Back in November, the Clifton Park Water Authority discovered that levels of Haloacetic acids (HAA), a byproduct of the water disinfection process, were above the standard limit deemed acceptable to the federal government.
But if it was no big deal, then why send off samples to the state in the first place?
And if there was no reason to alert the 2,000 water customers to the higher level of these HHAs in the water supply when it occurred, then why did the state and the water authority feel compelled to tell residents in January?
When the levels spiked, the local water authority didn’t know that it was a one-time occurrence.
So as not to alarm residents, the notification could have included a caveat explaining the chemical properties, the levels that were found in relation to the federal standards, the relative level of concern about health and safety, and a suggestion on how to take action if that was something you wanted to do.
Certainly, it’s possible to alert the public as a precaution closer to when the spike in contamination occurred.
There are email and text alerts that can be used.
They could have placed notices on customers’ doors.
It just seems that the point of notifying residents about a spike in anything that can affect one’s health is to let people know about a problem so they can take precautions.
What kind of precautions can you take if they tell you about a problem long after the fact?