the article.
Study: Meds-in-water alter fish appetite, behavior
CLEMSON, SC, July 23, 2008 (Water Tech) — Clemson University toxicologists have found that hybrid striped bass exposed to the antidepressant fluoxetine, which has been detected in some surface waters, are less interested in feeding than other fish and often display behaviors that make them easier prey for predators, according to a July 21 Scientific American article.
Antidepressants like fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, block the reuptake by neurons of serotonin, a neurotransmitter strongly tied to emotion, appetite and aggression, according to the article.
For the study, researchers Stephen Klaine and Kristen Gaworecki exposed the fish to varying amounts of the drug — zero, 35, 75 and 150 micrograms per liter — over six days, followed by a six-day period in clean water. The fish were offered four live fathead minnows every three days, according to the article.
“In general, it took exposed bass longer [than bass not given the drug] to eat each minnow. Some bass exposed to the higher levels of fluoxetine pretty much gave up trying to capture prey by the third or fourth minnow. They really didn’t have the kind of appetite the controls had,” said Klaine.
Bass exposed to the greatest amount of the drug also behaved strangely for their species, staying at the top of the tank with their dorsal fin above the waterline or tilting to a vertical position, two actions that would make them easy targets for predators in the wild, according to the article.
As WaterTech Online™ previously reported, research has shown that pharmaceutical contaminants in water can affect fish sexually, causing males to produce egg yolk proteins and have limited testicular function.
'Groundbreaking study' of POU-device removal of PFCs
MINNEAPOLIS, July 24, 2008 (Water Tech) — A recently completed study identifies a limited number of commercially available point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices as being effective for the removal of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) from drinking water supplies, according to a July 23 press release from Cedar, MN-based consulting company Water Science & Marketing (WSM), LLC.
WSM has released its final report on this study to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). It is expected to soon be published and accessible through the following link: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/wells/brochures.html.
The MDH commissioned WSM to conduct the $640,000 study to provide data relevant to PFC removal performance/capacity for commercially available POU devices. WSM also was asked to identify factors affecting reliability and operational characteristics/limitations. This is the first third-party performance evaluation of its kind, according to the press release.
This study, prompted by a new class of toxic contaminants referred to as PFCs that has been detected in drinking water supplies in Minnesota, Ohio, Delaware and West Virginia, is considered Phase II field testing of devices identified in a previous study as effective at PFC removal.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Click the below link to read our Press Release on PFCs
www.multipureco.com/pfoarelease.pdf
ST. PAUL, MN, July 31, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released on July 31 the findings of its extensive evaluation of activated carbon and reverse osmosis (RO) point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices for perfluorochemical (PFC) removal.
According to the 140-page report, four activated carbon devices and seven RO devices tested were found to reduce PFCs in water, generally well below the reporting limits of testing.
The final phase of testing, referred to as Phase II, field-tested the 11 devices, using water directly from two municipal wells in southern Washington County, MN: one well in the city of Oakdale had multiple PFCs, including perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS); and one well in the city of St. Paul Park had only PFBA present.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Click the below link to read our Press Release on PFCs
www.multipureco.com/pfoarelease.pdf
LANCASTER COUNTY, SC, July 24, 2008 (Water Tech) — While officials at the Catawba River Water Treatment Plant are working to control higher-than-acceptable levels of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in their treated water, some residents have taken testing and treating into their own hands, according to a July 22 report in the Fort Mill Times.
In June, Lancaster County residents were notified that their drinking water exceeded the federal maximum allowable level of total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) in drinking water of 0.08 milligrams per liter (mg/L). TTHMs occur as a byproduct of disinfectants such as chlorine interacting with organic matter in water.
Upon receiving the news from the county, Black Horse Run resident Meta Wasson, who has been drinking bottled water since receiving the news, had independent tests done on her water. Results revealed that her water contained 12 mg/L of TTHMs.
Other residents are following the advice of water treatment plant director Mike Bailes by using activated carbon to filter the water before drinking it, the article said.
Studies have shown that long-term exposure to higher-than-acceptable levels of TTHMs can cause liver, kidney and nervous system problems and lead to an increased cancer risk.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce TTHMs, a VOC.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA, July 28, 2008 (Water Tech) — This city recently received word from Chevron officials that efforts to remove methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) from city wells could begin next February, according to a July 25 article in The Capistrano District.
