Water News

Public Data Show Chemicals in Tap Water

2005-12-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

Public Data Show Chemicals in Tap Water

WASHINGTON - Drinking water may have a lot more in it than just H20 and fluoride, according to an environmental group's analysis of records in 42 states.A survey by the Environmental Working Group released on Tuesday found 141 unregulated chemicals and an additional 119 for which theEnvironmental Protection Agency' Environmental Protection Agency has set health-based limits. Most common among the chemicals found were disinfection byproducts, nitrates, chloroform, barium, arsenic and copper.

Click the link for more of the story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051220/ap_on_sc/tap_water

Underground advance of sewer lines

2005-12-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

Four years ago, the long arm of Warner Robins began snaking southward through the earth in the form of new sewer lines, until its grip settled onto tiny, unincorporated Bonaire.
Creeping in from the northwest, the lines gradually picked up schools and houses in the now semi-rural community clustered around the intersection of Ga. 96 and Ga. 247.

That likely was inevitable: Bonaire's stingy clay-packed soil won't absorb the byproducts produced by septic tanks, making the promise of a Warner Robins sewer connection a luxury normally unavailable to area residents.

Click the link for the rest:

To contact Matt Barnwell, call 923-3109, extension 307,
or e-mail mbarnwell@macontel.com.
For more news or to subscribe, please visit http://www.macon.com

WaterBriefs: American Red Cross reflects on tsunami a year later

2005-12-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

Also in this report: UC Berkeley pioneer in use of algae to treat wastewater dies; Hydranautics' Europe-Middle East director dies; Metro Wastewater has 'grand slam' year in 2005; Foster Wheeler wins contract for pulverized-coal boiler at Dallman Station, Ill.; Royal Spring Water wins Conquest order worth $6 million; PA watersheds data system goes live; Pall files patent infringement suit against Mykrolis; Solutia files protective actions in Chapter 11 case...

Test results showed E. Coli

2005-11-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Test results showed E. Coli
By Tyler B. Reed / Daily News StaffWednesday, November 9, 2005HOLLISTON --

Water samples taken from two locations last Wednesday tested positive for the toxic E. coli bacteria yesterday, town officials announced last night.
Testing on samples taken Friday and Monday showed no E. coli, otherwise known as fecal coliform bacteria, but continued to indicate the presence of total coliform bacteria at various locations.
The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a mandatory water boil order yesterday after the test results came back. The order will last until at least Friday, when the next update on testing is expected, Town Administrator Paul LeBeau said last night.
In an announcement to residents on Sunday, the town said results had improved and only one sample tested positive for the coliform bacteria. But the latest tests show bacteria in five locations: the high school, residences on Hollis Street, Tea Party Lane and Mohawk Path and in raw water from well 2.
"It's a backward step," LeBeau said.
Water officials so far have been unable to determine the cause of the problem. One idea floating around, LeBeau said, is the bacteria could have entered the water system after heavy rains last month that flooded streets and parking lots.
The Board of Water Commissioners will meet tonight to discuss that topic. "They want to try to determine what exactly is causing it," LeBeau said.
The Water Department continues to add chlorine to the water system as a safety precaution against the possible presence of E. coli.
The two locations where E. Coli was present last Wednesday are an office on Concord Street and Well 2 on Maple Street.
E. coli is an indicator that water may have been contaminated with animal or human waste. Ingesting microbes from the waste can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea and headaches.
LeBeau said the Board of Health was informed about two people experiencing diarrhea, though it had not been determined whether that symptom was a result of bacteria from the water.
Officials are asking residents to boil water for at least a minute before drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes or preparing food. They say it is especially important for young children and the elderly.
According to information provided by LeBeau, eight of 19 samples taken last Wednesday showed the presence of total coliform bacteria, which is an indicator organism. Further rounds of testing on those samples eventually showed that water from two locations in town contained E. coli.
Officials took 20 water samples each on Friday and Monday for further testing. They found no E. coli in those samples.
"That's the good news," LeBeau said.(Tyler B. Reed can be reached at 508-626-4423 or treed@cnc.com.)

Student to return after water scare

2005-11-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Students to return after water scare

Tuesday, 8 November 2005. 11:21 (AEDT)Tuesday, 8 November 2005. 10:21 (ACST)Tuesday, 8 November 2005. 10:21 (AEST)Tuesday, 8 November 2005. 11:21 (ACDT)Tuesday, 8 November 2005. 08:21 (AWST)

The Education Department says it will develop a new system to prevent a repeat of a water quality scare which has temporarily closed Tamworth's Farrer High School.
It has been confirmed an access hole which was not properly secured allowed birds into the water supply at the school and at the nearby Department of Primary Industries research facility.
A departmental advisory says it will develop a new system to physically check the water system on a regular basis and to institute an independent monitoring system.
The system is being flushed and superchlorinated before the water tanks are refilled and the students allowed to return to school.

