May 29, 2014 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – Carmichaels Municipal Authority approved resolutions Thursday necessary to receive a $610,000 state loan that will be used to make improvements to its water treatment system to reduce levels of trihalomethanes in its treated water.

The authority is receiving the low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, PENNVEST, to install aerators and mixers on its two water storage tanks and to replace the backwash controls at its treatment plant.

The authority had awarded contracts for the work last month. It held the special meeting Thursday to approve the required PENNVEST resolutions.

Work on the projects can begin as soon as the authority closes on the PENNVEST loan June 24, said Lloyd Richard, authority manager.

The work had been recommended by a study completed by the authority engineer as a means to prevent the formation of trihalomenthanes in the authority’s system. Prolonged exposure to THM has been linked to cancer and other health problems.

THM forms when chlorine, used by the authority as a disinfectant, combines with the organic matter in raw river water. It is more likely to form when water temperatures rise in late summer and when the chlorine remains in contact with the organic matter in the treated water for long periods of time.

The authority should know how effective the improvements will be in lowering THM levels by the end of August, Richard said.

The contractor that will install the aerators and mixers, Shiloh Construction, is required to have the equipment installed and tested on one tank by mid-August, he explained. The equipment must lower THM levels by 40 percent or the contractor has to make additional changes to meet that reduction level, he said.

The authority failed to meet safe drinking water standards for THM in late 2010 and early 2011.

Since then, however, THM levels have remained below the maximum contamination level of 0.08 milligrams per liter. For the last quarter, the authority recorded a level of .028 mg/L, Richard said.

Among the steps it took to control THM levels, the authority has been regularly flushing its water lines, particularly those that are longer or that service few customers and retain water for longer periods of time.

The flushing, however, has pushed the authority’s water “loss” up from about 5 percent to about 20 percent, Richard said.

In anticipation of having to fund the improvement projects, the authority increased rates in September. It was the first time the authority adjusted rates in about 19 years. The last adjustment had included a decrease in rates.

The authority also voted Thursday to increase the rates charged only to those who purchase water in bulk, such as well drilling companies. The authority has been charged $6 for each 1,000 gallons of water.

The authority adopted a scale under which bulk purchasers will pay $8 for each 1,000 gallons for the first 100,000 gallons; $7.50 for each 1,000 gallons for the next million gallons; and $7 for each 1,000 gallons for any 1,000 gallons exceeding that.

The authority recently received a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection that allows it to begin bulk sales.

The authority also recently completed construction of a new sludge lagoon. Richard said the authority is only waiting for new pumps to be installed to begin using it. New motor controls also will be installed. The project is being funded by a $250,000 state H2O grant, which the authority must match.