This week's NEWS

Do you know a good candidate to advise EPA on drinking water matters? Fluoridation is on the agenda in a number of locales. Toilet-to-tap (or is it Toilet-to-turf?) becomes political fodder in San Diego. Invasive quagga mussels get a lot of attention in California.

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Federal Updates

• USEPA update on LT2ESWTR: Bin calculation spreadsheets for filtered systems
• Nominations sought for new members of EPA's National Drinking Water Advisory Council (Federal Register, September 13)
• White House science advisory group issues a new federal strategy for water science and technology (PDF file, 3.11 MB) (Note: This is not specific to drinking water; there is a section on Microbial Source Tracking on p. 18)

State Updates

• Alabama's Annual Surface Water meeting will be October 22-23 (PDF file, 2.48 MB)
• California proposes PHG for 1,2,3 trichloropropane at 0.7 ppt
  Commentary: There is no current federal or state MCL for TCP, but California does have a "notification level," which was developed because there have been some detections in drinking water wells.
• Administrative orders issued to two Louisiana water systems (USEPA news release, September 11)

Security

• Last WISE webcast on September 26 focuses on O&M changes to enhance security (register by September 19)

Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds

• AwwaRF announces new report on using advanced oxidation processes to reduce EDCs (PDF file, 29 K)

Quagga Mussels

• California's largest wholesaler moves ahead with capital improvements to add chlorination facilities to control quagga mussels (MWDSC Board letter, September 10)
• State of California works on safeguards to protect water systems from quagga mussels (California DWR news release, September 10)

Water Treatment

• Sticker shock for South Dakota regional water system and water treatment plant: Low bid is $34 million over engineer's estimate of $108 million (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, September 14)
  Commentary: The project is regional and although dubbed as "rural," it will also provide some water supply for South Dakota's largest city. The source will be ground water adjacent to the Missouri River captured by new radial and angle wells. A lime-softening filtration plant is planned.
• Colorado city gets USEPA region award for its new treatment plant (USEPA news release, September 11)

Microbiological

• Massachusetts town's water is now okay following E. coli detection and follow-up chlorination and inspections (Worcester Telegram and Gazette, September 16)
• Vermont system issues BWA after second positive coliform incident in a month (Boston Globe, September 16)

Radiological

• Tritium: State officials say testing proves there is no tritium problem in ground water near South Carolina nuclear facility (Charlotte Observer, September 13); state will continue to run routine tests (The State, September 14)
• Uranium: Mouse study suggests that uranium at levels below MCL may be disrupting endocrine system (Environmental Health Perspectives, September 14)

Perchlorate

• California water district approves installing proprietary IX treatment system to remove both nitrate and perchlorate at one well (San Bernardino Sun, September 11)
• Remediation and new supply: California desert agency treatment project will address perchlorate in ground water (Santa Clarita Signal, September 14)

Lead

• Some rural schools in New South Wales, AU, with rainwater tanks have lead problems; bottled water provided (ABC Australia, September 17)

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

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Source Water Protection

• Plan to protect major New York watershed ready for review (Westchester.com, September 17)
• Idaho DEQ has demonstration video on how small acreage subdivisions can protect area water quality

Fluoridation

• Pro and Con arguments are presented (Juneau Empire, September 14) as Juneau, AK, gets ready to vote on fluoridation (Juneau Empire, September 16)
• Texas city will fluoridate; water treatment plant and multiple wells complicate process (Tyler Morning Telegraph, September 14)
• San Diego retail water systems getting ready for start-up of fluoridation by wholesaler; efforts continue to get local cities to add fluoride to local sources (San Diego Union Tribune, September 16) 
• UK county dental health advocates begin review and consultation process for drinking water fluoridation (Lancashire Evening Post, September 14)

Water Reuse

• California state water regulators propose a new water recycling policy; the draft policy (PDF file, 49 K)
• San Diego's mayor and city attorney duke it out over "toilet-to-tap" ...but is that what it's really about? (San Diego Union Tribune, September 14)

Water Education and Conferences

• The 2007 Distribution Systems Symposium is in Cleveland from September 23-26
• AWWA seminar on low pressure membrane technology will be September 27-28 in Chicago
• EPA's Water Academy schedules a November session of its popular Basic Course on Water Quality Standards
• WQTC comes to Charlotte, NC, in November

Aesthetics

• UK's Royal Society of Chemistry presents a conference on taste and odor in drinking water on November 20

Private Wells

• Illinois town gets good news as no active wells found with PCE or TCE from old factory (Pekin Daily Times, September 14)
• MTBE and PCE found in some Nevada subdivision wells but it is not widespread (Carson City Nevada Appeal, September 14)
• $3.4 million water system proposed to address arsenic in a Miami, FL, neighborhood's private wells (Miami Herald, September 14)

Ground Water Contamination

• 20 years and 3.8 million tons of fly ash later: Sulfates in Maryland ground water increase along with health-significant metals (Annapolis Capital, September 12); dumping of fly ash will cease as state outlines corrective actions needed (Baltimore Sun, September 16)
• Multiple sources of contamination of ground water in Twin Cities, MN, area (Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 16)

International

• Irish village gets dirty water (Mayo News, September 11)
• Extensive algae blooms make China lake water undrinkable (MSNBC, September 16)
• India rivers given low marks in report by government board, who environmentalists say are "...toothless body of servile... officials" (Calcutta Telegraph, September 16)

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