GE Mobile Water Units Expected to Help More Than 220,000 Indonesians in Banda Aceh

2005-01-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

GE Donates Portable Water Filtration Systems and Engineering Support to
Provide Clean, Potable Water to Asian Tsunami Disaster Victims
GE Mobile Water Units Expected to Help More Than 220,000 Tsunami victims

To read the whole story visit: http://www.gewater.com/pdf/pr/20050112_tsunami.pdf

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Herbal Remedies Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals

2004-12-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

** Herbal Remedies Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals

Some herbal remedies may do more harm than good. Researchers report
that 20 percent of herbal medicine products sampled contained
dangerous levels of heavy metals.

This article is from www.ScientificAmerican.com - Weekly Review December 21, 2004

Male Fish Growing Eggs Found in Potomac

2004-12-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

SHARPSBURG, Md. Dec 21, 2004 — Male fish that are growing eggs have been found in the Potomac River near Sharpsburg, a sign that a little-understood type of pollution is spreading downstream from West Virginia, a federal scientist says.

The so-called intersex abnormality may be caused by pollutants from sewage plants, feedlots and factories that can interfere with animals' hormone systems, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Nine male smallmouth bass taken from the Potomac near Sharpsburg, about 60 miles upstream from Washington, were found to have developed eggs inside their sex organs, said Vicki S. Blazer, a scientist overseeing the research for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Authorities say the problems are likely related to a class of pollutants called endocrine disruptors, which short-circuit animals' natural systems of hormone chemical messages.
For the complete story just click the link

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Water contamination, health concerns spur lawsuit

2004-12-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

SARASOTA, FL — Eight residents have filed a $500 million lawsuit against CSX Transportation creating a controversy over the area's drinking water, according to a Dec. 17 article by the Herald Tribune.The use of cancer-causing chemicals by the company nearly 50 years ago may have poisoned the soil and drinking water supply in the hamlet of Hull, FL, the newspaper said.Environmental agencies consider the issue a dangerous threat to members of the community, and the suit claims that some residents may be suffering health problems due to creosote exposure through the hazardous chemicals used in the past, the paper said.The Department of Environmental Protection fears that carcinogens may have leached into the groundwater, and are a potential threat to Peace River, which supplies drinking water to more than 100,000 people in three neighboring counties, the article said.

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Tejon Ranch contends it has enough water

2004-12-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

"Plans to develop the rugged Tejon Ranch, a vast stretch of mountains and desert valleys 50 miles north of Los Angeles, have swirled for nearly a century. But one roadblock persisted: the lack of a reliable water supply."

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Leak to fuel additive ban?; Substance blamed for contaminating Dover wells

