[Durham INC] Public Notification for Durham's Water

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov <mailto:Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov> 

 

For Immediate Release:  April 9, 2009

 

Public Notification for Durham's Water

Drinking Water Is Safe; City Successfully Lowers Byproduct Level

 

Durham, N.C. - Durham's annual average of test results for one type of
disinfection byproduct in the water system is higher than the acceptable
level based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
standard.  The City of Durham is proactively notifying all customers of
this issue, even though byproduct levels have now been successfully
lowered well below the acceptable EPA thresholds.

 

According to Don Greeley, director of the City's Department of Water
Management, this exceedance does not mean the City's water is unsafe to
drink and his department is successfully correcting the situation.  "The
most important thing we want our customers to know is that they and
their families are at minimal risk for harmful health effects," Greeley
said.  "To put this in perspective, you would have to drink two liters
of water with this elevated level every day for 70 years to show any
negative health effects.  Second, my department has already been
successful in significantly lowering this byproduct level in the water
system."

 

The City's Department of Water Management routinely monitors for the
presence of a number of drinking water contaminants, one of which is a
group of compounds called disinfection byproducts (DBPs).  These DBPs
occur when residual amounts of disinfectant used to kill germs react
with naturally occurring organic materials in the water.  The annual
average of test results shows that levels of one of the groups of DBPs
called Haloacetic Acids (HAAs) in Durham's water was higher than the EPA
standard. 

 

According to Greeley, the system-wide HAA exceedance comes from several
factors which, when combined, pushed the four-quarter running average of
test results over the maximum contaminant level allowed by the EPA.
"Two major factors contributed to the year-long average being above EPA
limits.  First, warm weather greatly contributes to the growth of
organic materials in both of our water supply lakes and two of our test
samplings took place in June and September 2008.  Second, we observed
historically high levels of organic materials in both of our water
supply lakes, thanks to the 2007-2008 drought.  When you combine those
two factors, it pushed our HAA levels for the year over the EPA
threshold," Greeley said.  "We are proactively working on this issue
using several tactics, including treatment modifications, increased
operational oversight, and system flushing.  As a result, we are seeing
substantial reductions in the HAA levels now that we've undertaken these
steps."

 

Specifically, Greeley said the State's Public Water Supply Section has
given Durham provisional permission to begin using ferric sulfate as a
coagulant, as opposed to using aluminum sulfate or ferric chloride, and
the February test results indicate this strategy is working to bring the
HAA levels well under the EPA threshold.  This treatment change, coupled
with an aggressive, on-going flushing program now that the drought in
the Piedmont has been declared over, has already lowered HAA levels to
well below EPA limits.  

  

"This is the first time Durham has experienced a system-wide exceedance
of the EPA standards for disinfection byproducts," Greeley said.  "We
believe that by implementing these tactics, along with major
construction upgrades scheduled for both of our water treatment
facilities, we can get this issue permanently under control.  Until
then, our customers should know our drinking water is safe and we have
already started correcting this issue."

 

To help educate the Durham community regarding this issue, public
notices are being posted throughout the community and information is
also being included in the next two-month cycle of City water bills.
Residents may also visit the City's Web site at 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/wm/byproduct_notice0409.cfm to review a
list of frequently asked questions, or contact the City's Department of
Water Management at (919) 560-4381 for more information.

 

About the Department of Water Management

The City's Department of Water Management is responsible for the
operation and maintenance of Durham's water supply, water treatment and
water reclamation (wastewater treatment) facilities, the collection and
distribution systems (including meter reading) and customer billing
services.  For more information, visit www.durhamnc.gov/departments/wm.


 

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