Copyright 2000 The Omaha World-Herald Company
Omaha
World-Herald
June 26, 2000, Monday METRO EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1;
LENGTH: 1366 words
HEADLINE:
Cleaner and More Costly? Water Rules Bring Worries
BYLINE: JULIE ANDERSON
SOURCE:
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Water systems
across the country are facing a steady flow of new regulations over the next few
years as the Environmental Protection Agency puts the requirements of the 1996
Safe Drinking Water Act into writing. The rules are intended to improve the
safety of the nation's drinking water, protecting the people who consume it from
bacteria and other contaminants. Consumer and environmental groups have argued
for years that water systems don't do enough to keep tap water safe. But some
water-system operators and state officials in Nebraska and Iowa maintain that
the water they supply is safe and worry that the work needed to bring water
systems, particularly small ones, into compliance with the rules will come at a
high cost to consumers. At a minimum, water systems will be doing more
monitoring of their operations and more reporting of data to state and federal
governments. In some cases, the rules will require towns that currently don't
treat water - including many in Nebraska and Iowa - to build treatment plants.
Some officials predict the complexity and cost of meeting the still largely
unknown rules could lead to consolidation of water systems. "They know it gets
tougher and tougher, but no one really knows what's in the pipeline," said Bill
Lukash, a hydrogeologist with the Nebraska Rural Water Association. "I have a
feeling a lot of them will feel blindsided by these new regulations." Some
officials say they don't believe all of the proposed changes are necessary or
scientifically justified, pointing to a debate over the scientific soundness of
a rule on copper that has drawn both Nebraska senators into the fray. Others say
more research isneeded on the effects of some pollutants and better use should
be made of data utilities supply on water quality. "The position we've taken on
all of this is that adequate research should be done so rules are based on sound
science," said Jerry Radek, general manager of the Metropolitan Utilities
District in Omaha. "We're committed to meeting all standards set by the federal
government," he said. "We can do that, but at a cost to our customers." EPA
officials say they're following Congress' direction in setting the rules. The
agency must review the Safe Drinking Water Act every five years. "The more we
know about water and water quality and the more things we discover out there,
we'll be adding standards for the indefinite future," said Stan Calow, an
environmental engineer with the EPA's regional office in Kansas City, Kan.
Consumers already are seeing the results of one new rule in the consumer
confidence reports that water systems now send to customers telling them the
results of tests for various pollutants. Water-system operators also will have
to meet additional certification requirements. In Nebraska, state officials,
water systems and others are working to develop a strategy aimed at addressing
technical, financial and managerial issues at problem systems and preparing for
the future. But MUD, which serves 167,000 customers in Omaha and surrounding
communities, will be making what is probably the first big physical change in
Nebraska in response to the new rules. The MUD board this month authorized the
utility to change part of its water-treatment system to reduce trihalomethanes,
officially known as disinfection byproducts. The compounds,
possible carcinogens, form when chlorine used to disinfect
water drawn from the Missouri River or along the Platte River reacts with
naturally occurring organic matter. Disinfection is aimed primarily at microbes
that can sicken and even kill people. The new rule calls for reducing
trihalomethanes from 100 parts per billion to 80 parts per billion by Jan. 1,
2002, Radek said. The utility has stayed below the new level for the last
several years, but a big storm that carries lots of leaves and other debris into
rivers could put it over the limit. So MUD plans to add ammonia to treated water
to convert the chlorine to chloramines, which don't form the
byproducts, said Joel Christensen, MUD's water operations
manager. The utility estimates it will cost $ 910,000 to install equipment to
make the change and $ 90,000 a year after that to operate it. A number of cities
already use chloramines, including Lincoln, Council Bluffs and both Kansas City,
Kan., and Kansas City, Mo. MUD will have to notify customers before the change
is made because kidney dialysis centers and fish tank owners will have to make
adjustments, Christensen said. The up side to the switch is that MUD's water may
have less of a chlorine taste. Several other rules will have a wider impact in
Nebraska, where all but five systems pump groundwater. Iowa also uses
considerable groundwater. First, there's the groundwater rule. That rule,
expected to become final in November, would require water systems to determine
whether their water contains fecal contamination, to protect well fields from it
and, if necessary, to disinfect it. The rule has drawn considerable opposition
in Nebraska, where 90 percent of water systems don't treat water. In addition,
the EPA has proposed reducing limits on arsenic in drinking water from 50 parts
per billion to 5 parts per billion. Arsenic, a naturally occurring element that
enters water primarily from eroding rocks and soil, is more common in
groundwater than surface water. Levels typically are higher in the western
United States. The National Academy of Sciences recommended in March 1999 that
the EPA lower the level. Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can
lead to skin, bladder, lung and prostate cancer and other ills. The American
Water Works Association, an industry group, has pushed for a limit of 10 parts
per billion, the number recommended by the World Health Organization. About 50
to 60 systems in Nebraska probably would have difficulty meeting the proposed
5-parts-per-billion rule, said Jack Daniel, administrator of the Nebraska Health
and Human Services System's environmental health services section. McCook
probably will be among them. Arsenic levels in the city's system are close to 15
parts per billion, said Vaughn King, the city's utilities director. For now, the
city is waiting to see the final rule. McCook also has struggled with high
nitrates. The city is considering options for treating its wells or building a
new well field, King said. Loans for treatment systems are available from the
EPA through the state, King said, but loans have to be repaid. "For smaller
communities, that can really be a financial problem," he said. In Aurora, which
is on the edge of the proposed arsenic standard, treating would be even more
complicated because the town's five wells are scattered, said Mike Bair, the
town's city administrator. If Aurora built a treatment plant, it probably would
have to replumb the entire community to connect wells, treatment plant and
customers, Bair said. Aurora Mayor Ken Harter said he'd like to see some of the
new rules stopped. "I think it's ridiculous if we have to do anything because
we've got excellent water," he said. Iowa also has concerns about arsenic. And
up to 50 systems in Iowa - many of them in the northwest and southeast - would
have to deal with elevated levels of radium if a proposed rule regulating
radium, uranium and other radionuclides goes through, said Dennis Alt,
environmental program supervisor with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Some towns in Iowa and Nebraska also are likely to have problems meeting new
rules being worked out for radon. The gas, produced by the breakdown of radium
in soil, has been linked to cancer. Radon is largely considered a problem with
indoor air quality, leading some water officials to object to setting a radon
standard for drinking water. The EPA has proposed allowing systems in states
that adopt plans for reducing air and water together meet a less strict water
standard. Alt said consumers are willing to pay higher prices for water if they
feel standards will improve quality and safety. But he said he's not sure a lot
of the new requirements translate to either. "That's a frustration a lot of us
in the business have."
GRAPHIC: Color Photos/2 WATER
WORLD: Ron Mikulicz, a water plant engineer with Metropolitan Utilities
District, collects a water sample from a basin at MUD's Florence Water Treatment
Plant near the Missouri River in north Omaha. One phase of MUD's water-treatment
process will change next year under new federal standards. UNDER THE MICROSCOPE:
Chris Fox, assistant chemist at MUD's Florence Water Treatment Plant, checks
water samples for bacteria, one of dozens of contaminants watched for every
day.; Phil Johnson/World-Herald/2sf
LOAD-DATE: June 27,
2000 