2004-12-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Leak to fuel additive ban?; Substance blamed for contaminating Dover wellsBy Tom Eldred, Delaware State News
DOVER - Confirmation of private wells in south Dover being contaminated with MTBE has again raised the question of whether the controversial gasoline additive should be banned in Delaware.
The Delaware State News reported Wednesday that at least 21 private wells southeast of U.S. 13 in Dover are polluted with MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) because of a gasoline leak at a nearby service station.
Meanwhile, a second station in the same neighborhood has been identified as the possible source of another leak.
Officials from the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control fear both emissions could be forming individual "plumes'' of pollution flowing underground toward Moores Lake.
According to the Delaware Division of Public Health, there are about 141,000 private well owners in Delaware, or 18 percent of residents.
MTBE is a chemical that is added to gasoline to increase octane and help reduce harmful emissions from vehicle exhausts. Use began in the 1970s to replace lead in gasoline and increased in the 1990s as a method to meet oxygenate mandates in the federal Clean Air Act.
Because MTBE dissolves quickly in water and takes longer to break down than other chemicals, it can easily invade wells and other sources of drinking water.
When concentrations reach higher-than-accepted levels, MTBE can cause water to have a bitter taste like turpentine. Tests have shown that extremely high levels cause cancer in rodents.
Rep. Richard C. Cathcart, R-Middletown, has been trying for years to prohibit the use of MTBE in Delaware because of repeated gasoline spills and leaks from fuel storage tanks.
He's been the prime sponsor of House Bill 249, which seeks to ban MTBE from all gasoline sold or distributed in Delaware.
The measure passed the state House of Representatives in 2002 and 2004 but failed to make it to the full Senate for a vote.
"We definitely plan to re-introduce this legislation during the next session,'' Rep. Cathcart said Wednesday.
"Three or four years ago Artesian Water Co. had a problem when one of their wells became contaminated from a Superfund site. I started looking into it. MTBE moves very quickly. It's a very volatile chemical and possible carcinogen. It's also very expensive and difficult to remove from the aquifer.''
Rep. Cathcart said he was surprised HB 249 bogged down in the Senate.
"I have no clue why it stalled,'' he said. "I don't know of any lobbying interest that's opposing it. We're certainly not the first state to ban it.''
At least 18 states have already passed legislation prohibiting the use of MTBE.
DNREC hydrologist Dr. Patricia Ellis has been advocating against the use of MTBE for years. She served on a panel created by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 1998 to review the risks of MTBE and other additives.
The panel recommended that the EPA greatly reduce or eliminate MTBE requirements through federal legislation.
Ms. Ellis said she wants state lawmakers take a stand on the issue.
"Every year I get my hopes up and then they're dashed,'' she said. "If we did get it banned in Delaware, we'd probably go to ethanol as an alternative. There are some problems with ethanol but it's a lot better that MTBE.''
Ms. Ellis said a stumbling block with ethanol could be its transport because most of it is produced in the Midwest and must be mixed with gasoline at bulk plants, just prior to delivery to retail outlets.
"I can tell you that most of the major petroleum companies would like to get out of using MTBE,'' she said. "It's costing them a fortune.''
Rep. Cathcart agreed.
"The interesting thing about this is that the petroleum industry recognizes the dangers of this,'' he said. "The only reason we're adding these fuel additives right now is because the federal government requires it.''
Gary Patterson, executive director of the Delaware Petroleum Council, said his organization fully supports an MTBE ban in the First State.
"I've been supportive of (Rep. Cathcart's) bill and I worked with him and his committee on it,'' Mr. Patterson said.
"The Petroleum Council supports this bill. I also think when he brings it back (to the General Assembly) it will include other ether-like substances that should be banned also.''
Mr. Patterson said the problems goes back to Congress and the 1990 Clean Air Act that required certain regions of the country - including Delaware - to start using lower-polluting fuels to meet national air-quality standards.
"Our hope is that Congress passes some sort of legislation to address this,'' he said. "EPA has been reluctant to give Delaware a waiver. We believe something needs to be done about it.''
He said the petroleum industry had little choice but to start using additives like MTBE in order to fulfill the requirements of the Clean Air Act.
"The industry was forced to start using it in the first place,'' he said. "We will be very glad to see it leave.''
Post comments on this issue at newsblog.info/0402.
Senior writer Tom Eldred can be reached at 741-8212 or teldred@newszap.com.

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Testing innovative ways to treat arsenic-contaminated water

2004-12-13T20:03:00.000-08:00

Testing innovative ways to treat arsenic-contaminated water

08 Dec 2004

Over the next few weeks researchers at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories will begin testing innovative ways to treat arsenic-contaminated water in an effort to reduce costs to municipalities of meeting the new arsenic standard issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The testing is sponsored by the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership (AWTP), a multiyear-program funded by a congressional appropriation through the U.S. Department of Energy. "The goals of the program are to develop, demonstrate, and disseminate information about cost-effective water treatment technologies in order to help small communities in the Southwest and other parts of the country comply with the new EPA standard," says Malcolm Siegel, Sandia Arsenic Treatment Technology Demonstration Project Manager. The tests will be conducted at a geothermal spring used to supply drinking water to Socorro, N.M., a town of about 9,000 residents located 80 miles south of Albuquerque. Installation of test equipment will be completed in December by Sandians Randy Everett and Brian Dwyer, and regular operations will begin before Christmas following a preliminary "shakedown" period. Another member of the team, Alicia Aragon, will present results of laboratory studies supporting the pilot tests at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Society in San Francisco next week. AWTP members include Sandia, the Awwa Research Foundation (AwwaRF), and WERC, a Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development. The Awwa Research Foundation is managing bench-scale research programs. Sandia will conduct the demonstration program, and WERC will evaluate the economic feasibility of the technologies investigated and conduct technology transfer activities. Congressional support and design of the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership was developed under the leadership of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to help small communities comply with the new EPA drinking water standard for arsenic. The new regulation, which will go into effect in January 2006, reduces the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) from 50 micrograms per liter (µg/L) to 10 µg/L and is designed to reduce the incidence of bladder and lung cancers caused by exposure to arsenic. Levels of naturally occurring arsenic in the Southwestern U.S. often exceed the new MCL. The new compliance requirements will impact small communities in the country that lack the appropriate treatment infrastructure and funding to reduce arsenic to such levels. The pilot test in Socorro will compare five innovative technologies developed by universities, small businesses, and large well-established water treatment companies and should last about nine months. These treatment processes were chosen from more than 20 candidate technologies that were reviewed by teams of technical experts at Arsenic Treatment Technology Vendor Forums organized by Sandia and held at the 2003 and 2004 New Mexico Environmental Health Conferences. Sandia is developing plans for future tests in rural and Native American communities in New Mexico and other parts of the country. These additional sites will be chosen through consultation with a number of agencies including the New Mexico Environment Department, the EPA, the Indian Health Service, the Navajo Nation EPA, and the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council. In addition, the AWTP will post a website application where interested communities can ask to be considered for a pilot. The demonstrations will involve additional technologies reviewed at the vendor forums and others developed from the laboratory studies managed by AwwaRF. Educational forums will be organized by WERC at the start of a pilot demonstration to introduce community members to the program and after the test is completed to describe the test results. The first forum will be held on Dec. 15 as part of the meeting of the New Mexico Rural Water Association at the Holiday Inn Express in Socorro. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness. Release available at http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2004/environ-waste-mgmt/arsenic.html Sandia media contact: Chris Burroughs, coburro@sandia.gov, 505-844-0948 Sandia Technical Contact: Malcolm Siegel, msiegel@sandia.gov 505-844-5426 Sandia National Laboratories' World Wide Web home page is located at http://www.sandia.gov. Sandia news releases, news tips, science photo gallery, and periodicals can be found at the News Center button. Contact: Chris Burroughscoburro@sandia.gov505-844-0948DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

