This week's NEWS

Safety of using chloramines is stressed from Vermont to California. But politicians just can't keep their hands off... whether it's chloramines or PFCs. Health Canada addresses corrosion issues. Tampa Bay desalination moves ahead after settlement of litigation. NRC tells the White House OMB guys "your risk assessment idea" needs total rethinking. What might be necessary for safe reuse?

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Federal Updates

• AWWA's most recent regulatory and security update (PDF file, 515 K)

State Updates

• Emergency Drought Order clears way for Florida PWS to exceed some secondary constituents and sodium (PDF file, 1.09 MB)
• March issue of Connecticut H₂Operator tells what to do if you've "Got Total Coliform?"! (PDF file, 808 K)
• Vermont's Spring 2007 Water Line (PDF file, 349 K)
• Pennsylvania provides templates for most Tier 1 and 2 public notification situations

Microbiological

• Irish city council explains actions initiated BEFORE crypto outbreak and now underway to secure safe supply (Galway City Council Press Statement, April 16), and provides clarification of actions (Galway City Council, April 17); protesters say government has not taken proper measures (International Herald Tribune, April 23)
• Microbial Source Tracking Workshop sponsored by Purdue and USEPA Region 5 will be September 14 in Chicago
• University of Arizona business incubator program: New rapid test kits for pathogens can give results in "10 minutes" (Tucson Citizen, April 19)

Disinfection Byproducts

• Pilot plant findings: MIEX for removal of DBP precursors (Executive summary, AWWA e-Journal, April 2007)
• Mixing in finished water storage can help control DBPs and other negative water quality effects (Water Conditioning and Purification, April 2007, PDF file, 19.7 K)
• New Hampshire city again exceeds TTHMs and HAAs MCLs; awaiting $5+ million water treatment plant upgrade (Fosters Daily Democrat, April 18)
• Politics and different national-provincial "norms" for TTHMs cause "tempest in glass of water" (Montreal Gazette, April 22)

Chloramines

• In Vermont:
  • Health agency says there is no health risk from chloramines (Burlington Free Press, April 18)
• In California... mostly San Francisco:
  • Chloramines expert explains chloramine speciation  
  • Medical expert comments on "lack of" chloramine health effects
  • Minutes of SFPUC's Special Meeting on chloramines (Note: The video of the 11/14/06 meeting was earlier linked in the NEWS)   
  • California legislator re-introduces bill to study drinking water disinfectants (Palo Alto Daily News, April 23); AB 559 as amended
    
  Commentary: It could be described as "legislation looking for a purpose" as a politician struggles to do something to assuage the strong emotional, but scientifically unsupported, feelings of a relatively small handful of constituents. While the proposed study would do no harm, let us count the hundred better places to throw a handful of public money at: 1. Education; 2. Education; 3. Education; 4. Levees... 100. Education!
• In Oklahoma:
  • Bartlesville will switch to chloramines at its newly on-line water treatment plant... switch was anticipated (Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise, April 17); fish owners may need to adjust aquarium treatment (Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise, April 17)

PFCs

• Minnesota legislation would mandate a health risk level and more in-depth research (Winona Daily News, April 18)
  Commentary: "...the legislation goes too far in telling trained scientists how to proceed. The department could set risk limits if it wanted... It furthers a sense of concern and hysteria that is not warranted... also argued that the limits could improperly influence a pending lawsuit..." If there is one thing that most water utilities can agree on, it is that politicians should not muck around in the standard-setting business, telling health risk assessors and managers that levels must be set, must be set lower, and/or arbitrary time limits should be set.
• No PFCs found in Twin Cities, MN, drinking water (Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 20)
• Testing of 9000 more Ohio-West Virginia wells for C8 planned (WTAP, April 18)
• MWH Laboratories begins testing PFCs

Arsenic

• Three new reports on arsenic-removal technology demo projects from USEPA's program
• Water chemistry is important in selecting arsenic treatment (Water Tech Online)

TCE

• Pennsylvania water district reports amount of TCE discharged into air from strippers on wells... 1 lb. vs 250,000 lb. from local industries (Pottstown Mercury, April 20)

Corrosion Control

• Health Canada seeks comment on Guideline Technical Document on Corrosion Control in Drinking Water Distribution Systems

