Environmentalists and experts are reacting to new reports that reveal documented high levels of lead in the water supply of numerous Illinois communities.

by Ellyn Fortino, originally posted on May 13, 2016

High lead levels have been found in almost 200 Illinois public water systems at least once over the past 12 years, according to a new Chicago Tribune analysis, which has triggered increased calls for action to ensure the safety of drinking water in the state.

Over 800,000 Illinoisans are served by the nearly 200 water systems, which had lead levels higher than the federal standard in at least one year between 2004 and 2015, according to the newspaper. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “action level” for lead is 15 parts per billion in at least 10 percent of collected samples.

Testing in roughly a dozen Chicago-area water systems surpassed that federal standard on at least two occasions during the 12-year period. The city of Chicago, however, was not among the water systems with lead levels over the EPA’s action level. The last time the city of Chicago hit that threshold was in 1992.

Some of the affected communities cited in the newspaper’s article include Berwyn, Barrington, Forest View, Marengo, Richmond, Volo and York Township.

“This is a serious problem,” James Montgomery, an associate professor of environmental science and studies at DePaul University, said in reaction to the findings. “I think it’s something that everybody needs to be concerned with … We’re gonna keep seeing this. This is rippling across the United States. I guess if there’s one positive outcome of Flint, unfortunately for the people, is that it’s raised awareness now about lead in [the] public water supply.”

As Montgomery indicated, increased interest in the safety of drinking water stems from the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The town’s water supply was contaminated with lead as a result of an April 2014 switch of the city’s water source, a decision made under the direction of a state-appointed emergency manager. As many as 9,000 children in Flint may have been exposed to lead, which is known to adversely affect neurodevelopment.

“There’s no safe level of lead,” Montgomery said. “You’re not going to reverse the effects of lead as a neurotoxin, and that’s the unfortunate thing here.”

Susan Schantz, a professor of comparative biosciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, said that prior to the Flint water crisis, the issue of lead in drinking water mostly flew under the radar.

“I think that Flint was kind of a wake up call for all of us,” she said. “For a long time in the past, we focused on other sources of lead exposure — paint in older homes and lead in leaded gasoline. And we knew there was a possibility of lead exposure from water, because in older homes there are lead water pipes, but it wasn’t something that was receiving a lot of attention. I think that Illinois is not the first place after Flint. We’ve been hearing about other places around the country that has the same problem.”

The problem stems from lead plumbing and service lines, which were connected to many homes built before the mid-1980s.

“My understanding is Illinois has more lead service lines, water mains, than any other state,” explained Walton Kelly, a groundwater geochemist with the Illinois State Water Survey. “It’s not surprising that there are going to be areas (with) lead issues because of the very old infrastructure.”

Water leaving the treatment plants does not have lead in it, Kelly explained. “But once it gets out into the distribution system, that’s where the lead gets into the system,” he said.

Galesburg, for example, has faced persistent water contamination issues due to aging lead pipes. Children in Knox County, which includes Galesburg, were found to have lead levels of twice the state average in their blood in 2014, and have been testing higher than average since at least 2004. Knox County has gone above federal lead standards numerous times.

Federal regulators called on Galesburg officials late last month to take several steps that include providing bottled water or filters to affected residents, increasing testing for customers and conducting a corrosion study.

Water systems that had high lead levels over the past 12 years reportedly notified the public and took corrective action. However, such notification and action is often not immediately required by water systems, the newspaper found. That’s because water systems are typically deemed in violation by the EPA only when they surpass lead level standards during a complete round of water testing, a process that often takes three years.

Schantz said there should be greater information provided to the public about water lead levels.

“From reading the article, it sounds like that hasn’t always been the case in the past,” she said. “I think there needs to be some kind of household action plan so that people know [whether their water is contaminated with lead.] And in cases where levels are really high, probably blood testing should be done, especially if there are small children in the home, to see if they actually do have elevated exposure.”

To protect against potential lead exposure, Montgomery said residents living in homes with lead plumbing or services lines should run their tap for at least three minutes before using water, consider installing a water filtration system and replace their service lines, if possible.

“The big issue is encouraging people to replace those services lines, but that’s not cheap,” he added. “Maybe one option of that is to have some kind of a cost-share system where the homeowner and the city agree to pay half the cost of getting the lines replaced.”

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) is spearheading Illinois legislation aimed at safeguarding drinking water against lead contamination. The proposed “Lead in Drinking Water Prevention Act” would “begin the conversation on how we can restore trust in our drinking water in Illinois” and ensure “it’s safe for everybody here,” Steans said at a news conference this week at the State Capitol.