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'Star Trek' device can test water for safety

2004-12-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

LIVERMORE 'Star Trek' device can test water for safety Sandia introduces 'Micro Chem Lab' to foil terrorists

A device designed to test the purity of water with the ease and speed of a "Star Trek" doctor diagnosing a disease using a "tricorder" was unveiled Monday at Sandia National Laboratories' branch in Livermore.
If terrorists dump viruses, bacteria or bio-warfare toxins into public water supplies, the deadly agents can be detected within seconds or minutes by the portable, cardinal-colored gadget, which is roughly the size and shape of a pre-cellular-age tabletop phone.
Once perfected, the three-pound, battery-powered device will "increase the safety of our nation's water supply" during the terrorist era, Sandia Vice President Mim John said at a news conference at the nuclear weapons lab.
Sandia's "Micro Chem Lab" is part of a larger, terrorist-era effort to develop briefcase-size -- and smaller -- gadgets that are, in effect, portable laboratories. They can be hauled into the field for quick detection of deadly chemicals, biological agents and radioactive materials. The research has been heavily funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Office of Homeland Security and the U.S. Energy Department.
At the news conference, Energy Department spokesperson Larry Adcock recalled how in 1996, Sandia representatives came to him and said, "We're going to build a tricorder." This was a half-joking allusion to the hand-held "Star Trek" gizmo -- usually used by the gruff starship physician Dr. Leonard McCoy, known as "Bones" and played by DeForest Kelley -- that automatically identified a patient's illness.
Existing municipal water systems can't routinely detect all microbial threats in the water supply. Even routine tests for such threats might take many hours in order for investigators to gather water samples and analyze them in a lab.
Worse, such killer microbes and chemicals consist of molecules that are so small that they might easily slip past reservoirs' hazard detectors.
By contrast, the Micro Chem Lab can spot dangerous molecules consisting of just a few hundred atoms, Sandia officials said at the news conference.
And it can identify them quickly, "in seconds to minutes, faster than existing systems," John said.
Aside from terrorism worries, water purity is a growing international concern because the world's population is growing and its water supply isn't. In developing nations, where epidemic diseases sometimes travel by water, the Sandia device could provide a quick way to test basic purity of local water, officials said.
"Is this any good?" one official at the news conference asked jokingly, waving a bottle of mineral water.
The Micro Chem Lab works partly by exploiting physical principles similar to those used in a now-standard technique for identifying DNA, called gel electrophoresis. In that technique, DNA, which carries a negative electrical charge, migrates through a gelatinous substance toward a positive electrical charge. As the DNA moves along through the gel, it leaves line-like "fingerprints" that identify the DNA's molecular structure.
Likewise, the Micro Chem Lab feeds water samples through extremely thin, hair-like tubes filled with gel. As the samples slip through the gel toward a positive or negative electrical charge, they leave chemical traces of large protein molecules. Different viruses, bacteria and biotoxins are characterized by their abundance of certain proteins. By identifying these "fingerprint" proteins, the device can identify the deadly agents.
Sandia has spent roughly $30 million developing Micro Chem Lab since 1996, said Sandia spokesperson Mike Janes.
E-mail Keay Davidson at kdavidson@sfchronicle.com.

