Investigation: Dayton says its drinking water is safe, but more residents are raising doubts

0 The city of Dayton says its drinking water is clean and safe, but a growing number of residents lack confidence in the purity of the city’s tap water.
Fears about water contamination spread when the city of Dayton shut down some production wells last year after potentially hazardous chemicals were detected in the groundwater.
“ … Drinking water quality in the Dayton region – and throughout Ohio – is excellent.” Worries about chemicals Three months ago, the city said for the first time that treated water leaving its Ottawa Water Treatment Plant in March had PFAS at a level of 7 to 13 parts per trillion (ppt).
The water remains in compliance with federal and state drinking water regulations, and the reported levels are well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s current health advisory level of 70 ppt, a city of Dayton spokeswoman said.
“Public water systems are highly regulated,” said Pierce, with the Ohio EPA.
Dayton’s extensive monitoring well program goes beyond state requirements by monitoring for unregulated contaminants like PFAS, according to the Ohio EPA.
The survey began in mid-May, before the the city of Dayton and Montgomery County notified thousands of customers that PFAS were detected in the treated drinking water.
All older homes should be tested for lead, and local governments need to ensure water testing is available for low-income families, including rental properties, McGowin said.
The city of Dayton offers free testing and says last year it analyzed 173 water samples and detected lead in 21 of them.
The levels of lead were far below the Ohio EPA’s maximum contaminant levels, which are concentrations that put people at risk of adverse health effects.

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