“Replacing lead service lines and the aging water infrastructure is one of the top goals,” she said.

Under the proposal, the Illinois EPA would “prioritize lead pipe replacement through the state’s revolving fund that already exists,” according to the senator. Steans said the state should also explore ways to expand the fund so more pipe replacement projects can be covered.

The bill also calls for increased water testing and reporting.

Environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, support Steans’ measure, SB 550.

“We are facing serious lead concerns here in Illinois. The source of the problems may be different, but as in Flint, the need for better public protections is clearly needed,” said Henry Henderson, NRDC’s Midwest director. “Flint was not just a failure of infrastructure–it stands as a failure of transparency, vigilance and proper priorities.”

NRDC helped file a lawsuit in January with other national groups to ensure Flint residents have access to safe drinking water.

The proposed Lead in Drinking Water Prevention Act “is key in delivering many of the protections we are suing to achieve in Michigan: increased water testing, increased transparency of that data and prioritization of resources for lead line replacements where necessary,” Henderson said. “While we cannot replace all the lead lines overnight, knowing where the problem lies will help inform where we need to prioritize our efforts and fix the problem.”

originally posted on May 12, 2016

For years, the Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip have been struggling to find enough potable water to meet their daily needs.

In 2006, Israel imposed a crippling siege on the territory, which has adversely impacted its water infrastructure.

In recent weeks, Gazans have begun to notice a change in the color and taste of the water they drink, suggesting that it is contaminated.

“The water is almost yellow and has a strange taste and smell,” Marwa Sbakhi, 34, told Anadolu Agency.

Every day, Sbakhi, who lives in the southern city of Khan Younis, buys potable water from desalination plants to use in cooking for her eight-member family.

“This puts further economic burdens on my family; we already face very tough economic conditions,” she said.

Yusuf Abu Daka, 30, voiced a similar complaint.

“The water is yellow and very salty and its taste is unbearable,” Abu Daka told Anadolu Agency.

He said he buys some 40 liters of water per day for his family at the cost of four Israeli shekels (roughly $1).

“We can’t bear this cost in light of the already tough economic conditions we’re facing,” he said.

Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip — aided by Egypt — has created an almost intolerable economic and humanitarian situation for most of the territory’s roughly 1.9 million inhabitants.

– Life-threatening

Monzer Sheblak of the Gaza Water Authority said that most groundwater in the territory was not drinkable.

“The situation is very bad,” he told Anadolu Agency, noting that more than 97 percent of the coastal enclave’s groundwater was not fit for drinking.

According to Sheblak, the levels of nitrate and chloride in the water are extremely high due to the lack of drain-water projects in the territory.

“High nitrate and chloride levels in the water can lead to disease,” he warned.

The official went on to blame Israel for the Gaza Strip’s worsening water crisis.

“Israel’s wars on the strip have led to the destruction of water desalination plants and drainage water stations,” he said.

“Israel’s closure of the border crossings, meanwhile, has prevented the delivery of materials needed for carrying out water projects in Gaza,” he added, going on to blame donor countries for failing to meet earlier pledges to help rebuild of the war-battered strip.

The Gaza Strip has groaned under a chronic energy crisis since Israel first sealed its borders with the Palestinian enclave in 2006.

The seaside territory requires 400 megawatts of electricity — of which only 200 are currently available — to meet the needs of its inhabitants.

The coastal enclave currently has three sources of electricity: Israel, which provides 120 megawatts; Egypt, which supplies 28 megawatts; and the strip’s only functioning power plant, which generates between 40 and 60 megawatts.

In January, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Monitor for Human Rights said the Israeli blockade had caused 43 percent of Gaza’s total population of 1.9 million to become unemployed.

According to the NGO, 40 percent of Gaza’s population is now living below the poverty line while 60 percent are “food insecure”.

Fifty-five percent suffer clinical depression, while 40 percent can access water for only between five and eight hours every three days due to insufficient power supplies, the NGO added.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated two to five per cent of the country’s population is chronically infected with viral hepatitis.

by Parthshri Arora, originally posted on May 12, 2016

Waterborne viral hepatitis is afflicting hundreds of thousands of Indians every year in a country that experts say has the highest number of people in the world without access to safe water.

Hepatitis viruses A and E that gnaw on the liver can be transmitted through contaminated water or food and are rampant in developing countries.