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Sandia to Begin Testing Innovative Arsenic Removal Technologies in New Mexico

2004-12-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

Over the next few weeks researchers at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia National Laboratories will begin testing innovative ways to treat arsenic-contaminated water in an effort to reduce costs to municipalities of meeting the new arsenic standard issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The testing is sponsored by the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership (AWTP), a multiyear-program funded by a congressional appropriation through the U.S. Department of Energy.
"The goals of the program are to develop, demonstrate, and disseminate information about cost-effective water treatment technologies in order to help small communities in the Southwest and other parts of the country comply with the new EPA standard," said Malcolm Siegel, Sandia Arsenic Treatment Technology Demonstration Project Manager.
The tests will be conducted at a geothermal spring used to supply drinking water to Socorro, N.M., a town of about 9,000 residents located 80 miles south of Albuquerque.
Installation of test equipment will be completed in December by Sandians Randy Everett and Brian Dwyer, and regular operations will begin before Christmas following a preliminary "shakedown" period. Another member of the team, Alicia Aragon, will present results of laboratory studies supporting the pilot tests at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Society in San Francisco next week.
AWTP members include Sandia, the Awwa Research Foundation (AwwaRF), and WERC, a Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development.
The Awwa Research Foundation is managing bench-scale research programs. Sandia will conduct the demonstration program, and WERC will evaluate the economic feasibility of the technologies investigated and conduct technology transfer activities.
Congressional support and design of the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership was developed under the leadership of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to help small communities comply with the new EPA drinking water standard for arsenic. The new regulation, which will go into effect in January 2006, reduces the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) from 50 micrograms per liter (µg/L) to 10 µg/L and is designed to reduce the incidence of bladder and lung cancers caused by exposure to arsenic.
Levels of naturally occurring arsenic in the Southwestern U.S. often exceed the new MCL. The new compliance requirements will impact small communities in the country that lack the appropriate treatment infrastructure and funding to reduce arsenic to such levels.
The pilot test in Socorro will compare five innovative technologies developed by universities, small businesses, and large well-established water treatment companies and should last about nine months. These treatment processes were chosen from more than 20 candidate technologies that were reviewed by teams of technical experts at Arsenic Treatment Technology Vendor Forums organized by Sandia and held at the 2003 and 2004 New Mexico Environmental Health Conferences.
Sandia is developing plans for future tests in rural and Native American communities in New Mexico and other parts of the country. These additional sites will be chosen through consultation with a number of agencies including the New Mexico Environment Department, the EPA, the Indian Health Service, the Navajo Nation EPA, and the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council. In addition, the AWTP will post a website application where interested communities can ask to be considered for a pilot.
The demonstrations will involve additional technologies reviewed at the vendor forums and others developed from the laboratory studies managed by AwwaRF. Educational forums will be organized by WERC at the start of a pilot demonstration to introduce community members to the program and after the test is completed to describe the test results. The first forum will be held on Dec. 15 as part of the meeting of the New Mexico Rural Water Association at the Holiday Inn Express in Socorro.
Source: SNL December 10, 2004

Lead water pipes must go

2004-11-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

Lead water pipes must go
By Brian Falla / News Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
NORWOOD -- The town will begin its mandated replacement of lead water pipes, but the work will not include replacements on private property.
Just click the link to read the rest of the story.
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Tallevast water testing begins

2004-11-15T20:41:00.000-08:00

Lockheed Martin must now determine the extent of contamination at the site of its plantSCOTT RADWAYHerald Staff Writer
TALLEVAST - Lockheed Martin on Monday began hauling in truck-mounted drill rigs and stainless-steel hand tools as officials move to pinpoint the industrial groundwater contamination that has shaken this small community.
Click on the link to read the rest of the story.
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Water Contamination Seen as Threat

2004-11-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

Article posted from "Retirement News" (you can visit them by clicking on the link.)

Water Contamination Seen as Threat to Some Housing Developers
With 22 states now reporting groundwater contamination by perchlorate, the main ingredient in solid rocket fuel, authorities are now taking a closer look at the quality of water in cities and towns across the country, and in areas where builders are planning new homes. The chemical was widely dumped at military bases and defense industry sites during the Cold War. Scientists say it is an endocrine disrupter that can alter hormonal balances – thyroid hormones, in this case – and thus impede metabolism and brain development.
In Nevada, the drinking water for Las Vegas, which mostly comes from Lake Mead above the Hoover Dam, was recently found to contain perchlorate levels 10 times what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is safe. In nearby Henderson, perchlorate concerns are complicating plans to build a 9,000-home community on the 2,300-acre site of old industrial-waste ponds. The city is home to a number of popular retirement communities. Its population is projected to grow from 156,000 (1998) to 256,000 (2010).
In West Texas, nine counties near Midland have found perchlorate in the important Ogallala aquifer but the source has yet to be determined. In Bourne, Mass., at the gateway to Cape Cod, a perchlorate plume that has closed half the town’s wells has been traced to the nearby Massachusetts Military Reserve, a training range for National Guard troops. And the plume that has curtailed 20% of the water supply of Aberdeen, Md., outside Washington, D.C., began at Aberdeen Proving Ground, an Army training and munitions test site.
The EPA and the Department of Defense are in a bitter dispute over perchlorate’s health effects and the cost to clean it up. The EPA wants the Pentagon to undertake widespread testing for the chemical in the ground water. The Defense Department is resisting, and in an official policy statement issued in November, said it would allow testing only where a “reasonable basis” exists to suspect perchlorate contamination is both present and “could threaten public health.”
Many of the ordinary military ranges with perchlorate pollution lie on the outskirts of growing cities, in places that were once far removed from civilian neighborhoods but now serve as watershed and open space for sprawling suburban communities. One area where the situation is most acute is in the hills and desert frontier east of Los Angeles, where the military and its private contractors settled before and after World War II. Now these areas are filling up with new homes.
[For more information about what the EPA is doing, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlorate/perchlo.html or call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.]

