This week's NEWS

California has its Governator, but one small California town with wastewater problems gets hustled by the "Reclamator"! CDC reports on Crypto and Giardia outbreaks show most are recreational water outbreaks. Success stories in U.S. pale beside immensity of arsenic problem in India. Significant legal ruling issued in California provides clarity for water utilities. Little bits of news about molinate, boron, and tritium.

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State Updates

• Minnesota's Fall 2007 Waterline newsletter
• California risk assessors propose a Public Health Goal of 1 ppb for rice pesticide molinate
  Commentary: The cliché about California regulatory actions presaging activity elsewhere in the U.S. is not likely to be applicable here. It is unclear why the California risk assessment agency deems it necessary or important to update the non-enforceable goal for a chemical that: (1) already has a much higher California MCL; (2) has a use pattern in dramatic and continual decline; and (3) is slated to be totally removed from production in 2009.
• New Mexico's Drinking Water Bureau provides good updates on state's new rules: Arsenic, radionuclides, and ground water
• If you "show them the money," Michigan will expedite review of applications for drinking water construction projects (Michigan DEQ news release, September 4)
• In last week's NEWS, we linked the State of Washington's newsletter, which included reference to a new UV policy. Here is that policy, which covers the use of UV as the primary disinfectant for Giardia inactivation.

Microbiological

• CDC Surveillance reports for the U.S. for 2003-05:
  • Cryptosporidiosis (CDC, September 7)
  • Giardiasis (CDC, September 7)
    Commentary: Outbreaks of both of these waterborne illnesses have primarily been related to recreational water activities, but there have been some drinking water incidents.  
• Research study shows avian flu organism inactivated by free chlorine (Emerging Infectious Diseases, October; PDF file, 39 K)
• BWA continues in Massachusetts community after repeated E. coli  positive samples (New Bedford Standard-Times, September 7); boil water order is lifted; chlorination continues as does search for cause (WCVB, September 7)
• Wisconsin town starts chlorinating after a positive total coliform sample (WEAU, September 7)
• Water system problems caused by Texas gas pipeline break in July continue; pressure drops result in BWAs (Huntsville Item, September 9)

Legal and Compliance Issues

• Major California ruling issued with wide ramifications for water utilities (Hatch & Parent Update, August 27)
• Ex-supervisor of New Hampshire city's water treatment plant pleads guilty to "doctoring" water quality reports (Fosters.com, August 30)
• Pennsylvania fines water utility for notification failures after change in treatment process results in blue-green water and copper-related illnesses (Pennsylvania Press Release, August 27)
  Commentary: The production of high copper levels was a direct result of using citric acid to "condition" new GAC filters for the utility. Bacteriological contamination of GAC has been noted in several locations and several chemicals have been proposed to treat the GAC. This story is a sad tale of the unintended consequences of using citric acid that was subsequently released into the distribution system.
• Canadian water systems await "clear-cut" court ruling re: control of logging on drinking water source watersheds (The Globe and Mail, September 11)
• Lodi, CA, recoups another $2.5M from insurance companies to help clean up VOCs in ground water (Stockton Record, September 7)

Arsenic

• Average arsenic level in northeast India state has risen to 500 ppb (BBC, September 7)
• EPA reports on two more "success stories" with arsenic compliance:
  • Arizona system tests firm's new technology
  • California city uses water-quality-based well design to limit arsenic
• Federal funding provides arsenic removal treatment for Wisconsin city well (Appleton Post-Crescent, September 9); EPA report on the iron oxidation-filtration technology used
• New Hampshire editorial: Parents should have kids tested as part of university research study! (Nashua Telegraph, September 10)

Water Treatment

• Consent order issued to Massachusetts city re: sodium hydroxide overfeed (MA DEP news release, September 4); incident occurred in May, 2007 (SDW.com NEWS, May 9)

Lead

• Ontario, Canada, schools await results of followup lead testing after "summer non-use" testing shows elevated levels (Cambridge Times, September 6)

Tritium

• South Carolina regulator responds to negative news coverage about tritium contamination at a low-level nuclear waste facility
  Commentary: The NRC fact sheet about tritium occurrence and risk is enlightening. (PDF file, 45 K)

Boron

• Boron levels in Illinois city's wells are not a problem; river is barrier from Indiana power plant (Daily Republican Register, September 10); information on Boron in drinking water (PDF file, 126 K)

Atrazine

• Kentucky farming practices and good weather have helped lower atrazine levels (Hardin County News Enterprise, September 10)

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

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Fluoridation

• 120 Tennessee water systems receive CDC fluoridation awards (Tennessee Department of Health news release, September 7)
• Southern California water districts prepare to receive fluoridated water from wholesaler (North County Times, September 9)

Desalination

• Proposed central California coastal desalination plant doesn't get approval for test wells on state parks land (San Luis Obispo Tribune, September 7)

Water Reuse

• Troubled California town gets door-to-door salesmen pushing "sewage to drinking water" devices (San Luis Obispo Tribune, September 11)
• The latest issue of Water Reuse News
• Editorial: Reusing water in Alabama = good stewardship (Montgomery Advertiser, September 9)
• Opinion: Stop pouring drinking water on lawns in Jacksonville, FL (Jackson Times-Union, September 9)
• Commentary: San Diego has missed a great opportunity for recycling (San Diego Union Tribune, September 10)

Aesthetics

• Bloodworms (midge fly larvae) get through filters and show up in Scottish town's water (BBC News, September 11)
• Kentucky town's residents don't like their murky water; pipeline sediment blamed (WTVQ, September 7)
• Brown water blamed on manganese from well; filter system planned (Doylestown Intelligencer, September 10)

Source Water Protection

• USGS report shows association of land use and human activity with organic chemical findings in Florida region ground water (USGS Release, September 5)

Private Wells

• New York county offers VOC testing for private wells (Poughkeepsie Journal, September 9)
• Maryland residents notified that MTBE from gas station has not spread beyond the site (North County News, September 6)
• Re-tests of private wells in Maryland community with bacteria problems show some improvement (Maryland Business Gazette, September 6)
• Pennsylvania wants to recover $70,000 in testing costs from property owners where dry cleaners contaminated private wells (Burlington County Times, September 9)

Miscellaneous

• Exhibit: "Water: H2O = Life" will be at New York City history museum until May, then will go on the road (United Press International, September 7)

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