This week's NEWS

The incorrectly named "total" coliform rule is on the front burner. Where should you go to get the hottest information on Water Security or Source Water Protection? The little guys win a couple of legal battles but will they prevail over the little-bitty, white wiggly worms? Risk Assessment, but not for Dummies! Advocates for revisiting California perchlorate PHG will have to wait 'til 2009. Erin Brockovich must be proud! Much ado about nothing: Cadmium and the concerned faculty! Important water conferences on the horizon.

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Federal Updates

• AWWA's Washington, D.C. report covers recent EPA exploratory meeting on revising the TCR (PDF file, 22.3K)
• NCEA sets 2007 Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference for April 23-26 in Ohio; the Agenda for the conference. (PDF file, 56.2K )
  Commentary: Of special interest is the session on the role of risk assessment in developing a revised TCR. RA junkies will have a field day at this conference with a little bit of everything including chemical mixtures, PBPK modeling, default uncertainty factors, children, arsenic, and issues important to DOD (and water suppliers!) such as RDX and "emerging contaminant challenges."
• USEPA announces peer-review workshop on a Draft Toxicological Review of 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (Federal Register, February 27)

Water Security

• Have you signed up for the Water Security Channel? Free service to disseminate security information to water and wastewater systems
• Free AWWA webcast: Developing a Mutual Aid Response Network for Water and Wastewater Systems, March 27

Legal Issues

• Settlement favors the victims of scam by Illinois home treatment device company who misled Spanish-speaking customers (Daily Herald, February 23)
• Oklahoma residents sue water system over water quality: "Little-bitty white (and wiggly) worms" are just one concern (Tulsa World, February 26)
• Federal judge says New York lawsuit against MTBE company may proceed as class action suit (Baltimore Sun, February 22)

Microbiological

• Pennsylvania borough faces fine for delay in initiating boil water notice required because of water main break (Pottstown Mercury, February 24)

Perfluorochemicals

• Preliminary findings of PFAA health study shows possible infant developmental problems (Charleston Gazette, February 22); the toxicology conference where this important paper was presented featured a lot more on health effects of PFAAs
• Tap water worries rising (Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 25)
  Commentary: The views of consumers in the affected area vary widely. One example that probably resonates with many people despite assurances from state health officials is: "Maybe we've been watching too much Erin Brockovich, but the fact is that they just don't know the health effects," said Gilbert, a 26-year-old University of Minnesota Law School student and the father of two boys, ages 3 and 1. "And that's OK that they don't know. But for us, we just said, 'You know what, for the time being, we're just not going to take the chance.'"'

Disinfection Byproducts

• Very, very slightly elevated HAA's in New York town's water supply (Utica Observer Dispatch, February 23)  

Perchlorate

• California risk assessors will not consider changing PHG until 2009 mandated review
• NASA report says JPL did not cause contamination of Pasadena, CA, wells; federal funding for cleanup at risk (Pasadena Star News, February 20), but at another location, NASA moves ahead with treatment facility (Whittier Daily News, February 27)
• State hearing will seek to resolve "blame" issue for inland Southern California perchlorate contamination (Riverside Press Enterprise, February 24)

Water Treatment

• U.S. military gets help with solutions to safe drinking water in combat situations (Guard Experience, February 26); background on the Army's database of "commercially available" treatment products and the list of filters and disinfectants
  Commentary: The old Army adage that "the ultimate weapon runs on water, and everything else runs on fuel" was never truer than in the harsh Iraqi environment. Now, the U.S. Army's technical arm has provided the troops with an important tool for picking the right drinking water treatment system... and they didn't re-invent what was already on the civilian market. But users will have to update their lexicon of military acronyms to find out what COTS and IWPs are... not to mention USACHPPM!
• Annual maintenance at Colorado water treatment plant may result in "changed" taste and odor in water (Colorado 9 News, February 25)
• North Carolina city notifies of annual, state-mandated switch to free chlorine (News and Observer, February 26)
• Water treament plant expansion is key to major capital project by large California central valley agency (Bakersfield Californian, February 24)

Source Water Quality

• A fantastic agglomeration of good information on protecting drinking water sources! The Source Water Collaborative, a new forum of 18 national organizations
• Saltwater intrusion into Washington island's ground water leads to discussions of growth control (Bainbridge Island Review, February 26)

Ground Water Contamination

• GAO report says cost of cleanup from LUST will be $12 billion

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 Mike McGuire (mmcguire@pirnie.com), or visit mcguireinc.com/perchlorate.