Remediation of the contamination, caused by a Chevron leak, would include construction of a new filtration system near the Dance Hall Well behind City Hall. That drinking-water well was taken off-line in January after traces of the fuel additive were found in it.
Members of the city’s Water Advisory Commission said they were frustrated with the length of time it's taken to get a new cleanup plan in place. Chevron officials responded at a July 22 meeting with the commissioners that they’re working as fast as possible to proceed with cleanup plans, the article said.
City officials also learned of another MTBE plume from another old Chevron leak that potentially threatens the city’s wells.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce MTBE.
Senate committee approves perchlorate, TCE bills
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation on July 31 that addresses toxic substances in drinking water, including the rocket-fuel ingredient perchlorate and the degreasing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE), according to a July 31 Media-Newswire press release.
Two bills aim to impose federal standards for perchlorate in drinking water. The bills, introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, include the Perchlorate Monitoring and Right to Know Act (S. 24), which would require the US Environmental Protection Agency to reestablish its previous drinking water monitoring rule for perchlorate until a drinking water standard requires monitoring.
S. 24 also would require that people be told about perchlorate contamination in their drinking water.
The second perchlorate-focused bill, the Protecting Pregnant Women and Children from Perchlorate Act (S. 150), would require the EPA to set a federal standard for perchlorate in drinking water.
Boxer said she introduced the legislation because the EPA was taking too long to establish a standard for perchlorate in drinking water, according to a July 31 Redlands Daily Facts article. Perchlorate contaminates drinking water systems in 35 states, including California.
In May, Benjamin Grumbles, EPA assistant administrator for water, told senators that there is a “distinct possibility” that the federal regulatory agency will not set a national drinking water limit for perchlorate, as WaterTech Online™ reported.
A Congressional subcommittee approved a similar bill to set a national drinking water standard for perchlorate in drinking water last November, as WaterTech Online™ reported.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee also approved the TCE Reduction Act (S. 1911), which aims to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring a health advisory and drinking water standard for TCE in drinking water. It also would require the EPA to set a “health advisory” that warns people at what level of TCE is dangerous, according to the release.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce TCE, a VOC.
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Perchlorate.
High THM levels found at PA airport
FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, PA, August 5, 2008 (Water Tech) — Recent tests of the drinking water at Pittsburgh International Airport revealed excessive levels of trihalomethanes (THMs), according to an August 4 article in The Times.
The testing showed the average level of the disinfection byproduct (DBP) in the airport’s drinking water to be 0.081 milligrams per liter (mg/L), according to Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Tom Forgrave. The maximum level permitted by the federal Safe Water Drinking Act is 0.080 mg/L.
“They were just over the threshold. It was a very minute quality. Passengers have no need to be concerned, and employees don’t either as long as they are not drinking large amounts of the water over a long period of time,” Forgrave said in the article.
Airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said in the article that quarterly tests since the airport’s opening in 1992 have not previously shown excessive levels.
Jenny said in the article that the airport would flush its pipes to try to alleviate the problem, and that another test is scheduled in two weeks.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce TTHMs, a VOC.
Perchlorate in mobile-home park water a ‘surprise’
INDIO, CA, July 1, 2008 (Water Tech) — A well at the La Quinta Mobile Estates has an elevated level of perchlorate, a routine test revealed last week, according to a June 28 article in The Desert Sun.
John Watkins, deputy director of health for Riverside County, told The Desert Sun that the source of the contamination “is unknown at this point.”
He added, “It was kind of a surprise that it was found.”
Watkins said the contamination can be fixed by diluting the contaminated water with clean water, balancing out the concentration. The city’s water may be used for this purpose. In the meantime, the park’s owner is providing bottled water to residents, according to the article.
If consumed, perchlorate can affect thyroid hormone levels, which are needed for metabolism, mental function, and normal prenatal growth, according to the article.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Perchlorate.
PARACHUTE, CO, July 1, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is investigating after benzene allegedly was found in a spring that feeds a cabin’s drinking water, according to a June 30 report in The Aspen Times.
