Press release (via City of Athens Facebook page)
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has notified the CITY OF ATHENS TX 1070005 that the drinking water being supplied to customers had exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for haloacetic acids (group of five). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has established the MCL for haloacetic acids (group of five) to be 0.060 milligrams per liter (mg/L) based on locational running annual average (LRAA), and has determined that it is a health concern at levels above the MCL. Analysis of drinking water in your community for haloacetic acids (group of five) indicates a compliance value in quarter one 2016 of 0.063 mg/L for DBP2-01 and 0.064 mg/L for DBP2-04.
Haloacetic acids are a group of volatile organic compounds that are formed when chlorine, added to the water during the treatment process for disinfection, reacts with naturally-occurring organic matter in the water.
Some people who drink water containing HAA5 in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
You do not need to use an alternative water supply. However, if you have health concerns, you may want to talk to your doctor to get more information about how this may affect you.
We are taking the following actions to address this issue:
- We are systematically rehabilitating our Elevated and Ground Storage Tanks to ensure that we meet TCEQ requirements.
- We are developing a strategic replacement plan of our current water infrastructure.
- We will have additional samples tested in order to closely monitor our HAA5 levels.
- Recent sample results from this quarter have dropped significantly in detectability compared to the previous quarter’s samples. We expect a compliant locational running annual average later this year.
Please share this information with all people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (i.e., people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
If you have questions regarding this matter, you may contact Lawrence Cutrone with the City of Athens at 903-677-1735.