Water report shows no quality violations
By Kathy Thomson
Albany water customers should have received a “2017 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report” by this week showing that locally treated water meets or exceeds all federal drinking water requirements and that there were no quality violations during the year 2017.
“We had zero water quality violations during 2017, but we did have a lead and copper monitoring violation,” said Albany water manager David Bales. “We are required to monitor the drinking water for specific contaminates on a regular basis, including sampling for lead and copper every three years.”
The samples should have been taken between June 1 and Sept. 30, 2017.
“I never got the notices (that the samples were due),” said Bales. “The public notice for the monitoring violation is included in the water quality report. We will be taking the samples to run the tests within the next week or two.”
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality require that all community public water suppliers deliver to their customers annual drinking water quality reports, telling consumers what contaminants have been detected in their drinking water, how these detection levels compare to drinking water standards, and where their water comes from.
Drinking water quality varies from place to place, depending on the condition of the source water from which it is drawn and the treatment it receives.
The local detailed report provides consumers with information about all aspects of Albany’s water treatment and a summary of the regular water sampling.
Readers of the report will notice that some elements tested show 2014 or 2016 as the test period.
All by-products are not tested every year, according to Bales, and the date listed shows the most recent test for that specific contaminant.
The levels of all of the inorganic materials tested were well within the EPA guidelines for this year and no organic materials were found in the water supply except for disinfection by-products and naturally occurring organic carbon, which has no known health effects.
Because of the failure to properly monitor lead and copper levels during the sampling period in 2017, the City of Albany cannot be sure that the levels of those contaminates were below action levels, and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of the drinking water during that period, according to Bales.
The typical source of lead and copper in water systems is from corrosion of household plumbing systems and the erosion of natural deposits.
The raw water pH averaged 7.8, which is good, according to Bales. He said that when the pH is close to 7.5 there is less scaling and corrosion to pipes and equipment, but when it is higher, there is less leaching of lead and copper from pipes.
Bales added that local water quality, as in any system, always depends on the quality of the water from the source.
One of 10 samples taken in 2014 to check for lead did show a slightly elevated level of the metal, which typically corresponds to lead pipes used in home plumbing. The level was not in violation of standards, and the other nine tests were not elevated.
Homeowners with lead pipes can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing the tap for 30 seconds to two minutes before using the water for drinking or cooking if the water has not been used for several hours.
The one elevated sample had been taken first thing in the morning after the water had sat undisturbed for eight hours, according to Bales.
Confusing Report
Bales said that the required water quality report is confusing for most people.
“We’re required to tell customers that small amounts of some contaminants may increase health risks for people with certain conditions, but you would have to drink a lot of water for it to be a health hazard,” Bales said.
The bottom line is that the city is in compliance with everything that was sampled, and the overdue lead and copper samples will be taken and tested during the current sampling period, between June 1 and Sept. 30, 2018.
The report also shows that the system lost an estimated 10,137,000 gallons of water during 2017, about twice as much as it lost in 2016.
The water losses are due to water leaks and water meters not properly reading all of the water usage, according to Bales.
Anyone who did not receive a quality report can contact City Hall at 762-3133 for more information.
Update on Repairs
The water plant was struck by lightning on June 4, and John Collier, the co-owner, vice president, and chief of technical operations for -TraC-n-trol, traveled to Albany later that same day to repair the resulting damage to the treatment plant’s digital computer, reprogram the electronics, and determine what parts of the system needed to be updated.
“There are still a few minor things that have to be done,” said Bales. “Collier has not been back to Albany yet.”
