07-20-2005, 04:49 AM
In the 2000 movie "Erin Brokovich," starring Julia Roberts, a town becomes sick after drinking contaminated water flowing through the community's pipes. The movie, based on a true story, followed an employee at a law firm in California who discovered the illegal activity of a company that dumped cancer-causing chemicals into ponds, which brought about an abnormal rate of illnesses.
In today's reality, homeowners can see for themselves whether their tap water is toxic. Because of standards issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within the Safe Water Drinking Act, Consumer Confidence Reports are issued annually for all water supply systems in the country.
"The (Consumer Confidence Reports) are a requirement of all communities that serve the public with a potable water supply system, (and are overseen) by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)," said Ed Haapala, water and sewer director for West Bloomfield Township.
According to 2004 water reports, which were mailed to consumers within the last month, no drinking water standards were violated in the lakes area last year — no contaminants were found above the allowed limits during 2004.
The annual water quality reports cite the amount of contaminants found in the water supply, and are mailed to each consumer along with their water bill.
"The reports themselves go out once a year," said Tim Prince, chief engineer at the Oakland County Drain Commissioner's office. "It's sort of a summary of what was tested throughout the entire year."
The frequency of water testing differs in each community, depending on where the water supply originates. For example, many lakes area municipalities are served by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, and some maintain community well systems for residents. Other areas are served by individual private wells, and are not subject to the federal reporting requirements.
"In the Safe Drinking Water Act, some — like the distribution (center) — might be required to test the water every week or every month; the wellhouse could be annually, or every three years," said Connie Sims, environmental planner at the Oakland County Drain Commissioner's office. "(The frequency of testing) depends on what contaminant you're analyzing for."
According to Prince, although the water reports are annual, testing usually occurs throughout the year. Sims also said that's why the dates of all testing are listed in the reports, to let the consumers know how recently the water has been monitored.
"You get different dates on (the reports) because what's reported is anything in the last year that was detected," Sims said.
<*C>LEVELS OF CONTAMINANTSRISKSIN THE WATER
"It usually includes a public notice, or it might be a boil water notice. In the Safe Drinking Water Act, we have specific requirements that we have to follow," the drain office's Sims said. "You get with the DEQ and they might have additional variations of that."
The corrective actions and methods for alerting consumers about contaminants depends on the actual violation, what system it was found in, and what type of contaminant was found in excess of the regulated amounts.
"With bacteria, if you were to have a presence of Total Coliforms (including fecal coliform and E. coli) — Total Coliforms are all around you in nature — the first thing you do is resample the original and then upstream and downstream of that site to make sure it wasn't a sampling error or a lab error," Sims said. "In that case — and it depends on the system size — but if there's only one (violation) and you resample it and then it's good, then it was probably a lab error and nothing would happen."
However, if the violation wasn't an error, additional action must be taken.
"If you got more additional (contaminants), then you would get with the DEQ and they would work with you on how they want it handled. Ideally, it would be a Total Coliform violation after that point, and you would have to notify the public of what happened within 30 days. Now, if it were an E. coli (violation) — which is more serious — the notification is right away.
<*C><*C>
<*L> "It's either us or (the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) that's collecting samples," the drain office's Prince said. "They'll either take them to their lab, or we'll take them to (our) lab or it goes out to a private lab. We take the samples and send them in to the appropriate lab that runs the analysis."
For communities that receive water from the Detroit water system — portions of Commerce, West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, Walled Lake and Wixom in the lakes area — treatment facilities operate 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. The treatment process begins with disinfecting the source water with chlorine to kill harmful microorganisms that can cause illness. Next, a substance called alum is mixed with the water to remove the fine particles that make the water cloudy or turbid. Alum causes the particles to clump together and settle to the bottom. Fluoride is also added to protect teeth from cavities and decay. The water then flows through fine sand filters called beds. These filters remove even more particles and certain micro-organisms that are resistant to chlorine. Finally, a small amount of phosphoric acid and chlorine are added to treated water just before it leaves the treatment plant.
The phosphoric acid helps control the lead that may dissolve in the water from household plumbing systems. The chlorine keeps the water disinfected as it travels through water mains to each home or business. In addition to a carefully controlled and monitored treatment process, the water is tested for a variety of substances before treatment, during various stages of treatment, and throughout the distribution system. Hundreds of samples are tested each week in certified laboratories by highly-qualified, trained staff.