The Colorado oil and gas regulators issued a Notice of Alleged Violation to four energy companies for a waste discharge that allegedly tainted the spring that feeds the drinking water of area guide and outfitter Ned Prather, located near Parachute. The citations against the companies said that water samples from a spring, faucet and pond at Prather’s cabin, which were taken a day after he filed his June 3 complaint, showed traces of benzene that exceeded the state water quality standards. The source of the contamination hasn’t been identified, the article said.
Benzene is a known carcinogen.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce Benzene, a VOC.
OR supplier responds to taste, odor complaints
WASHINGTON COUNTY, OR, July 3, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Joint Water Commission, which supplies drinking water to nearly a half million customers here, is treating “musty”-tasting and “funny”-smelling water, according to a recent article in The Oregonian.
The commission, which received about 100 complaints about the water’s taste and odor in June, said in a June 26 statement that it has relocated the chlorine feed to address the concerns. In addition, powdered activated carbon is being manually fed into the water before filtration to absorb unwanted taste and odor molecules.
Because the problem appears to be connected to saturated wetlands draining into the Tualatin River, the main source of water, reservoir water is being released to dilute the wetland inflow.
$45M recycled water project under way
EL MONTE, CA, July 8, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, headquartered here, is moving forward with its $45 million four-phase recycled water project that will deliver recycled water to public and private lawns, according to a July 6 article in the Whittier Daily News.
The $9 million third phase of the project, pipeline installation in Whittier Narrows, broke ground in June.
According to California Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-El Monte, “This project is significant at several levels. It will save energy, it will free up drinking water so we don’t have to import it, and … it will build on the public’s acceptance of recycled water.”
The four-phased project extends from Whittier to Walnut, and relies on a combination of agencies for funding and planning, such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Rowland Water District and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the article said.
NEW BRITAIN, CT, July 10, 2008 (Water Tech) — The water department here has said that 17 households have elevated levels of lead in their tap water, according to a July 10 article in The Hartford Courant.
Recent tests indicated that those households had lead concentrations levels at about 21 parts per billion (ppb). The US Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level for lead in drinking water is 15 ppb.
Lead solder and fixtures are to blame, city water director Gil Bligh said in the article.
The city now will study ways to control corrosion in pipes, will notify residents about test results and will test the water for six months.
MINNEAPOLIS, July 10, 2008 (Water Tech) — Algae and other organic matter in source water is creating foul-tasting and smelly tap water here, according to a July 10 report in the Star Tribune.
City spokesman Matt Laible said in the report, “It is all due to organic matter that is in the water, like algae and other things that flow into the [Mississippi] River, but we don’t know the specific element. It has nothing to do with the [city’s two] water treatment plants.”
The plants are located in Fridley and Columbia Heights.
The taste and odor issues are occurring in the wake of the city’s efforts to tout the quality of its tap water over bottled water, the report said.
Laible said in the report that the water treatment plants are ramping up usage of traditional treatment chemicals to neutralize taste and odor from organic matter, as well as increase the use of activated carbon.
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2008 (Water Tech) — A research team funded by the Swiss-based aquatic research institute Eawag, led by geologist Lenny Winkel and environmental chemist Michael Berg, has compiled existing geological data from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia to trace arsenic and create an accurate map of areas where the groundwater has been contaminated with the toxin, according to a July 14 article on www.sciencedaily.com.
Arsenic, even in low concentrations, can cause skin problems, liver and kidney dysfunction, and various types of cancer. Over 100 million people worldwide are exposed to excessive amounts of arsenic in their drinking water, according to the article.
The data related to surface sediments and soil properties provides sufficiently accurate conclusions about the chemical and physical conditions in groundwater. The scientists then studied the statistical relations between 30 surface parameters and arsenic concentrations. In particular, young river deposits with organic rich sediments proved to be indicators of groundwater arsenic contamination, according to the article.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP880 Series has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce Arsenic V.
Study links disinfection byproducts to birth defects
BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, June 3, 2008 (Water Tech) — A Birmingham University study published in Environmental Health on June 2 suggests that drinking certain tap waters while pregnant may double the risk of serious health defects in the unborn child, according to an article on www.dailymail.co.uk.