These acute forms of the disease are largely self-limiting and do not become chronic for healthy adults but can turn dangerous and fatal for pregnant women.

According to Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) data, a total of 133,625 cases and 397 deaths were recorded due to Hepatitis A and E infections last year.

Bihar led with 25,808 cases followed by Madhya Pradesh at 12,938 and Uttar Pradesh at 11,088. West Bengal reported 3,865 cases with the highest number of deaths – 81- followed by Delhi at 76 and UP at 62.

The national capital recorded a total of 8,362 such Hepatitis cases in 2015.

“The main cause of Hepatitis A and E is consumption of contaminated water and provision of safe drinking water is the main strategy to control diseases caused by drinking of contaminated water,” minister of state for health Shripad Yesso Naik told the Rajya Sabha this week.

The international charity Water Aid said this year that 75.8 million Indians – or nearly 5 per cent of the population – are forced to either buy water at high rates or use supplies that are tainted with sewage or chemicals. The United Nations says access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services is vital to human health.

The CBHI compiled its data from the monthly health condition reports of the directorate of health services of states and union territories.

The number of cases of viral hepatitis in India has been high in recent years with health ministry data showing 94,402 cases in 2011, 118,880 the next year and 104,145 cases in 2013.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated two to five per cent of the country’s population is chronically infected with viral hepatitis.

The national centre for disease control under the health ministry provides technical guidance to state governments on prevention and control of water-borne illnesses, including Hepatitis, and helps them investigate the outbreaks of such diseases under the integrated disease surveillance programme (IDSP).

Funds are released to states and union territories under the IDSP to strengthen surveillance and to detect and respond to outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases.

by Allison Dunne, originally posted on May 11, 2016

The day after results from water samples at Ulster County facilities showed elevated levels of lead, Kingston city officials released their most recent water testing results. The tests show the problem is not at the source.

Following proactive tap water testing undertaken at 26 Ulster County owned or leased facilities in Kingston, 20 of 29 samples showed elevated lead levels of lead, including in the building that houses Ulster County Executive Mike Hein’s office. After receiving the results, Hein says he took the following action.

“I immediately ordered testing of every single county facility,” says Hein. “And we’re also going to be working with the Water Quality Task Force at the state of New York, making sure that we’re moving through this with best practices, that’s the state Department of Health, DEC [Department of Environmental Conservation] and others, all in concert with the federal EPA.”

He says there are 70 county-owned or operated facilities. Hein says he ordered the initial tests after lead and other contaminants were found in water supplies in Flint, Michigan and other places. After Ulster County’s report was released, Kingston Mayor Steve Noble decided to post the city’s most recent water testing results, to let the public know the water source itself is not the problem.

“When the report came out showing that there were issues at the Ulster County buildings, there was not a clear reporting that the City of Kingston water supply and distribution system was safe,” says Noble.

Here’s Hein.

“We have every reason to believe that the water coming in to the facilities is absolutely fine and the contamination is happening in the pipes within the infrastructure of those particular facilities,” says Hein.

Kingston’s water source is tested every three years, and the most recent results from the Kingston Water Department are from 2015. Again, Noble.

“Indeed, the source and distribution system are, in essence, lead-free and that when people have these types of issues, it’s related to the internal plumbing of the buildings,” Noble says.

The water department also shared results of water samples from a number of residential homes in the city, which showed either no lead or levels far below the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level of 15 parts per billion, or 15 micrograms per liter. Along with posting results on the county website, Hein ordered various measures for the county buildings, including that tap water be used for washing hands or dishes, but not for drinking.

“The good news, if there is any in this situation, is the county had previously, over the course of the last 12 months, installed water-filling stations, which are really filtered water fountains,” says Hein. “And, in those situations, it does a wonderful job of filtering out any and all of these types of contaminants.”

He says facilities that don’t have these filling stations have bottled water. Hein believes proactive testing should take place not only in Kingston, but elsewhere.

“I think every municipality should be doing this proactive testing on all of their facilities because, again, that’s how you’ll get a baseline and have a better understanding of how significant an issue you have,” Hein says.

Noble says there are plans to test city buildings.

“Our interest is to just make sure that our own internal plumbing are also, in our city buildings, meet our standards,” says Noble. “And so we’re working to put a plan together to test our buildings as well.”

Hein says he will take a look at long-term solutions, whether that entails adding filters to the system or working on plumbing and infrastructure.

