This week's NEWS

Durham, NC's sampling after change in treatment shows lower lead levels. Ground water cleanup is a really long, long-term proposition... a good argument for keeping it clean. Jury had it right in making award for ground water contamination... they were just 1300% high? Check out the new, improved Opflow from AWWA. It's summertime... do you know what your algae are doing out there?

Quick Links Navigation:

State Updates

• Connecticut's guidelines for design and operation of potable water storage are available for review; revisions possible 
• Pennsylvania provides templates for Tier One public notifications
• Puerto Rico's numerous rule changes determined to be "at least as stringent" as Federal SDWA rules (Federal Register, August 10)

Perchlorate

• Massachusetts' cranberries will not "explode" with flavor this year? Fireworks cancelled (Cape Cod Chronicle, August 10)
• State agency will identify source of Massachusetts town's perchlorate soon... but what's the big deal? (Westford Eagle, August 10)
• California legislator politicizes appointments to regulatory board over alleged slow pace of perchlorate cleanup (Riverside Press Enterprise, August 11)

Microbiological

• Virginia's special pathogen lab in Pittsburgh to close; famed for its Legionnaire's Disease research (Pittsburgh Tribune Review, July 19)
• Research shows cooling tower amoeba population is important for more than hosting Legionella (Environmental Science and Technology, August 9)
• New Jersey golfers face more than the usual water hazards? "Not really," says the beer-drinking state water regulator! (Bergen County Record, August 13)

Lead

• North Carolina state health director recommends testing of all Durham homes twenty years or more old (Fayetteville Observer, August 10); recent change in Durham's water treatment results in significant decrease in elevated lead tests (News 14 Carolina, August 11)
  Commentary: The results of testing (conducted before Durham recently made additional changes to its water treatment methods) show excellent correlation of elevated lead values to samples from sites with pipes installed prior to bans on lead solder (circa 1986). The city's follow-up sampling (after the treatment changes) tends to confirm the theory that the earlier switch to a ferric coagulant caused the increase in lead levels in water delivered through the system and home water lines.  
• Oregon city experiences first elevated lead samples;  new membrane water treatment plant recently came on-line? (Albany Democrat Herald, August 12)

Water Legalities

• Judge slashes jury award in California groundwater contamination case by 93% (Contra Costa Times, August 4)

TCE and PCE

• New Jersey Superfund site approaches 30 years... clean-up expected to start soon (USEPA Region 2 press release, August 7)
  Commentary: The complexities of groundwater clean-up are illustrated by this New Jersey site. Although it is a sole-source aquifer, the state's actions to get alternative drinking water supplied to affected ground water users took the pressure off for immediate remedial action.  So, the investigation of contaminant migration and identification of potential responsible parties has moved... well, at about the pace of the groundwater flow. The clean-up treatment regimen is yet to be initiated and will likely need to be continued for a number of years. Are there lessons here for the University of Washington-Tacoma, who knew about their ground water contamination when they broke ground in 1982? (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 14) 
• Expanding municipal water system may be best solution to 40-year-old Michigan contamination (Traverse City Record Eagle, August 12)

Radiological

• Canada proposes guidelines for Maximum Acceptable Concentrations for a number of radionuclides (Health Canada Website)

MTBE

• Massachusetts gas station owner fined for delayed MTBE notification (Mass DEP Release, August 10)
  Commentary:  In a "no good deed will go unpunished" moment, Honey Farms has to wonder what is more important: To act promptly and responsibly to protect public health...  or... to meet the letter of the law about telling the state what you are doing.  Guess that $6,500 is just a slap on the wrist, isn't it?
• How long does it take MTBE to move 900 feet in Florida? And how deep is deep enough for town's wells? (Daytona Beach News-Journal, August 14)

Water Aesthetics

• California system looks to alternatives to copper sulfate for algae control (Napa Valley Register, August 14)
• Florida system's water is yellow or brown... and it stinks. Other than that, it's just fine! (Sarasota Herald Tribune, August 11)
• Manganese causes dirty water problems in West Virginia system (Times West Virginian, August 12)
• Lake Erie: Algae, winds combine to add color and odor to Ohio utility's tap water (Plain Dealer, August 12)
• 137-year-old iron water pipes = discolored water = disgust from Scottish consumers (Shetland Times, August 11)
• New New York treatment plant water has residents up in arms over discolored water (Saratoga Saratogian, August 15)