"We work with Detroit, and we actually put together their sampling plans for bacteria, but they collect the samples every week," Sims said.
<*C><*C>
<*L> Wolverine Lake receives water from three separate wellhouse units — Penny Lake, Wolverine Lake Heights, and Laguna Vista. Highland Township has two community well systems, each with four wells that provide portions of the township with water.
Milford Township does not produce a Consumer Confidence Report since the community doesn't have any municipal or community wells — all homes and businesses are served by individual wells.
"They're all private, right now," said Supervisor Don Green of the township's water wells.
The City of Walled Lake Water Department provides drinking water to approximately 6,713 residents in the city, and to limited areas in the city of Novi and Commerce Township. Walled Lake purchases drinking water from Detroit, which uses surface water drawn from Lake Huron that has been processed at a water treatment plant located in St. Clair County.
Waterford Township receives its water from 15 wells located at 12 different locations throughout the township. Eleven of the well sites contain a water treatment plant that performs a variety of treatment processes, including iron and manganese removal. Additional chemicals are also added to disinfect the water and to control other contaminants such as lead and copper. In addition, the Waterford Township system is pumped exclusively from wells that are not under the influence of surface water.
White Lake Township utilizes limited chemical treatment at each community well house. Orthophosphate is used to keep iron in an aqueous state so it will not settle out in water mains. Chlorine is used as a disinfectant to prevent microbial contamination. Management techniques include fire hydrant flushing to remove iron from the water mains. Water customers often choose to add water softening, treatment, and (or) a form of iron filtration. The water comes from 12 groundwater wells that are between 81 to 223-feet-deep, drawing primarily from outwash plains or morainal deposits of relatively coarse textured materials with little protection provided by the overlying drift.
The water source for the village of Milford is two 12-inch diameter water wells, 114 feet deep, owned by the village. The wells draw water from an underground aquifer that extends toward Moore Lake in Milford Township. Once the water is pumped from the aquifer, the water is pumped to the iron removal plant and filtered to remove iron. Chlorine is added as a disinfectant to protect the water after it leaves the plant, in addition to fluoride.
Deanna Rose is a staff writer for the Spinal Column Newsweekly
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In today's reality, homeowners can see for themselves whether their tap water is toxic. Because of standards issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within the Safe Water Drinking Act, Consumer Confidence Reports are issued annually for all water supply systems in the country.
"The (Consumer Confidence Reports) are a requirement of all communities that serve the public with a potable water supply system, (and are overseen) by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)," said Ed Haapala, water and sewer director for West Bloomfield Township.
According to 2004 water reports, which were mailed to consumers within the last month, no drinking water standards were violated in the lakes area last year — no contaminants were found above the allowed limits during 2004.
The annual water quality reports cite the amount of contaminants found in the water supply, and are mailed to each consumer along with their water bill.
"The reports themselves go out once a year," said Tim Prince, chief engineer at the Oakland County Drain Commissioner's office. "It's sort of a summary of what was tested throughout the entire year."
The frequency of water testing differs in each community, depending on where the water supply originates. For example, many lakes area municipalities are served by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, and some maintain community well systems for residents. Other areas are served by individual private wells, and are not subject to the federal reporting requirements.
"In the Safe Drinking Water Act, some — like the distribution (center) — might be required to test the water every week or every month; the wellhouse could be annually, or every three years," said Connie Sims, environmental planner at the Oakland County Drain Commissioner's office. "(The frequency of testing) depends on what contaminant you're analyzing for."
According to Prince, although the water reports are annual, testing usually occurs throughout the year. Sims also said that's why the dates of all testing are listed in the reports, to let the consumers know how recently the water has been monitored.
"You get different dates on (the reports) because what's reported is anything in the last year that was detected," Sims said.
<*C>LEVELS OF CONTAMINANTSRISKSIN THE WATER
"It usually includes a public notice, or it might be a boil water notice. In the Safe Drinking Water Act, we have specific requirements that we have to follow," the drain office's Sims said. "You get with the DEQ and they might have additional variations of that."