Researchers probe water contamination impact DECATURVILLE, TN

2004-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

By TIM BRUST
DECATURVILLE - Researchers delving into questions about the level of ammonium perfluoroctanoate in the blood of Washington County residents and its possible impact are nearly finished with collecting information. For the rest of the story just click the link. http://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/story/1112202004_new11_c8Study.asp

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Mass. town looking for answers on perchlorate

2004-11-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

Mass. town looking for answers on perchlorate (Wilmington Advocate, 11/03) "With the latest round of testing by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection revealing perchlorate levels in effluent water from the Billerica waste water treatment plant at 670 parts per billion and aging town bleach testing detectable levels of perchlorate, the problem is not going away any time soon."

Researchers tracking sources of arsenic in water

2004-11-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Researchers tracking sources of arsenic in water(EurekAlert, 11/01) "Virginia Tech researchers from geosciences and biology are looking at where arsenic occurs in water, how it is getting there, and how to prevent it."

Gasoline additive lingers in New York's water

2004-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Gasoline additive lingers in New York's water(New York Times, 11/01) "Twelve years ago, when a new gasoline additive held the promise of reducing air pollution, New York State made a huge bet that the technology would work."

MTBE still fouls half of Calif. city's water

2004-07-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

MTBE still fouls half of Calif. city's water
Half of Santa Monica's water still undrinkable after 8 years
By Timothy B. Wheeler
Sun Staff
Originally published July 4, 2004
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Miriam Cardenas was puzzled when she first saw the strange reading in the water-quality report she got back from the laboratory. As chief water chemist for the city of Santa Monica, it was her job to see that the tap water in this sun-drenched beach community is safe to drink.

The annual test Cardenas had run for potentially harmful contaminants in the city's water came back in the fall of 1995 with the usual negative results --- except for finding traces of a new chemical, methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. Cardenas had never heard of it.

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HADLEY - Residents and business owners are upset with the state because their water is turning clothes brown.

2004-07-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hadley upset by brown water
Thursday, July 01, 2004
By DIANE LEDERMAN
dlederman@repub.com

HADLEY - Residents and business owners are upset with the state because their water is turning clothes brown.

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Hadley upset by brown water
Thursday, July 01, 2004
By DIANE LEDERMAN
dlederman@repub.com

HADLEY - Residents and business owners are upset with the state because their water is turning clothes brown.

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The state recently started having communities test for perchlorate to help the state set safety levels for the chemical. One of the town's wells had 3.2 parts per billion of the chemical, forcing the well to be shut down.

The town then had to switch to another source of water from the Callahan Wells, but those wells have iron and manganese, which turns laundry brown. The town is attempting to treat for those minerals but they can only be sequestered, not removed, said Robert Mellstrom of Dufresne-Henry, the town's water consultant. To successfully remove them would require a treatment facility, he said, something that would likely cost several million dollars.

Some in town are blaming the state Department of Environmental Protection for having the well shut down when they don't even know if the level of perchlorate is harmful.

Perchlorate "is an inorganic chemical widely used as an oxidizer in solid propellants for rockets, missiles and fireworks," according to information from the DEP Web site.

No one knows how the chemical seeped into the water.

"The DEP is regulating ahead of science," Selectmen Chairman John P. Connor said at a meeting last night that addressed town water issues.

"They're seriously affecting all our lives," said Timothy L. Neyhart, the town's building inspector. "It's affecting all our clothes. I don't think this is right that DEP can come in here and create havoc on our lives, especially since they can't tell us that 1 part per billion is a health risk."

Curt Shumway, who owns several hotels in town, is upset by what has happened and asked, "How long has Hadley been living with it?"

The DEP told him to have his sheets laundered outside of town and to bring in water for the hotel swimming pools, said Sean Welch, the general manager for the Holiday Inn Express, one of Shumway's hotels.

