This week's NEWS

Leading researcher testifies as PPCPs get Congressional attention, but maybe not enough from the White House and the AP investigative report is put into context by University. Colorado city drinks the water again after state lifts boil water order. A new approach to water quality data falsifying: Making the data look worse? Magazine's review of U.S. cities' drinking water is full of... idioTsyncrasies.

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Salmonella

• State lifts boil water order in Alamosa, CO... but the source of the salmonella remains unknown (Pueblo Chieftain, April 12); the official state letter lifting the ban (PDF file, 108 K) and the city advises residents on precautionary back-in-service procedures (PDF file, 74.2 K)
  Commentary: There is joy in the Rockies as life gets back to some degree of normalcy, including drinking tap water. The list of conditions Alamosa had to meet for the state to lift the BWO is instructive, including: "Microbiological analyses indicated the absence of total coliform bacteria, Salmonella bacteria, and the parasites Giardia and Cryptosporidium in samples collected from the wells and the distribution system." The inclusion of the two parasites is interesting in light of this news report on CDC testing (The Denver Channel, April 9), which says "The two parasites... were found in the water system before it was flushed and disinfected."  These organisms are not normally associated with protected ground water sources.

Federal Updates

• The official version of EPA's proposal to consolidate aircraft drinking water rules in one place (Federal Register, April 9)

State Updates

• Utah's DWSRF Intended Use Plan for 2008 (PDF file, 244 K)
  Commentary: Utah's concise IUP gives a clear snapshot of what the SDWA DWSRF program funding picture is. As a smaller state, Utah gets a minimum 1% of the total DWSRF funds available through USEPA, puts up its required 20% state match and, coincidentally, sets aside 20% of the federal allotment for the various allowed set-aside programs (training, certification, surveillance, technical assistance, reporting, etc.). About $110 million has been generated for drinking water programs and improvements since the SRF program was initiated. 
• Washington state has a detailed emergency response information package for water systems

Water Treatment

• Oregon town gets the word: New water treatment plant is needed soon! (Newport News-Times, April 11)
• Communications foul-up in North Carolina results in pressure surge and pipe failure shutting down reverse osmosis plant (WAVY TV 10, April 11); now the plant is up and running again (WITN TV, April 15)
  Commentary: What's up with the surge of pressure-surge problems? Last week, the NEWS reported on a similar situation where failure to install a preventative device led to plant damage and failure.

Aesthetics

• St. Paul, MN's GAC treatment proves successful for control of taste and odor problems (Pioneer Press, April 14)
• Oregon water system tracks odors to new main installation (Salem News, April 12)

Water Mythology

• Another bogus comparative assessment of public drinking water (Forbes, April 14)
  Commentary: These ridiculous, unscientific "comparisons" appeal to the lowest common denominator of intellect... but they apparently sell magazines. Stay tuned for these sequels:  Sports Illustrated - How to pick the World Series winner by examining Major League cities' Consumer Confidence Reports; Time - Determining the outcome of the 2008 Presidential election by looking at fluoride levels in key states; and Vanity Fair - The top 100 cities with water aggressive enough to remove red wine spills from white carpeting.

PPCPs

• Senate subcommittee holds a hearing on PPCPs in water with testimony by a leading researcher on behalf of AWWA  
• White House task force misses key deadlines on issue of pharmaceuticals in water (Associated Press, April 13)
• University's "Rapid Public Health Policy Response" project provides context and other information on the PPCPs-in-water issue and a link to the full report: Pharmaceuticals are in the Drinking Water: What Does It Mean? (George Washington University Medical Center; PDF file, 362 K)
• Philadelphia water official says the city is "not afraid to look"; water is safe (Philadelphia Inquirer, April 15), and corrected water quality data is presented at hearing (Associated Press, April 12) 

