This week's NEWS

EPA's CUP$$ runneth over... and sprinkles small water systems. PPCPs pit politics vs. science. GAO translates D.C. lead issues into national infrastructure needs. Much ado about Bisphenol A... U.S. report and Canadian actions create rush to get distance from polycarbonate plastic containers, but bottled water and chemistry advocates beg to differ. Earth Day sees a focus on bottled water bottles? You don't have to live in Florida to "Ask Edgar!"

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Federal Updates

• USEPA rolls out new self-assessment program to help small water systems (USEPA news release, April 21); CUP$$: Check Up Program for Small Systems
• More USEPA help for small public water systems and capacity development
• USEPA's new website on operator certification

State Updates

• A new issue of the Floridan Newsletter (PDF file, 5 MB) and a primer on drinking water for consumers (PDF file, 3.27 MB)
  Commentary: The latest edition of "Ask Edgar" provides excellent answers to tough questions. But what else would you expect from D. Edgar Possum? D.E.P.? Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Oh, I get it!
• Nebraska's April Water Spout newsletter (PDF file, 248 K)
• Colorado is looking for nominations for excellent water systems (PDF file, 37.6 K)
• USEPA has given Arkansas tentative approval for its Stage 2 DBP and LT2ESWTR (Federal Register, April 17)
• USEPA Region 8 announces recent enforcement actions in:
  • Wyoming
  • Montana
  • Montana Tribal Lands

Water Treatment

• Massachusetts city approves $20 million to improve water treatment plant to meet new standards (Boston Globe, April 20); take a virtual tour of Amesbury's existing water treatment plant starting at the Powwow River intake

Disinfection Byproducts

• Australian study looks at high-brominated disinfection byproducts and risk of birth defects (Environmental Health Perspectives, April 18)
  Commentary: The study concludes that "small but statistically significant increases in risks of birth defects were associated with residence in areas with high THMs."  Over 90% of the THMs were brominated forms. Reactions to the study in Perth (ABC News, April 22)

PPCPs

• AWWA provides good overview of recent Senate committee hearings on PPCPs in drinking water (AWWA WaterWeek, April 21)
  Commentary: In a crystal-clear juxtaposition of the political versus the scientific, you had California's Senator Boxer demanding that water systems immediately run out and begin sampling and AWWA's representative saying "scientists need both occurrence data and human health-effect information. It is scientifically inadequate to communicate solely on what we can measure at any level without a frame of reference for what that means. ...If we regulate contaminants based upon detection, rather than health effects, we are embarking on a futile journey without end,”  and AWWA schedules a May 7 Webcast: Endocrine Disruptors, Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products - Actions and Communication
• Chicago initiates testing for pharmaceuticals (Chicago Tribune, April 17) and so did a Chicago newspaper (Chicago Tribune, April 17), and bug repellent DEET is found (Chicago Sun-Times, April 21)
• Findings of drug traces in drinking water prompts new Canadian rules (National Post, April 21)

Nitrate

• Two nitrate advisories in Iowa retracted; faulty data reporting blamed (IA DNR news release, April 17)

Arsenic

• Arizona town's council will review plan to treat well water for arsenic removal (Cottonwood Verde Independent, April 20)

Rural Water Systems

• Editorial: Canadian rural drinking water systems face difficult water quality issues (Windsor Star, April 19)
  Commentary: The Safe Drinking Water Foundation is a non-profit that promotes safe drinking water, especially in rural Canada.

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

Malcolm Pirnie Perchlorate Services Malcolm Pirnie has been active in perchlorate issues since discovery of the contaminant in drinking water in 1997. Since then, we have been a consultant to numerous water systems, worked with both manufacturers of treatment technologies and potentially responsible parties (PRPs), and given expert witness testimony on perchlorate-related matters. For more information on these services, please either read our flyer, or contact Mike McGuire at mmcguire@pirnie.com.