Water Treatment

• Illinois district's $5M power/auto controls upgrade is first step in $26M water treatment plant expansion (Southern Illinoisan, April 19)
• California city will remove Fe and Mn from well if they can just complete their 17-year journey to build a storage tank (Daily Breeze, April 23)

Lead

• London, Ontario, Canada deals with elevated lead levels in home testing:
  • Provincial government will help with lead retesting (London Free Press, April 21)
  • Mayor will update community over problems (London Free Press, April 23); the city's report on three-pronged action plan
  • Health warning issued... but politician "shoots the messenger" (London Free Press, April 24); the official health advisory

Fluoridation

• The headline says that Ohio "city council continues to hear arguments against fluoridation" ...but all they list are arguments for! (Dayton Daily News, April 19)
• Maine state law: Vote to remove (or add) fluoride can't be voted on again for two years (Portland Press Herald, April 22)

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Malcolm Pirnie Water Treatment Plant Optimization Services Water treatment plant optimization is a continuous process as utilities strive to not only meet current and future regulations, but also to provide water of superior quality. With improved understanding of water chemistry and advances in technology, optimization can lead to the delivery of a higher-quality product at a lower cost. Malcolm Pirnie is prepared to help utilities deal with water treatment plant optimization challenges. For more information on these services, please contact Laurie Sullivan at lsullivan@pirnie.com.

Source Water Protection

• USEPA new "Watershed Plan Builder" available to accelerate watershed planning (USEPA news release, April 18); there is a May 2 webcast on using this new tool
• Spring 2007 issue of The California Runoff Rundown from the Water Education Foundation

Perchlorate

• California city will audit the costs of its legal battle to get perchlorate out of ground water (San Bernardino County Sun, April 22)

Desalination

• Settlement ends litigation over failed 2003 design and startup of the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant
• New RO plant in Hilton Head, SC, planned to combat salt water intrusion (p. 3, PDF file, 3.65 MB)
• Results of a worldwide survey on full-scale RO and NF (Executive Summary, AWWA e-Journal, April 2007)

Nitrate

• Prince Edward Island, Canada, addresses nitrate problem:
  • Study shows ground water levels increasing from farming (CBC News, April 16)
  • Health chief says no warnings needed about nitrates in ground water (Charlottetown Guardian, April 19)
  • Island official says action is needed, not another commission (CBC News Canada, April 23)

Risk Assessment

• NRC committee sends OMB proposal to standardize risk assessments "Back to the Drawing board" (National Academies In Focus Magazine, Spring 2007); the full book can be read online (302 pages)
• Water quality and acceptable risk: Are we safe enough? (Water Conditioning and Purification, April 2007, PDF file, 37.6 K)

Water System Recognition

• USEPA recognizes Pennsylvania water company for upgrading 1874 water treatment plant (USEPA news release, April 17)

Water Reuse

• Raleigh, NC, plans dual system to reclaim wastewater for irrigation (Charlotte Observer, April 23)
• Australian researcher gives thoughtful assessment of safety of water reuse (Canberra Times, April 24)
  Commentary: The author outlines a number of important considerations and concludes:  "...the adoption of an effective multiple-barrier approach, with detailed consideration of chemical contaminants and pathogens, along with a comprehensive system-reliability analysis, is a viable means of supplying safe drinking water from a planned indirect potable water-recycling scheme."
• The latest issue of WateReuse News

Private Wells

• State offers aid to replace or treat wells contaminated in New York flooding (Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin, April  21)
• Three New York towns draft well-testing laws to fill vacuum left by county (Poughkeepsie Journal, April 24)
• More wells show high levels of MTBE near Maryland gas leak (Frederick News Post, April 20)

World Water Issues

• "The business of slaking the world's growing thirst is lucrative, controversial and surprisingly French"  and water quality issues are important! (TIME Magazine, March 16)
• There is a fight brewing over water (Myrtle Beach Sun News, April 22), according to the authors of a new book: Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water and a PBS documentary

International

• Five deaths in Melbourne nursing home salmonella outbreak; water contamination might be involved? and police look into allegations of deliberate water contamination (Australian National Press, April 20)
• Scotland water alert after truck leaks formic acid for 30 miles (Scotsman, April 21)

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