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September 2, 2010
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EPD: Local water violates standards
Published February 3, 2010
A technical violation has been issued by the Environmental Protection Division against Newton County related to its water supply, including water bought by Walton County.
“The issue is not that water was not treated properly or that the water quality was bad,” said Morris Jordan, director of the Walton County Water Department. “The issue is a technical violation arising from a byproduct of the disinfection process being one part per billion over the maximum contaminant level set by the EPD.”
Walton County purchases 5.2 million gallons a day from Newton County and is used mainly for county customers and those in Loganville, officials said.
The issue is related to Newton County Water Resources Department’s use of chlorine, a disinfectant used by water systems worldwide. The chlorine attaches to organic compounds in the water to lessen its impact on humans. It usually requires walking a thin line to keep from overchlorinating the water, which can result in an EPD violation as in this case, or under-chlorinating, which can result in illness.
According to Jordan, excess rainfall over the last few months has caused an increase in the run-off water going into Lake Varner. This has resulted in a lot of the chlorine being used up in the early stages of the treatment process and requiring additional chlorine to be added later. When drinking water leaves the treatment plant and enters the pipes, it must contain sufficient amounts of residual chlorine to preserve its quality.
“The challenge occurs when demands for water decrease,” Jordan said. “When water is not moved through the lines as frequently, the chlorine can react with naturally-occurring organic materials and form disinfection byproducts. It is a delicate balancing act since having too little residual chlorine will not properly disinfect the water and can lead to the formation of other by-products.”
Jordan added the drought last year also played a role. Water systems periodically flush their lines to improve quality, but during the drought efforts like this were curtailed to preserve supply.
This has all resulted in haloacetic acid levels which exceeded EPD-recommended levels during the fourth quarter of 2009. The EPD sets levels for byproducts like haloacetic acid and tests for them quarterly at designated locations. This means all systems using water from Newton County have to be notified - and in turn notify their users - even though according to Jordan the high levels were only detected in a few of the samples in the remote southern end of Newton County.
According to the EPD, drinking water containing haloacetic acids in excess of the recommended standards over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
Newton County officials were reportedly working on an official press release and notice for customers at press time.
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