Nitrate

• California water district cited by state for lapses in nitrate monitoring (Riverside Press Enterprise, August 10)

Fluoridation

• Debate re-ignited as large Southern California wholesaler prepares to initiate fluoridation (Simi Valley Acorn, August 11)
• Michigan city will vote on fluoridation in November... after its rejection 33 years ago (Lansing State Journal, August 14)
  Commentary: The comments of the town's water system operator pose an interesting question for drinking water utility professionals: What should their personal views have to do with their professional responsibilities? Are water operators, engineers, etc., qualified to make definitive judgments on a public health issue? Certainly they have the right to their own personal opinions, but would someone's philosophy about the taste of chlorine in water give them portfolio to espouse discontinuing its use for disinfection?

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Regulatory Compliance Strategies for New LT2 and DBP Rules The EPA's new Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) and Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR) were recently released, so it's time to get prepared with strategies that really work — and Malcolm Pirnie can help! EPA estimates that almost 3,000 public water systems will have to update their water treatment processes to comply with the new regulations. Multiple barrier strategies provide added protection — just like an insurance policy. Examples of the barriers that will help with compliance are membranes, UV disinfection, granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration, and disinfection with chloramines. Each must be carefully considered and tailored to meet the needs of your utility. To learn more about the new regulations and find out which treatment strategies are right for you, please contact Zaid Chowdhury, zchowdhury@pirnie.com, or visit www.mcguireinc.com/LT2/index.html.

Bottled Water

• Large Eastern U.S. grocery chain pulls its bottled water: Too much bromate (Finger Lake Times, August 13)
• Bottled water: Part of the problem – not the solution? (IRC report, August 7)

Source Water Protection

• New York county's legislature ponders fund shift to help protect groundwater sources (Poughkeepsie Journal, August 10)
• Study on Cape Cod looks at exotic chemicals from septic systems (Cape Codder, August 11)

Private Wells

• New York well owners see increased salinity; linked to road salt use (Boston Globe, August 10)
• Minnesota county issues private well-water advisory on nitrate and pesticides (St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 10)
• New Mexico officials urge testing of wells in flooded area (Gallup Independent, August 12)

Desalination

• Opponents of Southern California seawater desalination proposals outline why they are not big fans (Torrance Daily Breeze, August 14)

Water Reuse

• Coastal California community gives the go-ahead on reclaimed water for landscaping (Ventura County Star, August 15)

Arsenic

• Massachusetts reservoir detects high arsenic levels after a big rainstorm (Metro West Daily News, August 15)

Publications

• AWWA's Opflow gets facelift with new format and great content: August issue

C8 (PFOA)

• Legal jockeying about "future claims" clouds DuPont's proposed water treatment plant for Ohio utility (Marietta Times, August 11)
• Mississippi groups concerned about proposed use of industrial plant to clean up PFOA for DuPont (Sun Herald, August 13)
• North Carolina DuPont plant that makes C8: What to make of results of tests of employees' blood and environmental samples? (Fayetteville Observer, August 11)

International

• Scotland quality is fine, but watchdog says tap water must look and taste better (Scotsman, August 10)
• Canadian water-quality panel looks at First Nation drinking water problems (CBC News, August 11); First Nations seek federal action... but what comes first: Rules? Funding? Liability? (CTV, August 14)

Relevant Links

To post a job on Job Reservoir, please visit the following address:
http://www.jobreservoir.com/postajob.html

For feedback or a news story suggestion, please visit the following address:
http://www.safedrinkingwater.com/contact/feedback.htm

To recommend safedrinkingwater.com NEWS to a colleague, please visit the following address:
http://www.safedrinkingwater.com/contact/sharenewsletter.htm

For e-mail delivery problems, please send an e-mail to info@safedrinkingwater.com.

To view the staff for safedrinkingwater.com NEWS, please visit the following address:
http://www.safedrinkingwater.com/about/staff.htm

To subscribe to safedrinkingwater.com NEWS, please visit the following address:
http://www.safedrinkingwater.com/subscribe/subscribe.htm