This week's NEWS

Two UV manufacturers reach settlement over patent issue. Free chlorine vs chloramines: A security question?  Water treatment plant upgrades feature membranes. The focus is on lead service lines in Montreal. If there's no water to boil, then maybe you can be ordered to drink bottled water? WWW must mean Weird Water World: If you let a rabbit in your golf cart, you'd better have more than a nine-iron handy! 

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Federal Updates

• USEPA sets March 28-29 workshop to discuss proposed Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (Federal Register, March 8)

State Updates

• Colorado proposes revisions to its operator certification regulations with an April 24 hearing (PDF file, 179 K)

Staffing for the Future

• "Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future" 
  Commentary: If you are wondering how our country is going to train the next generation of engineers and scientists to run water utilities, consulting firms, and other critical water businesses, read the latest offering from the National Academies Press.

Water Treatment

• Calgon announces UV patent dispute-settlement with Trojan (Calgon Carbon News, March 6) and Trojan Technologies says the same thing, but its Q&A fleshes out the deal... but no $$$$ numbers given (Trojan Technologies, March 6)
  Commentary: The dispute was the subject of court rulings in New Jersey and Canada (Safedrinkingwater.com NEWS, 2006) and stemmed from Calgon's patent claims about the effect of UV on cryptosporidium. (Safedrinkingwater.com NEWS, 2001)
• Tennessee city's new 16-MGD membrane plant is up and running (The Daily Times, March 10)
• Illinois city upgrades 80-year old water treatment plant with $20 million microfiltration facilities: Better water quality and more of it! (Chicago Tribune, March 9)

Water Security

• Study suggests free chlorine is more effective than monochloramine against terrorist threats (Chemical Online, March); an abstract of the poster presentation at the recent ASM meeting
  Commentary: Judging only from the news article and the abstract, it is not possible to discern what is really new in this information. It has long been general knowledge that free chlorine is a stronger oxidant and disinfectant than the chloramine species, but using either the presence or absence of either as an indicator of "terrorist" activity is highly questionable. The idea of maintaining "some" free chlorine residual in a chloraminated distribution system would make most water quality personnel shudder... since chemically, it is impossible.

Arsenic

• Arsenic Remediation Grant enables small Indiana system to hook up to community system (Consolidation at work!) (Munster Times, March 8)
• Arizona utility seeks rate increase to cover arsenic compliance costs (Newszap.com, March 6)
• Imported bottled mineral water recalled by FDA for elevated arsenic levels... like 500 ppb! (Daily News, March 8)

Microbiological

• Construction accident has Colorado town drinking bottled water (Rocky Mountain News, March 8); the order to drink bottled water has been rescinded by the state health agency
  Commentary: A "drink bottled water order" is not usually issued when the quality concern is bacteria from soil related to a main break or from backflow due to lowered pressure. In this case, the bottled water may have been the only water available until the main was repaired.
• Water cooler legionella case may be unique? (New Zealand Stuff, March 9)
• UK researchers announce breakthrough in understanding of Cryptosporidium biology which may lead to development of vaccines or drug treatments (Water Online, March 5)

Perfluorochemicals

• New study gives 3M confidence that PFBA found recently in drinking water not a significant threat (St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 6)

Invasive Species

• In-depth backgrounder on quagga mussel invasion in the Colorado River:
  • Part One (Utah Daily Herald, March 7)
  • Part Two (Utah Daily Herald, March 9)

   

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Is Your Utility Considering a Switch to Chloramines? Malcolm Pirnie is on the cutting edge of developing and implementing techniques for converting to chloramines and managing nitrification. Our more than 20 years of experience in this specialty includes converting two systems serving 18 million people to chloramines, consulting on several others, and ensuring high-quality chloraminated water in dozens of other utility systems. If your utility is considering chloramines, or if you are experiencing nitrification or other issues with your current conversion, we can help. Please visit our website to learn more or contact Michael McGuire at mmcguire@pirnie.com for more information.

Aesthetics

• Algae causing taste and odor problems for Austinites, Austinians, and/or Austinettes (Daily Texan, March 7)
• Ohio town repeats as winner of municipal gold medal in water taste competition

Lead

• Montreal issues warning to residents in 75,000 buildings with lead service lines (Montreal Gazette, March 7); demand for water filters booming (Montreal Gazette, March 9)
  Commentary: A tale of many numbers! Quebec's lead standard was lowered to 0.01 ppm in 2001. Montreal has 75,000 lead services. Sampling of water from 1500 of these services last summer determined that 55% of tests exceeded the MCL. The results averaged 0.014 ppm and none exceeded the old standard of 0.05 ppm. Plan is to remove all lead services by 2026 at cost of $270 million.

TCE and PCE

• DCE in Pennsylvania township wells could be a breakdown of TCE found in air (Pottstown Mercury, March 7); state announces ground water investigation in the area
• TCE plume in ground water impacts Utah community's wells; EPA proposes site be put on Superfund list (USEPA Region 8, March 7)

Source Water Protection

• Canadian region gets grant to improve source water protection (York Region Newspaper Group, March 7)
• EPA's Watershed newsletter

Ground Water 

• USGS presents findings of study of one Central California ground water basin (Oroville Mercury Register, March 7); the report (PDF file, 12.1 MB)

Water Quality Training

• EPA's water quality Standards Academy has a Basic Course on "ambient" water quality coming up in May in Virginia

Newsletters

• Australia's Small Water System newsletter (PDF file, 761 K)

Weird Water World

• Bobcat joins Missouri water plant worker (and a rabbit) in golf cart (Danbury News Times, March 9)
  Commentary: This story begs these questions: What was the water man doing in a golf cart? And... why a nine-iron and not a mashie?
• Water Purity for Your Security - Dr. Mao's Secrets of Longevity

Water Reuse

• Florida agencies move ahead with pilot studies on treating recycled water for ground water recharge (WaterWorld, March 5)
• Australian newsletter on recycled water for agriculture
  Commentary: There are more than horticultural issues in "ReWater," as evidenced by an interesting article on use of recycled water for firefighting.
• Arizona brochure on home use of gray water (PDF file, 2.01 MB)

International

• New Zealand's Health Minister is concerned about lack of drinking water standards (Gisborne Herald, March 9)

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