This week's NEWS

Exciting research in water microbiology is funded by EPA grants. California drinking water regulator urged to both set perchlorate MCL at "zero tolerance level" AND at "realistic" level. All that you ever wanted to know about endocrine disruptors and, yes... even more! New vs. used water in Colorado.  All utilities will be interested in what Durham, NC, is told by regulators about "what lead samples count?"

Quick Links Navigation:

Federal Updates

• USEPA reports on Drinking Water State Revolving Funds: Progress and accountability
  Commentary: A fiscal statistician's dream!

State Updates

• Washington state and county health officials confer on SDWA coverage of smaller systems (Ellensburg Daily Record, January 18)
• Oh, to be a water treatment plant operator in Minnesota... training opportunities abound!
• USEPA Region 5 gives an affirmative vote for Minnesota's modified drinking-water rules (USEPA Region 5 new release, January 18)
• State primacy program newsletters:
  • Nebraska's January Water Spout (PDF file, 151 K)
  • Vermont's Winter Waterline (PDF file, 527 K)
  • Alaska's Winter Northern Flows (PDF file, 1.77 MB)

Microbiological

• USEPA awards $5 million in safe drinking water grants (USEPA News Release, January 17); USEPA projects

Uncovered Reservoirs

• Los Angeles' $2.4 billion program to address open reservoirs; negotiations underway on what to do with the last two (Los Angeles Times, January 22)

Endocrine Disruptors

• Presentations from USDA-CSREES November 2006 conference: "Endocrine Disruptors: What we know and what we don't" available online
  Commentary: The PowerPoint presentations provide in-depth information on the conference theme that is generally understandable to a lay audience. One slide in one of the presentations (PDF file, 347 K) comparing results of studies that are funded by industry vs. those funded by government will raise a few eyebrows. 
• USGS Report: Endocrine Disruptors Found in Fish and Water in Potomac River Tributaries  (USGS News Release, January 17)

Water Treatment

• Tennessee town switches to contract operation after state issued fines for "pink water" problem in 2005 (Daily News Journal, January 23)
  Commentary: Potassium permanganate used in the town's treatment process for iron and manganese apparently caused the pink water problem. The fines levied by the state on both the water system and the former water treatment plant operator are being appealed.  
• Disruption of Cleveland, OH, carbon treatment facility causes taste and odor problems; residents told water is safe (Cleveland News Release, January 22)

Manganese

• Madison, WI, gound water manganese: Install filters (after testing five) or drill... but where? (Madison Capitol Times, January 23)

Radium

• Illinois village faces decision on problem with radium in one well: Treat or drill? Cost vs. risk of success! (Quad City Online, January 21)
• Wisconsin towns urged to talk with Waukesha about new water options to address radium problem (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 21)

Invasive Species

• Invasive quagga mussels found at Colorado River intake for Southern California wholesaler (Los Angeles Times, January 22); pesky mollusks could be a big risk to California delta ecology (San Francisco Chronicle, January 20)

Lead

• Durham, NC, will apparently be required to re-calculate lead compliance, but it's not clear what regulators will do (Raleigh News & Observer, January 19); city manager outlines city's actions in op-ed and the city's website advises residents on the lead issue
• Report: Elevated Lead in Drinking Water in Washington, DC, 2003–2004: The Public Health Response (Environmental Health Perspectives, January 17)

Perchlorate

• California city wants citizen input re: perchlorate cleanup which may take years (Riverside Press Enterprise, January 18); Rialto has a "Zero Tolerance" position on perchlorate which the city tells CDHS they should follow in setting the MCL at the "lowest level legally possible ASAP,"  but there is an opposing view given in the editorial "Standard needs to be realistic" (San Bernardino County Sun, January 22)
• Massachusetts fire academy's flares blamed for perchlorate plume, but no plans to move the facility (Barnstable Patriot, January 18)

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Malcolm Pirnie Water Resources and Water Rate-Setting Services Malcolm Pirnie offers clients assistance in developing strategies to protect, enhance, and secure water resources. Malcolm Pirnie's staff has extensive practical experience in the development of groundwater storage and conjunctive use programs, water management and incentive programs, and water rates. Our staff also has a wide range of experience as facilitators in helping utilities to develop strategic and water resources plans through consensus-based decision-making processes. For questions regarding any of these services, please feel free to contact Nina Jazmadarian, or Ed Means in our Orange County office at (949) 450-7921, or visit www.mcguireinc.com/waterresources.