Lead

• GAO report: Drinking Water, the District of Columbia and Communities Nationwide Face Serious Challenges in Their Efforts to Safeguard Water Supplies (PDF file, 521 K)
  Commentary: This report contains only the testimony of a key GAO official and, while it follows up on prior GAO reports on D.C.'s lead issue, the national focus is much broader re: drinking water infrastructure needs: "WASA's difficulties in meeting myriad fiscal demands are mirrored across the country: Water infrastructure needs nationwide are estimated to range from $485 billion to nearly $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years."
• Columbus, OH, school officials will initiate lead testing in city schools (Columbus Dispatch, April 18)
• Lead sampling in Ontario, Canada, county homes shows 14 of 244 samples over 10 ppb (Sarnia Observer, April 18)

Bisphenol A Plastic Containers

• Since You Asked - Bisphenol A (NIEHS-NIH Fact Sheet)
  Commentary: The Q&A goes a long way in making understandable the findings of the NTP and any differences between the NTP and an expert panel on the same subject. But for a layperson, the difference between "some," "minimal," and "negligible" concerns may still be perplexing. Here is the draft brief from the National Toxicology Program on BPA. (PDF file, 543 K) 
• Health Canada proposes action plan to reduce exposure to Bisphenol A (Health Canada news release, April 18)
  • Canada takes steps to ban polycarbonate plastic baby bottles (New York Times, April 19)
  • More companies stop selling bottles containing Bisphenol A (Lake Superior News, April 17)
• Nalgene to nix BPA bottles due to consumer concern (Associated Press, April 19)
• Health concerns about BPA causing changes in U.S. users and markets (New York Times, April 22)
• Contrary positions are expressed by the American Chemistry Council and the International Bottled Water Association

Earth Day Meets Bottled Water

• Texas capital city focuses on cutting use of bottled water (Austin American Statesman, April 20)
• Canadian college students promote "back to the tap" and "bottle-free zones" (Toronto Globe and Mail, April 22)

Fluoridation

• Nebraska legislature overrides Governor's veto of mandatory fluoridation bill with 31-4 vote; private water systems with greater than 1000 people can vote to opt out (Omaha World Herald, April 18)
• Florida town begins fluoridation; adds backup safety features to prevent over/under-feed and spill containment (Vero Beach Press Journal, April 19)

Source Water Protection

• New Hampshire's Annual Source Water Protection Workshop will be May 19 in Concord
• Canadian province provides funds for source protection (Sarnia Observer, April 20)

MTBE

• MTBE prevalent in New Hampshire county's wells (Laconia Citizen, April 20)

Disaster Response

• Integrated Risk Management to Protect Drinking Water and Sanitation Services Facing Natural Disasters (IRC International Water and Sanitation Center, PDF file, 1.3 MB)

Desalination

• California Desalination Planning Handbook (PDF file, 1.6 MB)
• Israeli port city has been totally served by desalination plant since 1982 (Austin American Statesman, April 20)

Private Wells

• Iowa's private well owners warned that Illinois earthquake could affect drinking water (Muscatine Journal, April 18)
• Union Pacific Railroad samples private home wells in Nebraska looking for PCE (Grand Island Independent, April 22)
• New Jersey community extends water mains to homes in area with TCE and PCE in ground water (Vineland Daily Journal, April 22)

International

• USEPA's TEVA-SPOT software for reducing drinking water security risks is recognized as one of six finalists for prestigious Edelman Prize, but Netherlands Railways is the winner
• Geochemists and statisticians use "fuzzy logic" to develop probability mapping of fluoride and arsenic hot spots around the world (Environmental Science and technology, April 16)
• Canada announces next steps to improve drinking water in First Nations communities (Health Canada news release, April 15)
• Algae bloom in Chinese lake raises concerns about water quality (International Herald Tribune, April 17)
• 1000 Wells Project raises funds for African clean water sources (California Aggie, April 17)
• South Africans get mixed messages about cholera, sewage spills, power outages, contamination, and sabotage (Sunday Independent, April 20)

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