The study was conducted in Taiwan and included almost 40,000 babies. A clear link was found between trihalomethanes, disinfection products which form in chlorination, and a trio of birth defects, including holes in the heart, cleft palates and anencephalus, according to the article.
The article states that according to the study, up to one in six British citizens could be exposed to levels of trihalomethane even higher than those in Taiwan, with higher concentrations in the spring and autumn.
Principal Inspector of the UK Drinking Water Inspectorate Sue Pennison says there is no reason for people to be worried. She is quoted in the article as saying, “Chlorination is reliable and has been used for centuries. The only reason diseases like cholera and typhoid are not in our water supply is because of chlorination.”
NM city considers arsenic removal options
SOCORRO, NM, May 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — High levels of arsenic in the city’s public water system have officials here considering options that will help to bring the system into compliance with federal safe drinking water standards, according to a May 22 report in The Mountain Mail.
Mayor Ravi Bhasker told the Socorro City Council on May 19 that the city has been in violation of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s arsenic standards since the agency lowered acceptable levels from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb.
Options include construction of a new $1 million water treatment plant, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars to operate annually. Officials also are considering taking Socorro Springs, the source of the naturally occurring arsenic, offline.
Utilities Director Jay Santillanes said in the article, “Another alternative is to take the springs offline, and make up the difference with the new Evergreen Well. It could maintain the capacity, but we would have to start looking for a new well — one with low arsenic levels.”
OTTAWA, May 23, 2008 (Water Tech) — First Nations communities in Canada report that their tap water is a “source of fear,” believing it is the common denominator in what is making many of their residents sick, according to a May 22 Canwest News Service report in the National Post.
That information is part of a report released May 22 by the advocacy group Polaris Institute, the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Labour Congress.
“The deplorable conditions that First Nation people live in would not be accepted in any other part of the country. For many, water has become a source of fear, and people have good reason to believe that what comes out of their taps may be making them sick. What is happening should be considered a violation of fundamental human rights in this country,” the report said. The report, which focused on six First Nations communities across the country, is co-authored by Andrea Harden and Holly Levaillant from the Polaris Institute.
The report says the situation has reached a crisis for many local residents. Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in the report, “One of the problems that we face, of course, is that there is a tendency to blame us for the situation. Well in fact, we never polluted or contaminated our water, yet we’re being held accountable to make sure we fix this, and I think this is completely unfair.”
Fontaine added that some First Nations communities have water that is tainted by uranium and harmful bacteria, among other contaminants.
According to the report, about 100 aboriginal communities across the country remained on drinking water advisories as of April without adequate response from the federal government.
National infrastructure bill gets support
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008 (Water Tech) — The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, (NARUC), an association representing state public service commissioners who regulate essential utility services, recently sent a letter expressing support for the National Infrastructure Development Act (H.R. 3896) to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT.
H.R. 3896 is designed to promote efficient investments and financing of infrastructure projects and new job creation through the establishment of a National Infrastructure Development Corp., according to washingtonwatch.com.
Water committee chairman David King of New Mexico drafted the letter. He wrote, “Nowhere is this national crisis more acute than in the water and wastewater sectors that are so vital to the public health of American citizens. With increased environmental costs and more stringent clean water regulations on the horizon, cities, towns and utilities will face significant challenges over the next several decades replacing aging and deteriorating water infrastructure.”
Seven weeks on a boil-water order for CO town
HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS, CO, May 28, 2008 (Water Tech) — For more than a month, residents here have been boiling their tap water before drinking it and cooking with it, and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment is ready for that to change, according to a May 27 Sky-Hi Daily News article.
The state Department of Health and Environment this week is scheduled to issue an enforcement order to the town, seeking an outline of when Hot Sulphur Springs can safely lift its boil-water order and how it plans to maintain delivering safe drinking water, the article said.
The town’s water has high levels of turbidity, and its aging plant needs updating to properly treat the water. To address the issue, the town is updating its plant and building a new clear well with new pumps.
To pay for the water infrastructure project, the town is banking on a $200,000 relief check in June from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs in the form of a matching grant, and is considering rate increases, the article said.