“We’re always going to do what’s right and what’s in line with public safety. And there’s going to be some costs associated with this, inevitably, but we’ll have to able to save money in other areas,” says Hein. “Again, would I love to see more investment from the state both in testing and in infrastructure assistance for municipalities around the state? Of course. And, again, we’ll be advocating for that as well.”

In the meantime, Mayor Noble and the Kingston Water Department will host a Public Education Forum May 24 at City Hall to inform residents about water safety at home.

by Kimberly Houghton, originally posted on May 11, 2016

AMHERST — Amherst is the latest community to join the roster of towns with water contamination problems, as state officials have detected an emerging chemical in private wells around the former Textiles Coated International (TCI) plant.

On Wednesday, the state Department of Environmental Services said four private wells within a half-mile radius of the former TCI site at 105 Route 101A tested positive for elevated levels of perfluorochemicals, or PFOA, the same chemical discovered recently in some private wells in Merrimack and Litchfield near Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Merrimack.

Eleven private wells were tested in Amherst near TCI; four had PFOA levels above 100 parts per trillion (ppt) — the threshold DES has set to provide bottled water.

“I don’t think I am necessarily surprised by these results,” said Jim Martin, public information officer with DES. “This is all happening very quickly.”

Owners of the four properties — three residential and one commercial — are now being offered bottled water, according to Martin. The highest PFOA level among the four parcels was 620 ppt. The federal advisory level is 400 ppt.

According to Martin, DES began sampling some wells near TCI in Amherst based on the company’s prior use of perfluorochemicals.

“We approached this facility with probably the same way that we approached Saint-Gobain, given the fact that we knew they did very similar processes,” said Martin.

According to its website, TCI is an American manufacturer of high-performance fluoropolymer films, laminates and composites.

State officials say the TCI plant in Amherst operated from 1985 to 2006. The company has had a manufacturing facility since 2005 at 200 Bouchard St. in Manchester, on the east side of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

During a recent unannounced site inspection at that location, TCI told DES that it has not used ammonium perfluorooctanoate, an ammonium salt of PFOA, since 2013.

“They have been cooperative, to date,” Martin said of TCI, adding the state plans to conduct additional site inspections at other, unspecified companies as an expansion of the water contamination investigation in the region.

The Amherst site has been redeveloped as commercial space, and its water is now provided by Pennichuck Corp. The space now houses a number of businesses, including Atlas Fireworks, Aldine Interior Solutions Corp. and HandicappedPets.com.

Martin said the state will now begin the process of testing all of the private wells within a half-mile radius — an estimated 100 wells. The radius will be expanded if necessary, he said.

DES will contact property owners by mail to schedule a time to sample their water, according to Martin. Those test results will be necessary to determine whether state officials will recommend bottled water for all residents within the vicinity of the former plant.

About 400 properties in Litchfield and Merrimack are receiving bottled water because of elevated levels of PFOA in private wells near Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Merrimack — the company cited as the likely source of the contamination.

In Manchester, DES was unable to locate any private water wells within a one-mile radius of the TCI facility there. Manchester Water Works recently tested Lake Massabesic — the source of its public water supply — several miles from TCI, and found only background levels of PFOA at 3 ppt, according to a news release.

originally posted on May 11, 2016

WATTS (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews Wednesday tested for water contamination within neighborhoods and schools in South Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Unified School District, the cloudy water recently appeared at Flournoy Elementary, Compton Avenue Elementary, 96th Street Elementary, Grape Street Elementary and Florence Griffith-Joyner Elementary.

Students at Grape Elementary School were subsequently told to stay away from water fountains. They were instead given bottles of water to drink from.

No other school is using bottled water and water service to the schools has not been disrupted.

“The safety of our students is always the district’s top priority,” OEHS Director Robert Laughton said in a written statement. “We will continue to monitor this situation to ensure the highest quality of water is supplied to our schools.”

LADWP crews tested the drinking water on Friday and found that it was safe to drink even though it looked unappetizing.

In fact, crews report that pipes in the South Los Angeles area are much newer than those in other parts of town.

It is possible, however, that the murky water appeared because of sediment shifting in the pipes.

LADWP has agreed to replace all water bottles being used in response to the incident.

On Jan. 15, a chlorine pump at the 99th Street Wells Water Treatment Facility malfunctioned. For six hours, residents living in the neighborhoods of Green Meadows and Watts were exposed to water that was not fully disinfected.

LADWP crews insist the recent cases of cloudy water is unrelated to the water treatment failure.

