This week's NEWS

Coagulants may be a more significant contributor to lead level increases than disinfectant switchovers? Boil water advisories: Fallout over delays as public expresses a desire to know faster than testing can be done. Efforts to get small systems relief from arsenic mandate may keep some from moving toward compliance. Chlorine dioxide is in the Canadian news.

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Federal Updates (Nothing new and exciting from the USEPA so let's check on Oh, Canada!)

• Health Canada's basis for not setting a chlorine dioxide limit is questioned (Canada.com, August 8)
  Commentary: From page 32 of the CDW's May 2005 paper on Chlorite and Chlorate (PDF file, 245 K): "Despite neurological and hormonal effects observed in experimental animals, a guideline for chlorine dioxide was deemed unnecessary because of its rapid hydrolysis to chlorite, making human exposure via drinking water unlikely."

State Updates

• Arkansas' summer Drinking Water Update newsletter (PDF file, 378 K)
  Commentary: Arkansas is codifying a long-held general principle re: best quality source available: "Production of water that poses no threat to the consumer’s health depends on continuous protection. Because of human frailties associated with protection, priority should be given to selection of the purest source. Polluted sources should not be used unless other sources are not feasible and then only when adequate personnel, equipment, and operating procedures are proposed or in-place to purify and otherwise continuously protect the drinking water supply."
• Idaho proposes changes to facility and design standards for public drinking water systems
• Two items out of California:
  • Proposed public health goals for cadmium, glyphosate, NDMA, and PCBs get a second review
  • DLRs for Stage 2 DBPs updated to reflect EPA's MRLs (PDF file, 23.7 K)

Source Water Protection

• New Hampshire makes matching land grants available for water system watershed protection (DES new release, August 3)
• California's non-point source monitoring of agricultural areas finds pesticides (Contra Costa Times, August 5)

Perchlorate

• Massachusetts officials expected to identify source of perchlorate in well water soon (Boston Globe, August 3)
• Fireworks may be cancelled in Massachusetts unless there is a solution for perchlorate (Cape Cod Times, August 5)
• Southern California city wants county to settle lawsuit and join forces to go after polluters (San Bernardino Sun, August 7); meanwhile, environmental group says perchlorate levels are increasing (San Bernardino County Sun, August 2)
• "Perchlorate Induces Hermaphroditism in Threespine Sticklebacks" (Abstract, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, August 2006)

Microbiological

• Hands-on San Diego mayor personally issues BWA after broken main leads to positive E. coli sample (San Diego Union Tribune, August 5) and then lifts the advisory for "small" part of city system (San Diego Union Tribune, August 6); so... how do you quickly notify 120,000 people in only one part of a huge city? (SD Union Tribune, August 8); Editorial:  Don't give up on the tap yet! (NC Times, August 8)
• Tiny leak of groundwater into treated water system leads to BWA by Nevada system (Nevada Appeal, July 31); water district did not think minor incident needed to be reported to state; notice delayed as result (Tahoe Daily Tribune, August 1)
• The "purest water in Northern California” goes back to low chlorine levels after bacteria samples clear up (Lassen County Times, August 2)

Lead

• Change in coagulant may be more significant to increased lead levels than switch to chloramines (Environmental Science and Technology, August 2)
• To remove or not to remove... that is the question! EPA to shed light on what to do with aerators when collecting lead samples (AWWA WaterWeek, August 7)

Water Treatment

• 3-in-1: Nebraska city's new water treatment plant will address arsenic, nitrate, and uranium (McCook Daily Gazette, August 3); the city's health warning should be lifted soon
• A New York city's new water treatment plant means no more chlorination for a few homes along the way (Hillsdale Independent, August 3)

Radium

• Waukesha, WI, rejects annexation of land for well drilling; no plan in place for radium compliance as deadline looms (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 4)
• Michigan town's proposed new radium-removal plant ("using preformed hydrous manganese oxide filtration") could double water bills (Lansing State Journal, August 6)

MTBE

• Maine couple insists that state find source of MTBE contamination... period (Bangor Daily News, August 4)
  Commentary: Even the most hard-nosed libertarian should feel sympathy for the Maine state environmental officials who have to deal with perhaps the most cantankerous high school principal in Maine – no, in the entire U.S. Who is supposed to help those who won't help themselves? When in doubt, call your friend, the governor.
• Connecticut DEP looking for source of MTBE contamination (Norwich Bulletin, August 7)

C8 (PFOA)

• Virginia tap water sampling by enviro-union group shows low levels of PFOA (Richmond Times Dispatch, August 2), but in New Jersey, city's tests by only U.S.-approved lab contradicts earlier findings (Old Bridge Suburban, August 4); and group calls for action on DuPont at another New Jersey town (Salem Sunbeam, August 6)

Arsenic

• New Hampshire systems face costly arsenic compliance... some are waiting for RRR ("rumored regulatory relief") (Boston Globe, August 6)

Chromium

• New Mexico investigates chromium in Los Alamos monitoring well (Santa Fe New Mexican, August 7)

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Malcolm Pirnie Perchlorate Services Malcolm Pirnie Environmental Consultants has been active in perchlorate issues since discovery of the contaminant in drinking water in 1997. Since then, we have been a consultant to numerous water systems, worked with both manufacturers of treatment technologies and potentially responsible parties (PRPs), and given expert witness testimony on perchlorate-related matters. For more information on these services, please contact Jim Leserman at either jleserman@pirnie.com, or visit mcguireinc.com/perchlorate.

Fluoridation

• Opinion: Why no fluoridation in Medford, Oregon? (Mail Tribune, August 7)

Private Wells

• Nebraska seeks private well owners for study on home treatment devices (HHSS news release, August 2)
• Ohio health officials offer free tests of private wells after flooding (News Herald, August 3)
• Rural New York community has no safe drinking water after flooding (Press and Sun Bulletin, August 8)
• Governor signs North Carolina law increasing private well oversight (Lincoln Tribune, August 7); Editorial: New law is good, but more public water systems needed (Winston-Salem Journal, August 4)

Water Research

• ETV program solicits vendors/partners for testing treatment technology re: LT2ESWTR and groundwater rule

Water Reuse

• Water reuse issue in Australia gets (more) political (Courier Mail, August 3)

Desalination

• China making advances in desalting field with new facilities (CCTV International, August 5)

International

• Heavy rains bring on Beijing's first drinking water quality alert (Shanghai Daily, August 2)
• "Excrement in drinking water" is interesting Norwegian headline... small systems have E. coli detections (Afterposten Norway, August 5)
• Victoria, Australia, government criticized for high level of taste and odor organisms in drinking water (ABC News, August 8)
• Arsenic levels elevated in Vietnam's groundwater (Thanh Nien News, August 5)

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