ODESSA, TX, June 2, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Odessa are joining forces to extend city water service to about 30 well users in an area found to have more groundwater contamination that previously thought, according to a May 30 article in Odessa American Online.
Above-average levels of the contaminants tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene and 1,2-dichloroethene were discovered in the groundwater in 2005. The Department of Health and Human Services and The National Toxicology Program have labeled two of these chemicals as probable carcinogens, according to the article.
Discovery of these chemicals led to further investigation which resulted in the recent discovery of elevated levels of nitrate in the well water. In one well the nitrate was four times the acceptable level.
COLUMBIA, MO, May 2, 2008 (Water Tech) — Columbia Water & Light announced on May 2 that this city’s publicly supplied water in 2007 exceeded the federal maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes (TTHM), a disinfection byproduct.
According to the announcement, the city’s average reported concentration for 2007 is 0.0823 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The federal maximum contaminant level for total TTHM is 0.080 mg/L.
The violation is the city’s first in more than three decades, according to a May 2 Columbia Missourian report.
Connie Kacprowicz, a spokeswoman for the city water utility, said in the report that the city learned of the problem at the end of 2007. After contacting the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the city slightly lowered the level of chlorine used for disinfection to correct the problem.
The most recent sample, taken in February, found the level of trihalomethanes below the federal standard, at 0.077 mg/L, Kacprowicz said in the report.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 9 announced on April 30 that the American Realty & Mortgage Co., located near Maricopa, AZ, has agreed to pay a $1,000 fine to resolve alleged drinking water violations.
Until August 2007, American Realty & Mortgage Co. supplied drinking water to approximately 50 residents of the Hacienda Acres subdivision in Pinal County, AZ.
According to the EPA, “The company failed to monitor its drinking water for lead, copper and nitrates, and failed to notify customers of its violations of safe drinking water requirements, a Safe Drinking Water Act mandate. In August 2007, American Realty & Mortgage Co. ceased operating the water system and it was turned over to a court-appointed interim operator.”
High TCE levels prompt public system connection
BUCKS COUNTY, PA, May 2, 2008 (Water Tech) — A permanent connection to a public water system is closer for some Perkasie homeowners whose community well water is contaminated by high levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), according to a May 5 phillyBurbs.com article.
The well water, which serves the development, has been contaminated with TCE since the 1970s. Levels of TCE have reached 140 parts per billion (ppb). The most recent test showed TCE levels at 17 ppb. The federal maximum contaminant level for TCE is 5 ppb.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with state and county agencies, are performing additional tests this month. Results are due back in June, the article said.
For now, homeowners rely on water that is passed through a carbon filtration system or bottled for drinking.
‘Distinct possibility’ of no nat’l perchlorate limit
WASHINGTON, May 6, 2008 (Water Tech) — A top official at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the agency may not take action to limit the level of perchlorate in drinking water supplies, according to a May 6 Associated Press (AP) report.
EPA has maintained that perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel and fireworks, poses developmental health risks to humans.
Benjamin Grumbles, EPA assistant administrator for water, told senators May 6 that there is a “distinct possibility” that the federal regulatory agency will not set a national drinking water limit for perchlorate.
Grumbles said that although the EPA deems the chemical toxic, after years of study the agency has not determined whether regulating perchlorate would meaningfully reduce that risk, the AP reported.
TORRANCE COUNTY, NM, May 7, 2008 (Water Tech) — Homestead Water Co., a small water system with about 120 customers here, is working with the New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau after high nitrate levels were found in the company’s groundwater supply, according to a May 6 New Mexico Weekly Journal article.
The state agency and the water company are trying to determine the source of the nitrates. Once the source is found, the water company will be required to submit a corrective action plan to the state.
The Environment Department issued a drinking water warning to the water company’s customers. Consumers were told to avoid giving the water to infants and avoid boiling the water, which can concentrate the nitrates. It said healthy adults should exercise caution in drinking the water, the article said.
Long-term exposure to nitrates in drinking water has been associated with diuresis (the increased formation of urine by the kidneys), increased starchy deposits and hemorrhaging of the spleen. Research indicates that long-term exposure also can lead to an increased risk of certain types of cancer. Infants exposed to high levels of nitrates can suffer from methemoglobinemia, or “blue-baby syndrome,” a condition that interferes with the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 58, to reduce Nitrates.
