The word is “trihalomethanes,” and it made its way into the Mansura vocabulary recently when LAWCO was issued a “notice of violation” because the water it was selling its customers in Mansura had too much of them.
These are called “disinfectant byproducts (DBPs), which include TTHMs.
Edrington noted that some people who drink water with high levels of these byproducts over an extended period of many years may have problems with liver, kidney or central nervous system and may have an increased risk of cancer.
The water is tested quarterly and then rated on a rolling average.
The TTHM rate spiked to 105 in a past test, which put it over 80 for this reporting period.
An official test sample will be taken this month.
“There is a chance that we will be issued another notice of violation” because the average level of the quarterly tests would still be above 80, he said.
Edrington said LAWCO could do that, but noted that Avoyelles Water charges more than Cottonport.
It is also possible, he noted, that Cottonport might be willing to do more on its end to address the problem to avoid losing its largest customer.
The council instructed Edrington to negotiate with another water provider and report back,preferably in December.