Arsenic

• Research study will look at impact of arsenic in private wells on school children's development (Manchester Union Leader, January 19)
  Commentary: This NIH-funded, 18-month SPARK study will be patterned after work in Bangladesh which showed a correlation between high arsenic in drinking water and adverse developmental effects. The arsenic levels in New Hampshire ground water are expected to be much lower than in the earlier study. All of the subjects will be recruited from homes with private wells.
• Prescott, AZ, bails out private water company with low arsenic hookup (Prescott Daily Courier, January 19)
• Three small Ohio systems face high compliance costs; skepticism about health benefits (Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 21)
• Small Michigan town moves to complete its arsenic treatment plant (Huron Daily Tribune, January 22)

Ethylene Dibromide

• State provides funds for South Carolina rural water district to provide carbon filter to remove EDB (Charleston Post and Courier, January 22)

Bottled Water

• Columnist's series digs into bottled water phenomena (San Francisco Chronicle)

  • Spin the (water) bottle... and win $11 billion! (January 17)
  • Bottlers go to lots of different sources (January 19) 
  • A Mercedes in the bottled water business? (January 21)
  Commentary: Critics describe the success of bottled water as "a triumph of marketing by powerful beverage companies... the selling of a ubiquitous commodity that most people can obtain easily and safely from their faucets."

Perfluorochemicals

• PFBA found in some Minnesota wells; state says no immediate health risks (Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 19)

MTBE

• Brochure: Drinking Water and MTBE: A Guide for Private Well Owners (PDF file, 357 K)
• State $0.5 million grant to find source of public system's wells in California city (Monterey County Herald, January 19)

Private Wells

• E. coli in West Virginia wells adds to the water's brown-stain "yick" quotient (Charleston Daily Mail, January 22)
• New York county official thinks private well testing rules should be option of local municipalities (Poughkeepsie Journal, January 18)
• Illinois EPA advises well owners in one contaminated ground water area; suggests testing wells (Northwest Herald, January 20)
• Pennsylvania DEP provides bottled water to community with TCE problems (Hagerstown Herald-Mail, January 19) and educates residents about the problem and options (Waynesboro Record Herald, January 20)

Water Reuse

• Australian university report says U.S. and Singapore direct reuse is "safe," but local assessment is needed (Courier Mail, January 21)
• Colorado city opts for "tapping used water" (Denver Post, January 23)
  Commentary: Some might take exception to this item being included in the "water reuse" category, since it looks something like what has been happening in many places in the U.S. for years, only less so. In this case, water will be pumped from wells 300 feet from a river downstream of a Denver wastewater treatment plant discharge. Aurora's "Prairie Waters" $754 million project will include a "40- day, 6-step" process including softening, filtration, UV, and carbon absorption.

Newsletters

• National Water Research Institute's January 2007 newsletter
• Southern California Salinity Coalition's Winter 2007 newsletter

International

• UN conference addresses strategy to curb waterborne disease in Europe (UNECE news release, January 17)
• Water in Armenian town contaminated by sewage (Armenia New, January 19)
• Israeli Health Ministry says nitrates affect large part of Sharon region's ground water (Haaretz, January 22)
• New Zealand university study finds contamination problems with roof-collected rainwater (Gisborne Herald, January 22)
• Running the Sahara to confront the world water crisis (United Nations Development Program news release, November 28); follow the trek with National Geographic

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