NEW YORK, May 9, 2008 (Water Tech) — More than 150 water suppliers across the United States will benefit from a negotiated settlement of a lawsuit that had accused oil companies of contaminating drinking water supplies with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, news outlets reported this week.
The settlement would require the oil companies to pay a total of $423 million in cash upfront to the water suppliers, and also pay 70 percent of cleanup costs over the next 30 years, according to a May 8 article in The New York Times. Terms of the settlement have been submitted for approval by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, which had been hearing the case. The case is the result of the consolidation of many MTBE lawsuits into a single case, the Times said.
In its May 9 edition, Newsday reported that the single largest beneficiary of the settlement would be the Suffolk County Water Authority, which serves a large suburban area east of New York City on Long Island. That authority would be awarded $104.3 million and would receive $73.4 million after deducting attorney fees, Newsday said. MTBE was detected in 450 of the authority’s 600 wells, the story said.
Among other major settlement beneficiaries would be the California Water Service Co. of San Jose, CA, to be awarded $49.7 million, according to a May 9 San Francisco Chronicle article. The article said California Water Service found MTBE in 27 of its wells and has 786 wells that could be exposed to it.
The 153 plaintiffs — providers of public water including municipalities, water agencies and private water companies — were represented by the Dallas, TX, law firm of Baron and Budd, P.C. In a May 8 press statement, Baron and Budd said about 70 percent of the nation’s oil refiners agreed to what the law firm called the “landmark settlement” that “marks a significant step toward protecting the long-term viability of drinking water resources across the United States.”
Oil companies agreeing to the settlement include BP Amoco, Atlantic Richfield, Chevron, CononcoPhillips, Shell, Marathon, Valero, CITGO, Sunoco, Hess, Flint Hills, El Paso Merchant Energy, and Tesoro, according to the plaintiffs’ law firm. Despite their agreement to the new settlement, those defendants will continue to argue that MTBE has not been proven to be a human health risk, and that the federal government had compelled them to use MTBE since the 1980s as an additive to increase fuel efficiency, news reports said. Under a legal cloud, oil companies stopped adding MTBE to gasoline in 2007.
Other oil companies, including ExxonMobil, have not agreed to the latest settlement, and it’s expected that trials involving those defendants will start in September, Baron and Budd said in its statement.
The Times quoted an attorney representing Chevron and Shell as saying, “No court has ruled that gasoline with MTBE is a defective product. This settlement does not concede the point. Quite the contrary, the settling companies are prepared to vigorously defend the product.”
Twice in recent years, Congress considered legislation that would have shielded the oil companies from MTBE lawsuits, but the legislation never was approved.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not list MTBE as a primary or secondary drinking water contaminant, although it is now under consideration as a candidate contaminant in a review process that started recently. When present in an amount as little as 5 parts per million, it can add a foul turpentine-like taste or odor to water, and it has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals exposed to high doses. EPA considers it to be a potential human carcinogen, but has not drawn any conclusions about its health risks.
TRENTON, ONTARIO, May 9, 2008 (Water Tech) — Point-of-use water treatment devices were recommended to a dozen homeowners here who recently were informed by the city that that their tap water contains elevated levels of lead, according to a May 9 article in The Intelligencer.
Mandatory testing, ordered by the provincial Ministry of Environment in 2007, has revealed that 11 homes have tested positive for elevated levels of lead in tap water. One sample of residential tap water showed a lead level of 88 micrograms per liter (µg/l), or 88 parts per billion (ppb). The acceptable standard in Canada is 10 µg/l (10 ppb), the article said.
The city sent letters to the homeowners, explaining the potential health effects associated with drinking water containing high levels of lead, and referring the homeowners to the local health unit for information on POU devices designed to remove lead.
Mandatory testing began in 2007. During this recent round, 143 homes known to be served by lead pipes were tested. A second round of testing will be completed in August, the article said.
L.A. mayor considers $1B ‘toilet-to-tap’ plan
LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2008 (Water Tech) — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Department of Water and Power are expected to announce on May 15 a revised water use and management plan for this city that includes using recycled wastewater to recharge drinking water aquifers, according to a May 15 Los Angeles Times article.