Mary Jane Bacon from state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg's office told the board that Rosenberg and John Scibak, D-South Hadley, who was also at the meeting last night, said DEP officials would meet with the town to talk about the problems. A tentative date of July 9 was set.

Lead levels high in NMSU water

2004-07-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

By James W. Brosnan
Scripps Howard News Service

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency has found above-normal levels of lead in drinking water at a student-housing complex at New Mexico State University, triggering an investigation and more testing by the state and the university.

Monitoring in 2003 found lead levels as high as 73 parts per billion in 25 of 60 units tested in the Vista Del Monte complex on the south part of the Las Cruces campus. That's almost five times the level of 15 parts per billion that requires action to correct the problem. Each unit contains four apartments.

The lead levels are not believed to present an acute health risk, but chronic exposure to lead can harm fetuses and small children, said Jon Goldstein, spokesman for the New Mexico Environment Department.

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Ohio water utility notifies customers of chemical contamination

2004-07-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. - An Ohio utility says its water supply is contaminated with a chemical used at a nearby DuPont plant and customers should use it at their own risk.

The Little Hocking Water Association sent notices of contamination to its customers Wednesday warning them that the water contains levels of C8 that may pose series health risks.

DuPont's Washington Works plant in West Virginia has been using C8, also referred to as ammonium perfluorooctanoate, since the 1950s as part of its manufacturing process, which includes Teflon.

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Residents oppose state-mandated higher chlorine levels in town water

2004-07-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

By Paul MacDonald
PEPPERELL -- In the meeting held prior to last week's gathering of the Board of Public Works, several town residents last week who voiced their concerns and disappointment over the town's decision to increase chlorine levels in the water supply.
"I've lived in this town for close to 40 years -- very proud of my water," said resident Ann O'Donnell of Province Street. Pepperell water was the greatest, she said, but now, "I have to go out and buy bottled water because I can't even stand the taste of it or the smell of it," she said.

According to DPW Director Robert Lee, a recent Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) consent order requires that the town "maintain a detectable disinfectant residual throughout the distribution system." To meet that mandated requirement, additional chlorine had to be added to the supply. The effect, as noted by O'Donnell, is a more noticeable odor and taste of the chemical, particularly in those areas closest to the pumping stations.

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Lead and the Corrosion It Leaves Behind -- What the Washington, D.C., Case Taught Us

2004-06-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Recent events in Washington, D.C. regarding lead contamination have created an enormous amount of concern, controversy, and reflection on the frailty of our nation’s drinking water supplies. Perhaps the overwhelming reaction was a bit exaggerated, considering it happened at the hub of the media world when it comes to pack journalism. In spite of this, no one can argue that this is yet another validation of the potential risk consumers face with drinking water...

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11 more tainted wells found, detected levels of MTBE

2004-06-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Testing of wells in a Harford County community has found a potentially cancer-causing chemical in the drinking water of at least 11 more homes and businesses, bringing to 28 the total so far affected by a suspected leak from a nearby Exxon service station.
County, state and oil company officials, meanwhile, sought to assure anxious residents of the Upper Crossroads area that they were moving swiftly to identify the extent and source of the contamination -- and to provide them with clean bottled or filtered water.
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Yarn company agrees to pay fine for polluting Lowell river in Mass.

2004-06-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

(Worcester Telegram, 06/14) "A Lowell yarn maker agreed to pay a $300,000 fine Monday after federal environmental regulators filed a criminal complaint against the company for negligently discharging pollutants into a river without a permit."

UC Irvine study finds chemical not as harmful as state EPA says

2004-06-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

(San Diego Union Tribune, 06/12) "Perchlorate may not pose a health risk to people at levels considered dangerous by California scientists, according to a University of California, Irvine study."

Millions of gallons of water plunge over Shoshone Falls

2004-06-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

(KTVB, 06/14) "Despite years of drought and another dry summer predicted, water was flowing freely in the Magic Valley Saturday,even if just for an hour."

Water Quality Issues

2004-06-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

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Nitrates plague New Mexico subdivision

2004-06-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

(Odessa American, 06/10) "A subdivision in northern Socorro County has dangerously high levels of nitrates in the ground water."

Current western drought beats dust bowl

2004-06-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

(Tri-Valley Herald, 06/17) "The drought gripping the West could be the worst in 500 years, with effects in the Colorado River basin even worse than during the Dust Bowl years, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey say."

Patchwork levee system

2004-06-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

Patchwork levee system

BREAK HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING GAP, IRREGULAR MAINTENANCE

By Juliana Barbassa

Associated Press

FRESNO - A levee break in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has endangered one of the state's most important sources of water, reminding Californians that the network of walls that protect them, their crops and their water supply is vulnerable and under-funded.

``There is always a concern that one of the levees is going to let go,'' said Don Strickland of the state Department of Water Resources.

