Published: May 19, 2008 09:10 am            

Local utilities to switch disinfectants

Both the Richmond and Berea municipal utility companies are preparing to make a seasonal change in their drinking water decontaminates.

Both also have received their their water quality reports for 2007.

In the cooler months, the two utilities use chlorine to kill microbes and oxidize organic compounds in the water they distribute directly to their direct customers and the rural water districts they serve. As temperatures rise in the spring, however, both utilities switch to chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia.

Both chlorine and chloramine are approved by the Kentucky Division of Water and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to local utilities officials.

Berea will change to chloramine on May 29. Richmond will switch on June 9. In addition to an improved water taste, the residue of chloramine is easier to remove from public distribution systems than is chlorine residue said, Donald Blackburn, Berea Municipal Utilities superintendent.

Most large cities use chloramine year-around, he said.

“Changing disinfectants periodically also prevents microbes from developing resistance to eradication,” said Scott Althauser, Richmond Utilities superintendent.

There are some potential problems, however.

Chlormaine can pass through the membranes of kidney dialysis systems and harm patients, according to a notice released by the Berea utility.

Kidney dialysis operators are trained to test water used in their systems and to treat it accordingly, Blackburn said.

Both chlorine and chloramine can kill aquarium fish, but retailers who sell aquarium supplies inform customers of the danger and sell products to remove harmful chemicals, he said.

Filters sold by home improvement retailers can remove most chlorine and chloramine from water before it is consumed, Blackburn said.

Berea Municipal Utilities released its annual water quality report this past week. Althauser said Richmond will be releasing its report within two weeks.

BMU, which also supplies the Southern Madison County Water District and the Garrard County Water Association, recorded higher than permitted levels of total organic carbons (TOCs) in the last quarter of 2006 and first quarter of 2007. They have remained below permitted levels since then, Blackburn said.

While TOCs pose no immediate health risks, they can combine with other chemicals in water, and prolonged exposure to those compounds can increase cancer risks.

In the next 30 days, BMU expects to bid out a $6 million project that will increase the capacity of its water purification plant by 50 percent and enable it to meet all water quality standards, Blackburn said.

“The improved and expanded plant should allow us to meet the quality standards that become more stringent every few years,” he said.

The purification plant upgrade also will be the third phase of efforts to increase Berea’s supply. In the past year, the city-owned utility has expanded the pumping and transport capacity from its three reservoirs.

The improvements will be financed through Berea’s first water-rate increase in 18 years. On May 6, the Berea City Council heard first reading of an ordinance that would restructure and increase water, sewer and electricity rates by 4 to 6 percent. Proceeds from the increases also will finance upgrades of the other two utility services, Blackburn said.

Richmond Utilities has received its water quality report, which will be distributed to customers and posted on its Web site, richmondutilities.com, within about two weeks, Althauser said.

The only violation on the report was a test which was not conducted on time. “The test results were normal, but that one test just wasn’t on schedule,” he said.

Richmond, which draws raw water from the Kentucky River, completed a $6 million expansion and upgrade of its purification plant in August. An expanded water intake system should be go online by July 1, Althauser said.

Richmond also supplies Madison County Utilities and the Kirksville Water Association.

This past week, Richmond Utilities broke ground for its new, $30 million Otter Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant. When completed in about 30 months, it will replace the Dreaming Creek and Tates Creek plants and eliminate nine pumping stations. In addition to increased capacity, the new plant will enable Richmond to comply with new federal water quality standards.

Decommissioning of the old plants will cost an extra $25 million.

The project will be financed by sewer charges that will increase more than 15 percent for each of the next six years.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.

        

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