The new plan allocates about $1 billion for the proposed reclamation system, also known as “toilet-to-tap” or “sewer-to-spigot.” The city would recycle about 4.9 billion gallons of treated wastewater to drinking standards by 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 15.
Villaraigosa, who less than a decade ago opposed such a plan, now is considering using the highly treated wastewater to recharge underground drinking supplies serving the San Fernando Valley, Los Feliz and the Eastside, The Times said.
The long-term proposal is expected to carry a $2 billion total price tag, and impose water-use restrictions on Angelenos. Ratepayers also would be encouraged to upgrade their appliances to those that are water-saving. The Times reported that financial incentives and building code changes would be used to incorporate high-tech conservation equipment in homes and businesses.
The proposed plan has been devised to help the city meet its increasing water demand, which is expected to grow by 15 percent within the next 22 years.
EPA, Justice order fine in Arizona TCE case
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice announced in a May 19 press release that three companies — Motorola, Siemens, and GlaxoSmithKline — were ordered to collectively pay a $500,000 civil penalty for system failures that led to the release of trichloroethylene (TCE) into the public drinking water system in Scottsdale, AZ.
The settlement resolves violations of the North Indian Bend Wash consent decree, filed in 2003, which occurred when TCE above contamination limits was released from the Miller Road Treatment Facility on two separate occasions, in October 2007 and January 2008.
Though the Miller Road Treatment Facility is owned and operated by the Arizona American Water Co., under the terms of the consent decree, Motorola, Inc., Siemens and GlaxoSmithKline are responsible for the remedy, which requires pumping and treating contaminated groundwater so that TCE does not exceed an acceptable limit of 5 parts per billion, the press release said.
The EPA and the Justice Department ordered the penalties called for under the Superfund law for each groundwater violation. Penalties also were imposed for inaccurate reporting of the incidents to the regulator.
“These three companies failed to properly treat groundwater for TCE at the site and further failed to alert proper authorities about the release despite being under an agreement to do both,” Ronald J. Tenpas, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in the press release. The complaint and stipulation and order were filed May 19 in US District Court in Phoenix.
DENVER, April 14, 2008 (Water Tech) — An April 9 article in The Denver Post examined the usefulness of home water treatment devices in removing trace levels of pharmaceuticals in drinking water.
The article, which referenced the March Associated Press report that the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas contain trace levels of pharmaceuticals, included an interview with Joseph Harrison, technical director for the Water Quality Association, based in Lisle, IL. WQA members include manufacturers of water treatment equipment.
To address consumers’ concerns about what they can do at home, Harrison said in the article, “The best advice I could give people is use a reverse osmosis device with activated carbon. You would definitely get a lot of pharmaceuticals out with that technology.”
Harrison added that the WQA is working with NSF International, the standards organization based in Ann Arbor, MI, to establish pharmaceutical standards for water filtration systems.
The article included a synopsis of water treatment device options, from pitchers to point-of-entry systems.
Taste and odor issues decrease for MN city
ST. PAUL, MN, April 14, 2008 (Water Tech) — An 18-month, $9.6 million project undertaken by St. Paul Regional Water Services, which supplies water to 417,000 customers in this city and its suburbs, has yielded tastier water that smells better, according to an April 14 Pioneer Press article.
Musty-smelling and -tasting tap water used to be the norm here each spring as algae blossomed on the lakes that supply this city’s drinking water, the article said. In 2006, St. Paul Regional Water Services, after receiving 187 complaints, decided to do something about it. The agency began a project at its Maplewood headquarters to cut down on off-taste and off-odor in the water.
The agency, which worked with students from the University of Minnesota, selected granular activated carbon (GAC) to reduce taste and odor problems in its supply. Twenty-four large filters were installed over a period of about 18 months, the article said.
Steve Schneider, general manager of St. Paul Regional Water Services, said in the article, “We’re very pleased with the initial results.”
Schneider added that the new filters will be changed out every few years. He estimated they cost the consumer about 2 cents to 2.5 cents per 100 gallons.