Pipe-flushing tests will continue throughout the month.

The Los Angeles City Council has scheduled a hearing for late June to receive more answers.

by Peak Johnson, originally posted on May 10, 2016

Wisconsin drinking water has had its fair share of pollution issues.

Manure has been blamed for much of the bacteria and viruses that inhabit the state’s water, according to GazetteXtra. However, what might be shocking is that human waste is a problem as well.

According to the most recent drinking water report from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the most frequent contaminant found in Wisconsin’s public water systems is bacteria that might stem from human waste.

Coliform, for example, can be an indicator of disease-causing viruses, bacteria, and parasites, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

Researcher and microbiologist Mark Borchardt discovered viruses in Wisconsin groundwater in a series of studies while working for Marshfield Clinic. Further research indicated that these contaminants probably came from leaking sewer lines.

“These would be bugs that cause acute gastrointestinal illness, diarrhea, vomiting, those sort of classic symptoms, but then they can lead to more severe illness,” Borchardt said.

Coliform bacteria could be present in as many as 169,000 of Wisconsin’s private wells, according to a 2013 study by researchers with the state Department of Health Services. The DNR recommends testing wells each year. Currently, only about 16 percent of private well owners do test their wells.

GazetteXtra reported that the septic regulations are to blame for not being equipped to protect against the many diseases.

Between 2007 and 2010, an estimated 18 percent of the 3,868 private wells in Wisconsin tested positive for coliform bacteria, according to Wisconsin Watch. The problem also plagues municipal water systems where coliform bacteria accounts for most of the violations of health standards are recorded each year.

Researchers recommended that the state reconsider allowing conventional septic systems to be built above fractured limestone aquifers, especially those serving facilities such as restaurants that generate a lot of wastewater.

by Christina Henry, originally posted on May 9, 2016

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — With the exception of Bainbridge Island, no other school district in Kitsap County can show it has recently tested for lead in schools’ water and is taking steps to prevent lead exposure in students.

Bainbridge has been battling since early 2016 to correct water quality issues at Ordway Elementary and other school buildings.

In North Mason, schools are on a three-year testing protocol, and results back to 2013 show no schools with elevated levels of lead.

Central Kitsap and North Kitsap school districts most recently tested water at all schools in 2004, the same year voluntary testing at Seattle Public Schools showed dangerous levels of lead at some schools. Seattle schools are now tested every three years.

In CK, elevated lead was detected at fixtures in five schools. The fixtures were replaced and tested OK. NK schools all tested OK.

Bremerton and South Kitsap school districts say they will not be able to respond to media records requests about lead in water until later this month.

Ahead of the curve

Concern about lead in water at schools is heightened across the state, after high levels recently were reported at 13 Tacoma public schools. Parents didn’t learn about the results for nearly a year.

Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered review of an unenforced rule requiring schools to test for lead. Right now testing is voluntary.

Bainbridge undertook voluntary water testing over winter break, trying to get ahead of the law, which was triggered by Seattle schools’ 2004 results and which went on the books in 2009. The rule was deferred to 2017 for lack of funding.

In the first round of results on Bainbridge, elevated levels of lead — above the 20 parts per billion “action level” specified in federal guidelines for schools and day cares, and in the dormant state law — were detected in 13 fixtures including nine at Ordway. Ordway has been on bottled water since late February, when follow-up tests showed elevated levels in roughly 34 percent of fixtures at the school.

The second round of testing showed 21 of 23 Ordway fixtures with elevated levels of lead had passed the initial screening. The highest reading, from an art room faucet, was 384 parts per billion.

Consultants from Confluence Engineering, hired in March to test faucets and water fountains at all Bainbridge schools, concluded the district’s inconsistent results stemmed from incorrect testing methods. For one thing, the district let the water sit too long before initial tests, since the buildings weren’t in use over break, said Tamela Van Winkle, director of facilities, operations and capital projects..

EPA guidelines say outlets must be inactive for at least six to eight hours before a “first draw” sample is taken. The state rule specifies “at least eight hours.” On Bainbridge it was a matter of days.

No safe level of lead

According to Keith Grellner, Kitsap Public Health District’s environmental health director, the purpose of the school water testing protocol is to evaluate water conditions inside a building under normal use, not when it’s unoccupied. Testing water that has sat too long in pipes can trigger a falsely high result, Grellner said.

The school testing protocol is different from the federal lead and copper rule that governs municipal water testing.