Legal Matters

• Former employee of New Hampshire town suspected of falsifying water quality reports (Keene Sentinel, April 10)
  Commentary: The facts of this story suggest that the employee's real sin may have been incompetence. The reports in question were for chlorine residual, and the incorrect values reported were numbers like "an average of 5.01 ppm" when the real value was 0.01 ppm. Hello? What logical motive could there be for reporting such an unlikely result when it would immediately draw attention because it was so "off the chart?"
• Raytheon faces class-action lawsuits re: vinyl chloride, etc., in Florida ground water (Sun Coast News, April 15)

Fluoridation

• Nebraska legislature advances mandatory fluoridation bill:
  • Hastings leaders say they plan to start treatment (KHAS-TV, April 15)
  • Beatrice water superintendent says let the folks vote on it; he'll do what they want (Beatrice Daily Sun, April 11)

Naturally Occurring Fluoride

• Maryland county considers suing state for requiring reverse osmosis plant to drop natural fluoride below 2 ppm federal secondary MCL (Salisbury Daily Times, April 11)

Compliance

• Small Maine water system didn't take its monthly bacti sample; gets state warning (Kennebec Journal, April 11)

Consumer Confidence Reports

• La Crosse, WI's CCR should instill confidence (La Crosse Tribune, April 15)

Arsenic

• Indiana school gets state grant for treatment facility to remove arsenic (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, April 12)
• Finally!! Prescott, AZ, gets "neighbor's" go-ahead to install arsenic treatment (Prescott Daily Courier, April 12) 
  Commentary: The treatment system is innocently described as big steel tanks filled with iron and bleach?
• Florida county is testing private wells to try and pinpoint source of arsenic contamination (Hernando Today, April 11)
  Commentary: The complex hydrology in the county may explain the "spotty" results so far, but pesticides and cattle "dip vats" are also suspected.
• Study by New York county and utility will look at arsenic variation in ground water (Hudson Valley Journal News, April 15)
• Study links arsenic in drinking water with Pterygium in high-arsenic area of Taiwan (Environmental Health Perspectives, April 9) (Note: "Pterygium is a fibrovascular growth of the bulbar conjunctiva and underlying sub-conjunctival tissue that may cause blindness.")

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

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Manganese

• Wells serving Maryland county jail edge up over the MCL for manganese; greensand filtration planned (Salisbury Daily Times, April 12)

Water Infrastructure

• Cost of U.S. water infrastructure repair/replacement is a lot: $277 billion or $480 billion? (Associated Press, April 13)
• Nova Scotia communities get provincial and federal funding partners for water improvements (Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald, April 14)

Lead

• Study shows rainwater collection tanks may have elevated lead levels; about 20% of Victoria households have tanks but many don't drink the water (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, April 14) 

Vinyl Chloride

• Louisiana city's wells not threatened by vinyl chloride plume in ground water; Dow Chemical cooperating but no blame assigned (WBRZ Advocate, April 10)

Uranium

• High uranium levels in private wells spur Montana county to expand testing (Helena Independent Record, April 13)

Source Water Protection

• New York water district urges homeowner action on proper use of lawn chemicals, fertilizers (Hicksville News, April 11)
• Wisconsin county's ground water is focus of new group (Fond Du Lac Reporter, April 11)

Desalination

• San Diego area desalination plant clears one more hurdle (North County Times, April 10)
• Pilot desalting facility will evaluate alternate pre-treatment methods: Slow sand filtration vs. reverse osmosis? (City on a Hill Press, April 11)
• Another Florida utility looks at Tampa Bay's facility; may emulate the result but not the eleven-year path to get there (Charlotte Sun-Herald, April 11)

Water Reuse/Desalination

• 12th Water Reuse and Desalination Research Conference will be May 5-6 in Denver

Private Wells

• New York county issues BWA for rural private well owners; dairy farm thought to be source of E. coli found (WPTZ, April 11)
• Pennsylvania offers discounted private well testing as part of National Drinking Water Week (Hagerstown Herald-Mail, April 12)
• Army concerned about possible water contamination near Ft. Detrick, MD (FOX 5, April 15)

International

• Philippines pilot project demonstrates the ultimate in water conservation: Dry toilets!  Prevention of water contamination is a benefit (Asian Development Bank)

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