Meanwhile in nearby Minneapolis, organic matter is entering the city’s supply and despite treatment, the water has an off-taste and off-odor. City spokesman Matt Laible said in the article the city is receiving several complaints daily.
Feds fail to develop drugs-in-water research plan
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2008 (Water Tech) — Documents obtained by The Associated Press (AP) reveal that a White House task force was aware of public concern about pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies, and that it failed to meet its December deadline to produce a federal plan to research the issue of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, according to an April 14 AP story.
The AP, which reported in March that at least 41 million Americans receive drinking water containing an array of pharmaceuticals, said it obtained task force-related documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
The documents reveal that the task force, which includes representatives from nine federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration, failed to develop mandated reports and recommendations for coordination among federal agencies on a national plan to research pharmaceuticals in public drinking water supplies, AP said.
According to the AP, the working group on pharmaceuticals in the environment was formed two years ago through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. It has met several times, and in March 2006, then-task force coordinator Kevin Geiss wrote: “There has been considerable congressional interest in this topic.”
While the AP has reviewed more than 70 pages of the task force’s documents, such as e-mails and weekly reports, it was not able to obtain the task force’s agendas and minutes because the White House classified them as internal documents, meaning they cannot be released. The group’s annual report is in draft form, which makes it also unable to be released, the AP reported.
Spent POU filter gets officials’ attention
PINCONNING TOWNSHIIP, MI, April 16, 2008 (Water Tech) — A local resident who had been complaining about his water took a dirty, spent point-of-use water treatment filter to a public meeting to finally make his point, according to an April 16 article in The Bay City Times.
Pinconning Township resident Joe Holbrook gave the filter belonging to his son-in-law, who lives next door, to Bob Hill from the Bay County Environmental Health Division. The filter got Hill’s attention, and soon the county sampled Holbrook’s water supply.
Sample results indicated that the water contains “atypical” levels of bacteria. In response, crews from the Bay County Department of Water and Sewer flushed and resampled the lines.
Holbrook and his son-in-law said they plan to continue to use a POU water filter, according to the article
PA school district considers treatment options
ANNVILLE, PA, April 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — Officials at the Annville-Cleona School Board are considering treatment options for elevated levels of lead and copper at the district’s North Annville Elementary School, according to an April 22 Midstate News article.
District officials initially thought the elevated lead and copper levels in the school’s water supply were due to contaminated groundwater around the school. To determine the exact cause, the school district signed a consent order with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and moved forward on an environmental assessment.
Local environmental consultant firm ARM Group, Inc., which performed the assessment, found the cause to be corrosion of the school’s water system.
Stephen Fulton, vice president of environmental services for the ARM Group, said in the article that the problem could be fixed with a water treatment system that would reduce the acidity of the water. Such a treatment system would cost between $8,000 and $10,000, he added.
Students and staff will continue to drink bottled water while the district considers its options, which include closing the school.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure’s MP750 Plus RO has been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce Lead and under Standard 58, to reduce Copper.
LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2008 (Water Tech) — Water from one drinking fountain at a San Fernando Valley elementary school, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, has tested positive for high levels of lead, according to an April 23 Daily News article.
David Brewer III, school district superintendent, said in a news conference that he is holding staff accountable for this latest drinking water safety infraction.
Brewer said at a news conference that school staff at the Woodlake Elementary School responsible for flushing water fountains and keeping logs will be held accountable for their negligence.
Reports indicate that there are concerns about the safety of the water in 26 of the district’s schools, the article said.
LOS GATOS, CA, April 24, 2008 (Water Tech) — The Los Gatos Town Council voted last week to spend $34,500 to design an addition to a treatment system to keep Cryptosporidium out of an interactive fountain at the town’s Plaza Park, said an April 29 article by the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, as carried on The Mercury News Web site.
After people playing in a similar fountain in nearby San Jose came down with Crypto infections in 2006, the local county health department had ordered all of its municipalities to install ultraviolet disinfection systems for these types of fountains, the article said.
Total cost of the treatment addition in Los Gatos will be $350,000, and completion of the project is expected over the coming winter, according to the article. The fountain will be operating this summer, but the town has meanwhile installed signs urging people not to drink fountain water and warning against allowing children in diapers to play in the fountain.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53, to reduce Cyst.