In reality, no amount of lead is considered safe. That’s especially true for children. The accompanying reality is that eliminating lead entirely from plumbing in homes, schools and other buildings is virtually impossible at this time, due to the presence of lead in older pipes, Grellner said. Newer fixtures contain lower levels of lead, but there is no such thing as lead free. One can only hope to minimize exposure.

Since 2008, the Kitsap Public Health District has screened 20 cases of people with elevated blood lead levels. In every instance, the source was lead-based paint, hobbies or industrial exposure, not water.

Grellner said regular testing of water in schools is the right thing to do, but the risk should be put in perspective.

“While lead is a very serious and important issue, we don’t appear to have a serious issue in Kitsap,” Grellner said. “And what we have doesn’t appear to be related to water.”

Let that water run

Grellner notes that the 20 parts per billion threshold is a red flag mechanism meant to trigger replacement and retesting of faulty fixtures long before lead levels reach dangerous proportions.

“These action levels are very low. They’re very conservative, because they’re gauged to be protective of health,” Grellner said. The stagnant water test reflects a “normal” use worst-case scenario.

So what about the first kid at the water fountain in morning? Grellner recommends that whether you’re at home or at school, let the water run until it’s cold to ensure soluble lead that’s settled out is flushed away.

Following initial results, the district flushed pipes at Ordway, which is one accepted method to address excess lead, along with taking fixtures offline, replacing them and retesting. The flushing was overly aggressive, however, stirring up particulate lead in pipes in a way that would not happen with regular use, said Melinda Friedman of Confluence. The combination of the two testing errors likely resulted in false positives.

The latest results

In mid-April, Confluence retested Ordway’s fixtures. Most that tested high in January, now are under the threshold, according to results posted on the district’s website. One remained high, and two new fixtures tested high (28 ppb and 64 ppb).

“These hits are very likely evidence of some remaining particulate lead, most likely due to the lack of use of the bubblers (water fountains) since they are out of service and have remained out of service since February,” Friedman said.

The district, on advice of Confluence and the Health District, is implementing a “bubbler exercising” protocol at these fixtures, which have been replaced and will be retested before being put into service.

“Bottled water will continue to be provided at Ordway until the school gets a clean sample round,” Friedman said.

In March, Confluence tested Woodward Middle School, which had not previously been tested, and found elevated lead in seven of 107 fixtures. Four, in portables rarely used, were taken out of service. Two were replaced, and the last was actually a “spittoon” for athletes, not a source for drinking water.

Safety at what cost?

The district has spent an estimated $100,000 so far on testing, replacing fixtures and hiring outside help. Part of Inslee’s directive to state officials is to evaluate the real cost to districts of addressing problems with their water that may bubble to the surface once testing begins.

Grellner notes that many of the problem fixtures in Bainbridge schools were taps for filling mop buckets and the like, not drinking water sources. Schools, and the state, should prioritize funding for sources where water will be consumed, he said. “Since money is limited, let’s spend the money and sample the fixtures that matter the most first.”

Van Winkle says Bainbridge is happy to be a guinea pig for what’s in store for other districts.

“At this point, I’m sure people are interested in what our findings are, and of course we’ll share them with whoever’s interested.”

Find the district’s water test results on its capital projects page, under “community information,” here.

by Sharon Kelly, originally posted on May 8, 2016

Thousands of oil and gas industry wastewater spills in North Dakota have caused “widespread” contamination from radioactive materials, heavy metals and corrosive salts, putting the health of people and wildlife at risk, researchers from Duke University concluded in a newly released peer-reviewed study.

Some rivers and streams in North Dakota now carry levels of radioactive and toxic materials higher than federal drinking water standards as a result of wastewater spills, the scientists found after testing near spills. Many cities and towns draw their drinking water from rivers and streams, though federal law generally requires drinking water to be treated before it reaches peoples’ homes, and the scientists did not test tap water as part of their research.

High levels of lead — the same heavy metal that infamously contaminated water in Flint, Michigan — as well as the radioactive element radium, were discovered near spill sites. One substance, selenium, was found in the state’s waters at levels as high as 35 times the federal thresholds set to protect fish, mussels, and other wildlife, including those that people eat.

The pollution was found on land as well as in water. The soils in locations where wastewater spilled were laced with significant levels of radium, and even higher levels of radium were discovered in the ground downstream from the spills’ origin points, showing that radioactive materials were soaking into the ground and building up as spills flowed over the ground, the researchers said.

