Marion City Council issued a strong rebuke to Aqua Ohio officials following discussions about the water company’s plans to start using chloramine as a secondary disinfectant. Aqua says the process is safe and needed to ensure EPA compliance, but Council members said residents deserve time and alternatives. At the end of a long meeting, Council members called for a moratorium on any changes and said violations could be met with stiff fines.
Aqua Ohio recently announced that they intend to begin using chloramine, created by adding ammonia which bonds to the existing chlorine, as a secondary disinfectant. Currently the company uses chlorine as a primary disinfectant, something they will continue, and simply adds more chlorine as a secondary disinfectant if required. But Aqua officials say that practice will put them in violation of EPA standards starting this summer.
Tom Schwing, Aqua Ohio’s Safety and Compliance Officer and a trained chemist, repeated assurances that the process is safe during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. He stated that the addition of chloramine is approved by the EPA and ongoing testing will continue to ensure the levels present in the water do not present any more health hazard than the chlorine currently used. He said the water could actually be considered safer because chlorine produces byproducts, that could be harmful, at a higher rate than chloramine.
Schwing said the Ohio EPA had to approve the change, which was granted March 29, 2013. Aqua Ohio then had to notify affected users of the change, which included the City administration, health organizations, and pet stores. Since the approval, Aqua also included notices in their last billing statement and then sent an additional letter that most customers received last weekend. Aqua said they went above and beyond what was required when it came to notification in order to make sure those who could possibly be adversely affected would know about the change.
Once the change is made, Schwing said there will continue to be ongoing, required testing and monitoring to make sure the process remains safe.
The two main groups affected by the addition of chloramine are home dialysis patients and owners of fish tanks because of the way the water interacts with the blood stream of patients and fish. While they need to be aware of and remove chloramine, Aqua Ohio officials said those groups already have to monitor chlorine as well as chloramine and other chemicals in the water they use. Jeff LaRue, a spokesperson for Aqua, said he is an “aquarium hobbyist” and because fish “pee” in the water, chloramines are already formed and must be monitored.
Schwing said the amount of chloramine added to the water supply will equal two milligrams per liter. He said EPA rules state no more than four milligrams per liter are allowed, so they will be well below that level. He likened the amount Aqua would be using to the same as two drops from an eye dropper in 13 gallons of water.
Aqua said it is estimated that more than 35 percent of water utilities use chloramine currently, including Denver (who started in 1917), Boston, and St. Louis. He said it is used because it is the best, most cost effective way to meet regulations.
Aqua said the change is not about saving money. They are spending nearly $800,000 to purchase and install the required equipment and the addition of ammonia to the sytem will mean “the cost to treat will be greater.”
Health Concerns
A couple dozen residents attended the City Council meeting to question Aqua’s decision and to express concerns over the health impact the change may have. The residents and council members asked about reports that chloramines cause damage to plumbing and could cause serious health issues from leached lead and if it is inhaled during a hot shower or bath.
Schwing answered most of the health related questions saying that he has never seen a study that found the issues are valid concerns. He said that publicized issues with chloramine generally seem to come from misuse of the chemical or from systems that use it as a primary disinfectant, something Aqua is not doing.
When it comes to concerns about chloramine leaching lead from pipes, Schwing said that the company is required to complete regular testing to check lead levels and that process will continue. He said if the amount of lead and other materials reaches a certain level, then the company is required to take action. He said the action level is below the level that would impact health to ensure the amount of lead never reaches that point.
Councilman Ralph Cumston said there are alternatives to chloramine and pointed to Cincinnati which uses activated carbon. Schwing said that is an alternative approved by the EPA, but said it is “magnitudes” more expensive. He said their system is not only more expensive to operate, but is also more expensive to build.
Sandy Bridenstine, Environmental Health Director for Marion Public Health, told Council members that she “wanted to calm your fears” and stated that mono-chloramines, what Aqua Ohio is creating, is safe. While there are byproducts created by chloramine, Bridenstine said they are less hazardous to your health than those created by chlorine.
Bridenstine said an additional benefit is that it would eliminate the slime buildup in pipes because of the reduction in byproducts. And, because of fewer byproducts, there will be fewer complaints about taste and smell issues. She said there are issues with elevated lead, “possibly,” but that would be picked up quickly in testing and steps would be taken to alleviate any possible lead increase.
Several council members expressed disbelieve when Schwing stated that he was unaware that there were communities, states, and countries which had outlawed the use of chloramines.
“I have a hard time believing the thoroughness of your research if you did not know that several areas and countries have made the use of chloramines illegal,” stated Councilman Ayers Ratliff.
Schwing stated that Aqua simply compared the processes permitted by the Ohio EPA and chose the use of chloramines as the best alternative. He added that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has also ruled that chloramines are acceptable.
Give Us an Alternative
When asked why the company was making the change when they are currently incompliance with EPA standards, Schwing reiterated that it is because those standards are tightening. He explained that compliance is a running average of test findings, not the results of one test. He said that the next round of testing, set for early July, is expected to show the company is no longer in compliance with the tighter standards, partly due to the fact that the summer heat cause more of the unwanted byproducts to form. He said simply treating the water with more chlorine would actually make the issue worse as more byproducts would form.
“A lot of people are concerned,” said Cumston, who asked Aqua Ohio to wait 30 days to implement the changes. He also asked the company to look into what the costs would be to implement other alternatives, showing what it might cost the average customer. “Give us an alternative. Let the community decide.”
The Aqua Ohio officials at the meeting, which included the plant manager, stated they were not empowered to make a decision to wait 30 days. Schwing said the company has to be in compliance with EPA regulations and, because they are going into the high level time of the year, they have to get the new system started to ensure they comply. He said they could still look at alternatives, but the new system must start to maintain compliance. Alternatives could be implemented in the future.
Schwing said the company is as certain as they can be that they will be out of compliance without making the change to chloramines because if the new regulations had been in force last summer, they would have been in violation at that point.
Marion resident Terry Cline said the biggest issue surrounding the addition of chloramines is consumer confidence. He said it was unfortunate that Aqua Ohio has stolen the public’s confidence in their company by not allowing enough time or education to assure the community of the safety of the change.
“You’ve scared the daylights out of some people,” stated Cline, who said that with more time the company could provide the needed education.
Council Requests Moratorium, Threatens Fines
City Council voted to go into a private executive session to discuss possible legal action with Law Director Mark Russell. After nearly an hour, Council reconvened the public meeting and presented a resolution calling for a 45-day moratorium on any changes to the water system.
The resolution was not passed, but was given its first reading after Council voted to bypass a committee hearing. Dale Osborn and Jason Schaber voted against skipping committee assignment.
If approved and signed by the mayor, the resolution would mean that any person or company found to be violating the moratorium would face fines of at least $10,000 per day for each day of the violation.
The issue and resolution will be discussed again at Council’s next meeting on June 10. Councilman Mike Thomas requested that Aqua Ohio officials appear and provide alternatives to using chloramine. Company officials agreed to appear and also said they would not start the addition of chloramine before the next meeting, saying they still had to complete equipment testing anyway.
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