This week's NEWS

We hope that you get a BIG BANG out of this early 4th of July issue... just make sure that your sparklers are perchlorate-free! July in Washington, DC... that's where you'll find the Total Coliform/Distribution System experts... sweating out the details. Dueling water taste tests pick different U.S. cities as best. Apparently bottled water folks don't think that what's good for the goose is good for the gander when it comes to consumer confidence. Water quantity emergencies require making allowances in water quality. Replacing lead service lines is a two-part proposition. Big things happening in the desalting world.

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Federal Updates

• EPA establishes FACA for revising the Total Coliform Rule (Federal Register, June 29)
  Commentary: There is a fancy new moniker for the TCR FACA to account for the emphasis on the distribution system: TCRDSAC! How do we pronounce that... and who will make the Sweet 16? The first meeting is in D.C. on July 17 and 18 and the public is invited.

State Updates

• Massachusetts Spring Issue of In The Main (PDF file, 844 K) describes the state's interesting collaborative program on emerging contaminants
• Legislation makes new federal MCLs the new HRLs (Health Risk Levels) for Minnesota ground water
• Connecticut's June H2Operator newsletter
• Drought prompts Florida to issue emergency order allowing temporary exceedance of secondary drinking water standards
  Commentary: The order permits systems to use water with up to 1200 ppm TDS, 500 ppm sulfates and chlorides, and 300 ppm sodium with public notification and increased monitoring.
• California and EPA Region 9 sponsor Sustainable Infrastructure Forum in Sacramento on August 7

Water Treatment

• AWWA wants YOU to participate in its annual disinfection survey... it's easy and profitable!

Asbestos

• Transite pipe in Ohio town's system poses no risk based on sampling (Marietta Times, June 28)

Arsenic

• Correspondence about recent paper on health effects of arsenic in China provides interesting reading (Environmental Health Perspectives, June); Texas utility's arsenic levels drop, but plans for treatment – and consumers' lawsuit – move ahead (The Brownsville Herald, June 26); California city "may" get $0.5 million in federal funding to address arsenic compliance (Manteca Bulletin, June 29); Ferric media selected for Manteca's arsenic removal treatment (Press Release, June 21)
• Arsenic in rice grown in the U.S. (Environmental Health Perspectives, June)
  Commentary: There is no standard for the amount of arsenic in food, however, the amount of arsenic to which people are exposed to in food was one factor considered in establishing a standard for arsenic in drinking water (i.e. Relative Source Contribution).  

Perchlorate

• "Pure" artesian water from downtown Salt Lake City well shows up with a little perchlorate (Salt Lake Tribune, June 27)
  Commentary: It does not appear that this "hallowed" artesian well is part of the city's water supply. When such a story appears in the popular press, it is always interesting to read the "reader comments" section to find out what others are thinking about what you have just read, even if they are being flip or overly erudite.
• Check the table of contents on your fireworks! (Des Moines Register, June 27)

Microbiological

• Low levels of Cryptosporidium and Giardia found in Sydney, AU, raw water, but treated water is okay (Sydney Journal Herald, June 29); well sampling survey in follow-up to Wisconsin restaurant gastrointestinal outbreak shows 28% positive for coliform (Fond du Lac Reporter, June 27)
• Report on 2004 waterborne outbreak on Ohio Island in Lake Erie (Environmental Health Perspectives, June)

Annual Water Quality Reports

• Manitowoc, WI, is the home of the new AWWA president (PDF file, 1.94 MB)

Compliance

• Small-system operator in San Diego, CA, county pleads guilty to felony false reporting charge (SignOn San Diego, June 27)

Lead

• Toronto accelerates its lead service line replacement program (Insidetoronto.com, June 29)
  Commentary: The city's new plan will cut the timeframe for full replacement from 13 to 9 years. A common-sense incentive program is being looked at because, as one councilor put it,"it doesn't make sense to replace all the pipes on the public portion if they're not being replaced on the private portion of the property."

Radiological

• California utility contracts for uranium removal (Central Valley Business Times, June 25)

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Malcolm Pirnie Municipal Bottled Water Services With the rapid expansion of the bottled water market, many utilities are considering bottling municipal water for reasons ranging from revenue generation to public relations. Malcolm Pirnie has worked with over 20 utilities on municipal bottled water issues, providing services that have included supervision of bottling operations, quality control of bottled product, flavor profile analysis (FPA) testing, shelf-life determinations, feasibility studies, program planning, equipment procurement, and facility design. This unique breadth of knowledge allows Malcolm Pirnie to provide unmatched experience to utilities exploring bottled water options. For more information on these services, please contact Brent Alspach at balspach@pirnie.com, or Michael McGuire at mmcguire@pirnie.com.

Bottled Water

• California Bottled Water Association is concerned about proposed legislation on labeling bottles and vending machines (WaterTech Online, June 27); here is the contested labeling bill; although it is outdated, a posting on the California bottled water industry group's website suggests that industry's legislative strategy? (CSBA)
• IBWA comments on U.S. Mayor group's position re: bottled water bottles and solid waste

Fluoride

• International bottled water group's clarifying statement on FDA and CDC positions on fluoride in bottled water is... clear

Aesthetics

• The Mayors think that St. Louis, MO, has the best-tasting water (U.S. Conference of Mayors press release, June 25; PDF file, 122 K)... but what happened to Oklahoma City?
  

Research

• International partnership: PERMEANT... Partnership for Environmental Research into Membranes and Nanotechnologies

Desalination

• Things are big in Texas, including its pilot desalination project (Kansas City Star, July 1), but then there is Australian BIG... as Sydney Water selects DBO firm to build huge desalination plant (Sydney Water Media Release, June 26)
• Dry spell encourages more agencies to sign up for desalted water from proposed Southern California facility (SignOn San Diego, July 1)

Source Water Protection

• Global warming might cause raw water quality changes in Nunavuk (former Northwest Territory of Canada) (Nunatsiaq News, June 29)

Newsletters

• Safe Drinking Water Trust's latest e-Bulletin

International

• Greek region warned about elevated chromium and zinc in water (Kathimerini, June 18)
• Government health official says Manila water is safe, despite private firm's test results (Manila Standard Today, June 30)

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