The sheer number of spills in the past several years is striking. All told, the Duke University researchers mapped out a total of over 3,900 accidental spills of oil and gas wastewater in North Dakota alone.

Contamination remained at the oldest spill site tested, where roughly 300 barrels of wastewater were released in a spill four years before the team of researchers arrived to take samples, demonstrating that any cleanup efforts at the site had been insufficient.

“Unlike spilled oil, which starts to break down in soil, these spilled brines consist of inorganic chemicals, metals and salts that are resistant to biodegradation,” said Nancy Lauer, a Duke University Ph.D. student who was lead author of the study, which was published in Environmental Science & Technology. “They don’t go away; they stay.”

“This has created a legacy of radioactivity at spill sites,” she said.

The highest level of radium the scientists found in soil measured over 4,600 Bequerels per kilogram [bq/kg] — which translates to roughly two and half times the levels of fracking-related radioactive contamination discovered in Pennsylvania in a 2013 report that drew national attention. To put those numbers in context, under North Dakota law, waste over 185 bq/kg is considered too radioactive to dispose in regular landfills without a special permit or to haul on roads without a specific license from the state.

And that radioactive contamination — in some places over 100 times the levels of radioactivity as found upstream from the spill — will be here to stay for millennia, the researchers concluded, unless unprecedented spill clean-up efforts are made.

“The results of this study indicate that the water contamination from brine spills is remarkably persistent in the environment, resulting in elevated levels of salts and trace elements that can be preserved in spill sites for at least months to years,” the study concluded. “The relatively long half-life of [Radium 226] (∼1600 years) suggests that [Radium] contamination in spill sites will remain for thousands of years.”

Cleanup efforts remain underway at three of the four sites that the Duke University research team sampled, a North Dakota State Health Department official asked to comment on the research told the Bismarck Tribune, while the fourth site had not yet been addressed. He criticized the researchers for failing to include any in-depth testing of sites where the most extensive types of cleanup efforts had been completed.

The four sites the researchers sampled instead included the locations of two of the biggest spills in the state’s history, including a spill of 2.9 million gallons in January 2015, and two areas where smaller spills occurred in 2011. The samples from the sites were collected in June 2015, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

Over the past decade, roughly 9,700 wells have been drilled in North Dakota’s Bakken shale and Bottineu oilfield region — meaning that there has been over one spill reported to regulators for every three wells drilled.

“Until now, research in many regions of the nation has shown that contamination from fracking has been fairly sporadic and inconsistent,” Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, said when the study was released. “In North Dakota, however, we find it is widespread and persistent, with clear evidence of direct water contamination from fracking.”

Dealing with wastewater generated by drilling and fracking has proved to be one of the shale industry’s most intractable problems. The industry often pumps its toxic waste underground in a process known as wastewater injection. Every day, roughly 2 billion gallons of oil and gas wastewater are injected into the ground nationwide, theEPA estimates. Wastewater injection has been linked to swarms of earthquakes that have prompted a series of legal challenges.

The sheer volume of waste generated by the industry — particularly from the type of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing used to tap shale oil and gas — has often overwhelmed state regulators, especially because federal laws leave the waste exempt from hazardous waste handling laws, no matter how toxic or dangerous it might be, under an exception for the industry carved out in the 1980’s.

This leaves policing fracking waste up to state inspectors, and not only do the rules vary widely from state to state, but enforcing those rules brings its own difficulties.

State inspectors have faced escalating workloads as budgets have often failed to keep pace with the industry’s rapid expansion. In North Dakota, the number of wells per inspector climbed from roughly 359 each in 2012 to 500 per inspector last year. In other states, the ratios are even more challenging, with Wyoming oil and gas well inspectors being responsible for more than 2,900 wells in 2015. And now, with the collapse of oil and gas prices, funds earmarked for oil and gas inspection have also nosedived in many states.

Lax enforcement may help explain why wastewater spills are so common across the U.S.More than 180 million gallons of wastewater was spilled between 2009 and 2014, according to an investigation by the Associated Press, which tallied the amount of wastewater spilled in the 21,651 accidents that were reported to state or federal regulators nationwide during that time.

The naturally occurring radioactive materials in that wastewater have drawn particular concern, partly because of their longevity in the environment and partly because the drilling industry enjoys looser federal standards for their radioactive waste than many other industries.

In January, North Dakota regulators further relaxed their standards for the dumping of radioactive materials, allowing many landfills in the state to accept drilling waste at levels higher than previously permitted, citing tough economic times for drillers.