A 500-foot section in the Jones Tract Levee near Stockton broke Thursday morning, flooding miles of low-lying farmland. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the area by air on Saturday, a day after he declared a state of emergency and offered financial assistance. Authorities said it would take at least 45 days to repair the levee and pump out the water.

About 6,000 miles of levees -- a patchwork of walls built as far back as the 1850s -- hold back water in a complicated plumbing system that allows farming below sea level in the delta. The system sends water to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and drinking water to about 22 million users as far south as Los Angeles.

But as essential as the levees are to the state, the vast majority of them -- about 4,300 miles -- are in private hands. Their maintenance depends on the resources of the landowners, and there are no maintenance requirements or other standards they have to meet, said state Sen. Michael Machado, D-Stockton, a water expert who toured the site.

Owners try to maintain the barriers by following guidelines set by the state and the U.S. Corps of Engineers for the 1,700 miles of publicly maintained levees, but their ability to do so is limited by their own resources, and impaired by dwindling state assistance.

``As long as the weather's dry, nobody worries about it,'' Machado said.

In 2000, the California Bay-Delta Program, a state-federal partnership created to resolve the state's water disputes, estimated that governments and water districts would need to spend about $187 million by 2004 to restore levees. Less than a third of that amount, $58 million, has been spent so far.

Federal contributions to the program have been limited to $400,000, and the state's portion diminished from $29 million in 2000-2001 to $3.6 million this year.

The delicate weave of narrow channels in the delta balances fresh water from the San Joaquin and the Sacramento rivers with the salty water that reaches in from the San Francisco Bay. That equilibrium is upset when a levee breaks, endangering not only the farms and homes in the way of the flood, but the quality of the water on which the state depends.

A state water official said he was ``cautiously optimistic'' about maintaining water quality in the case of the Jones Tract levee breech.

``We are confident we can address the potential water quality concerns with minimal effects,'' said Curtis Creel of the Department of Water Resources.

But instances like this -- when a levee breaks during the dry season without added pressure from rainfall -- show how vulnerable the system is, Machado said.

This same tract of land was inundated in 1980, and the last time there was a flood not caused by weather was 1982. But wet weather overwhelmed levees and ravaged the Central Valley in 1986, and in 1997, when six people died and 120,000 were forced to leave their homes.

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Quote for Today:

2004-06-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

"Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked 'Brightness,'
but it doesn't work.”
Gallagher

"Lead Free Drinking Water Act"

2004-06-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

American Water Works Association Comments on introduction of "Lead Free Drinking Water Act"

Source: American Water Works Association

Denver, CO -- Today, Tuesday, May 4, Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT) introduced legislation designed to enhance the frequency with which water utilities across the country test for high levels of lead and perhaps revise the national standard for lead in drinking water. Below are comments from AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr.
The American Water Works Association and its member utilities are committed to protecting public health through the provision of safe drinking water and support regulation that furthers that goal.

The Lead and Copper Rule established in 1991 has been largely effective in limiting lead exposure at consumer taps. Based on available data, AWWA agrees with U.S. EPA that the elevated lead levels experienced in Washington D.C. are not common nationwide. However, water utilities are learning from the Washington D.C. situation and examining their own corrosion control and public communication programs.

Lead in drinking water almost never comes from the treatment plant or water mains. It usually comes from lead service lines, home plumbing or home fixtures, as water corrodes lead materials and solders over a period of time. Therefore, the best way to prevent lead contamination throughout a community is through an effective corrosion control program.

Any adjustment to the Lead and Copper Rule should be made based upon facts and the very best science available. AWWA will work closely with EPA and other agencies to ensure that America drinking water supply continues to be among the safest drinking water in the world.â€

AWWA is the authoritative resource for knowledge, information, and advocacy to improve the quality and supply of drinking water in North America and beyond. AWWA is the largest organization of water professionals in the world. AWWA advances public health, safety and welfare by uniting the efforts of the full spectrum of the drinking water community. Through our collective strength we become better stewards of water for the greatest good of the people and the environment.

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Boil-water alert ordered for 118,000 users

2004-06-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

BOCA RATON, FL — The city's 118,000 water customers are being asked to boil their drinking water until May 29, following a burst water main at the city's water treatment plant, the Palm Beach Post reported.

A 48-inch artery exploded May 26, just hours after it had been welded together. Workmen repaired the burst pipe the next day, but the boil water alert remains in effect.

The chance of contamination is very slim, utility services director Michael Woika said in the article, but water pressure in some water lines dropped so low that impurities could have seeped in through fissures in the underground pipes.

Boca Raton provides water for its own 80,000 residents as well as for western county residents living out to the Florida's Turnpike. This is Boca Raton's second citywide boil water alert in as many years, the article stated.

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Article from Water Technology magazine.(http://waternet.com)

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