Uranium

• Elevated uranium in California foothill systems leads to restrictions and expensive new wells and treatment (Fresno Bee, February 27)

Tungsten

• 1994 report to military warned that tungsten ammo was not a "non-toxic" solution for Massachusetts army base (Cape Cod Times, February 22)

Arsenic

• USEPA's Arsenic Removal Technology Demonstration Program seeks proposals for ten selected locations
  Commentary: In the interest of full disclosure, all "proposers" should understand that the South Dakota site which is in Lead (pronounced leeed) is the home of the largest gold mine in the U.S. (at least at one time) and there may not be any lead (pronounced lehd) there, but there must be arsenic!
• Socorro, NM, has new well coming on-line but faces arsenic compliance issues (El Defensor Chieftain, February 23)
• New York water utility criticized – unfairly – for not looking for source of ground water arsenic and for slow notification of findings, which was not required (White Plains Journal News, February 25), but county will expand its testing of utility's wells (White Plains Journal News, February 27)

Cadmium

• California university finds cadmium in campus building water (Chico Enterprise Record, February 21) – but wait! More tests show it wasn't really there! (Chico Enterprise Record, February 24)

PCE and TCE

• Arizona water district gets state-funded carbon water treatment plant on well when air stripping can't handle high TCE/PCE levels (Arizona Daily Star, February 21)
• PCE from California prison dry cleaners may be threat to local water supply wells (Amador Ledger Dispatch, February 23)
• Backgrounder on TCE re: Pennsylvania community's concerns (Pottstown Mercury, February 25)
• Editorial: Alabama highway department commended for approach to address TCE plume; no drinking water threatened (Montgomery Advertiser, February 27)

Fluoridation

• Editorial: Florida officials should not fall for scare tactics by those trying to end fluoridation (TC Palm, February 25)
• Alabama utility board reverses course again... fluoridation will stay... at least for a while (Mobile Press Register, February 27)
• Editorial: It's "time to end the silly campaign" against fluoridation in Massachusetts community (Attleboro Sun Chronicle, February 27)
• Aussie bottled beverage makers want ban on adding fluoride repealed (ABC.net.au, February 27)
• Dr. David B. Ast, 104, pioneer in efforts to fluoridate New York drinking water, dies (New York Times, February 23; free registration required)

Chromium 6

• Literally, a heavy metal band emerges from the PG&E legacy in California desert (Desert Dispatch, February 26)
  Commentary: Their parents are likely relieved that the band decided to change its name. "The band, once called Morbus after a 17th century disease that made people look like vampires, later changed its name to Chromium 6, a heavy metal known to have negative health effects... A heavy death metal."

Newsletters

• Safe Drinking Water Trust eBulletin

Conferences

• USGS second National Conference on Health-Related Research is February 27-March 1 in Reston, VA
• AMWA's Water Policy Conference will be March 4-7 in Washington D.C.
• AWWA's Membrane Technology Conference is March 18-21 in Tampa, FL
• NGWA 2007 Ground Water Summit will be April 29-May 3 in Albuquerque, NM
• AWWA's ACE will be in Toronto from June 24-28

Private Wells

• New York county's proposed mandatory well testing legislation vetoed (Kingston Daily Freeman, February 23)
• Pennsylvania well owners tired of delay in hooking up to local water district (Scranton Times Tribune, February 24)
• Nitrate problems have Wyoming well owners considering hookup to public water system (Wyoming Tribune Eagle, February 24)
• Illinois county health reduced rates for testing well water during National Ground Water Awareness Week (Lake County News Sun, February 26)

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