The corrective actions and methods for alerting consumers about contaminants depends on the actual violation, what system it was found in, and what type of contaminant was found in excess of the regulated amounts.
"With bacteria, if you were to have a presence of Total Coliforms (including fecal coliform and E. coli) — Total Coliforms are all around you in nature — the first thing you do is resample the original and then upstream and downstream of that site to make sure it wasn't a sampling error or a lab error," Sims said. "In that case — and it depends on the system size — but if there's only one (violation) and you resample it and then it's good, then it was probably a lab error and nothing would happen."
However, if the violation wasn't an error, additional action must be taken.
"If you got more additional (contaminants), then you would get with the DEQ and they would work with you on how they want it handled. Ideally, it would be a Total Coliform violation after that point, and you would have to notify the public of what happened within 30 days. Now, if it were an E. coli (violation) — which is more serious — the notification is right away.
<*C><*C>
<*L> "It's either us or (the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) that's collecting samples," the drain office's Prince said. "They'll either take them to their lab, or we'll take them to (our) lab or it goes out to a private lab. We take the samples and send them in to the appropriate lab that runs the analysis."
For communities that receive water from the Detroit water system — portions of Commerce, West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, Walled Lake and Wixom in the lakes area — treatment facilities operate 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. The treatment process begins with disinfecting the source water with chlorine to kill harmful microorganisms that can cause illness. Next, a substance called alum is mixed with the water to remove the fine particles that make the water cloudy or turbid. Alum causes the particles to clump together and settle to the bottom. Fluoride is also added to protect teeth from cavities and decay. The water then flows through fine sand filters called beds. These filters remove even more particles and certain micro-organisms that are resistant to chlorine. Finally, a small amount of phosphoric acid and chlorine are added to treated water just before it leaves the treatment plant.
The phosphoric acid helps control the lead that may dissolve in the water from household plumbing systems. The chlorine keeps the water disinfected as it travels through water mains to each home or business. In addition to a carefully controlled and monitored treatment process, the water is tested for a variety of substances before treatment, during various stages of treatment, and throughout the distribution system. Hundreds of samples are tested each week in certified laboratories by highly-qualified, trained staff.
"We work with Detroit, and we actually put together their sampling plans for bacteria, but they collect the samples every week," Sims said.
<*C><*C>
<*L> Wolverine Lake receives water from three separate wellhouse units — Penny Lake, Wolverine Lake Heights, and Laguna Vista. Highland Township has two community well systems, each with four wells that provide portions of the township with water.
Milford Township does not produce a Consumer Confidence Report since the community doesn't have any municipal or community wells — all homes and businesses are served by individual wells.
"They're all private, right now," said Supervisor Don Green of the township's water wells.
The City of Walled Lake Water Department provides drinking water to approximately 6,713 residents in the city, and to limited areas in the city of Novi and Commerce Township. Walled Lake purchases drinking water from Detroit, which uses surface water drawn from Lake Huron that has been processed at a water treatment plant located in St. Clair County.
Waterford Township receives its water from 15 wells located at 12 different locations throughout the township. Eleven of the well sites contain a water treatment plant that performs a variety of treatment processes, including iron and manganese removal. Additional chemicals are also added to disinfect the water and to control other contaminants such as lead and copper. In addition, the Waterford Township system is pumped exclusively from wells that are not under the influence of surface water.
White Lake Township utilizes limited chemical treatment at each community well house. Orthophosphate is used to keep iron in an aqueous state so it will not settle out in water mains. Chlorine is used as a disinfectant to prevent microbial contamination. Management techniques include fire hydrant flushing to remove iron from the water mains. Water customers often choose to add water softening, treatment, and (or) a form of iron filtration. The water comes from 12 groundwater wells that are between 81 to 223-feet-deep, drawing primarily from outwash plains or morainal deposits of relatively coarse textured materials with little protection provided by the overlying drift.
The water source for the village of Milford is two 12-inch diameter water wells, 114 feet deep, owned by the village. The wells draw water from an underground aquifer that extends toward Moore Lake in Milford Township. Once the water is pumped from the aquifer, the water is pumped to the iron removal plant and filtered to remove iron. Chlorine is added as a disinfectant to protect the water after it leaves the plant, in addition to fluoride.
Deanna Rose is a staff writer for the Spinal Column Newsweekly
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