But environmentalists argue that relaxing the rules for radioactive waste disposal could mean that radioactive materials receive less careful handling. “If people think this study points to a building tragedy, just wait,” Darrell Dorgan, who chairs the North Dakota Energy Industry Waste Coalition, told the Bismarck Tribune, when the Duke University research was released. “The new rules allow radioactive waste that is 10 times more dangerous.”

The spills the Duke University researchers identified often resulted from a failure to maintain infrastructure including pipelines and storage tanks. Roughly half of the wastewater spilled came from failed pipelines, followed by leaks from valves and other pipe connectors, and then tank leaks or overflows.

But recent floods in Texas’s Eagle Ford shale region also highlight the risks that natural disasters in drilling regions might pose. Texas regulators photographed plumes of contamination around submerged drilling sites, a repeat of similar incidents in Colorado. “That’s a potential disaster,” Dr. Walter Tsou, former president of the American Public Health Association told the Dallas Morning News.

Risks associated with fracking in flood zones have drawn the attention of some federal agencies in the past, but perhaps not in a way that locals in affected areas might find helpful.

In 2012, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program — a program designed to help people move away from areas subject to recurring floods — ran into a series of conflicts over oil and gas leases on properties that would otherwise be offered buy-outs. Some homeowners in Pennsylvania were denied the chance to participate in the program because of oil and gas leases or pipelines on their properties, as DeSmog previously reported.

In other words, it may be harder for those who have signed oil and gas or pipeline leases to abandon flood-prone areas, meaning that homeowners whose properties frequently flood could potentially face battles over cleanup costs without aid from FEMA.

And the newly published research from North Dakota suggests that the less visible brines may ultimately be more of a long-lasting environmental hazard than the spilled oil.

Even though their study included only leaks that were reported to state regulators, the researchers warned that little is currently being done to clean up sites where spills have occurred — or even to track smaller spills, especially on reservation lands, where roughly a quarter of the state’s oil is produced.

This means that the real amount of wastewater spilled is likely even higher than currently reported.

“Many smaller spills have also occurred on tribal lands,” Prof. Vengosh said, “and as far as we know, no one is monitoring them.”

originally posted on May 8. 2016

ZAMBOANGA CITY—On April 2, Bakil Awil rushed his two sons to a hospital after they started vomiting and suffering from loose bowel movement.

The next day, the dry goods and electronics shop owner had to rush a third child, his youngest, to the same hospital for the same reason.

Awil, of Barangay Arena Blanco here, said he did not suspect that the water rationed to them had been contaminated.

Dr. Rodelin Agbulos, city health officer, said tests made on the water during Health Secretary Janette Garin’s recent visit here showed that the water being consumed in many parts of the city had been contaminated with bacteria.

Bacteria

Agbulos said, for example, out of the 66 water samples obtained from taps operated by the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD), water-refilling stations, deep wells and bottled water, 47 percent tested positive for total coliform while 18 percent was positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Total coliform is a group of bacteria commonly found in the environment, as well as the intestines of mammals, including humans, but are not likely to cause illness. Its presence indicates that the water is vulnerable to contamination by more harmful microorganisms. E. coli, a member of the total coliform group, is more dangerous and can actually kill.

Chlorine solution

Leonardo Rey Vasquez, ZCWD general manager, rejected Agbulos’ report, saying the water firm strictly followed Philippine drinking water standards.

“Our water is safe because of the chlorine content,” Vasquez said. He said the standard for chlorine was 0.3 parts per million in chlorine residual.

“Our responsibility ends in the water meter,” he said. “We are not in control of the pipes that go into the house of every consumer. If there are leaks, that is not our problem. If people collect water and they store it inside the containers, then we are not sure anymore how clean the containers are. It all boils down to proper hygiene,” Vasquez said.

Showing the master list provided by the Department of Health, Vasquez said only one tap released water, which was found positive for coliform.

“We are investigating this,” he said.

9 deaths

Agbulos said, as of April 30, 1,938 cases of acute gastroenteritis had already been recorded in the city.

Nine of the patients—mainly children—had died of the illness.

The sheer number of people suffering from acute gastroenteritis prompted Mayor Ma. Isabelle Salazar to declare an outbreak last week.

The city has been experiencing water shortage because of the dry spell as water sources had dried up.

Residents also had to reduce water consumption, which means taking fewer baths.

“The statistics presented by all hospitals in the city, public and private, showed that acute gastroenteritis cases are now over the epidemic threshold,” Agbulos said. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao