Nov 13, 2012 4 min read

CARMICHAELS – Efforts by the Carmichaels Municipal Authority to address high levels of trihalomethane that plagued the authority’s water system last year have apparently been successful.

The authority was out of compliance last year in regard to federal safe drinking water standards for trihalomethane; however, this year, the problem has not re-occurred.

Authority manager Lloyd Richard told the authority board Tuesday that the authority’s current four-quarter average for trihalomethane is 0.042 milligrams per liter.

The standard for safe drinking water for trihalomethane is 0.08 mg/L per liter averaged over four quarters. In addition, in none of the last four quarters has the authority exceeded the 0.08 mg/L level, he said.

Trihalomethane, which has been linked to cancer and other ailments through prolonged exposure, is formed when organic matter in raw river water reacts with the chlorine used by the authority as a water disinfectant.

Last year, the authority’s four quarter average had reached 0.09 mg/L and the authority was required to notify customers it was out of compliance with the standard.

Richard attributed the decreased levels this year to several changes made by the authority.

The authority began feeding activated charcoal into its raw water to help settle out the organic matter and remove it, he said.

The longer the time chlorine remains in contact with the organic matter in the water the greater the chance of trihalomethane forming.

To reduce the chlorine exposure time, the authority also made changes that allowed the treated water to circulate more quickly. This included not filling its tank to the maximum level and regularly flushing its lines, Richard said.

The authority also may have benefited from lower levels of bromide in the river. The level of bromide, which also combines with chlorine to form trihalomethane, declined in the Monongahela River this year according to a recent study.

The authority also took another step aimed at reducing trihalomethane. That was to lease a system on a trial basis that would use chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant to replace chlorine.

The system has not yet been put into service. It was suppose to be delivered to the authority’s plant in August but did not arrive until October.

Authority engineer Jim Willard of KLH Engineers told the authority Tuesday that the cooler temperatures now would not provide the optimal conditions for conducting a study on the system’s effectiveness.

The authority also is waiting for approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection to use the system on a trial basis, he said.

In another matter, Willard also reported his company, which was only hired by the authority in September, is completing its study of the authority’s treatment system in regard to improving water quality and lowering trihalomethane levels.

He said his firm still needs to get some data from the authority’s previous engineer, Fayette Engineering, but hopes to have the study completed next month.

He suggested a public meeting be held to inform customers of what the authority has done as well as what it need to do to resolve its water quality problems.

One customer addressed the board. Cindy Cumpston suggested the authority make a request to Cumberland Township for some of the township’s Act 13 Marcellus shale impact fee money to make improvements to the water system.

The township received more than $1 million in Act 13 money and expects to receive another payment for the same amount in June.

Board Chairman John Konkus said he had talked to the township about it months ago and was told the authority would be at the “top of the list,” However, he said, he has heard nothing since.

The supervisors announced last week how the money would be used, but none was allocated to the water authority. “It should be one of their priorities,” said board member Wally Jackson.

Richard said he recently talked to a supervisor and was told the authority would be considered in the next round of Act 13 disbursements.