A group of citizens concerned with the water quality and management of the Orono-Veazie Water District brought forth a public petition to the Orono Town Council at their Oct. 20 meeting. The Council is going to discuss this matter further at a special community development meeting on Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
“Our community is deeply concerned about how our water is managed … High levels of carcinogenic compounds have existed in our water for at least a decade, and we need a comprehensive public plan,” said Tim Warring, an Orono resident who spoke to the Council on behalf of the 270 community members who signed the petition.
The carcinogen, trihalomethane (THM), is a disinfection byproduct that results from organic matter in water mixing with the chlorine treatment that makes the water safe to drink. Exposure to high levels of this carcinogen can have detrimental health effects, however levels of this nature would never be found in drinking water. However, long-term exposure to any levels of carcinogens can increase the risk of cancer, especially among children, pregnant women and the elderly.
In 2005 the Environmental Protection Agency began regulating the levels of THM in public water supplies the size of the Orono-Veazie Water District. The regulation is based on a running annual average of a maximum containment level of 80 micrograms per liter. Currently, the Orono-Veazie water supply has THM levels of 70 micrograms per liter.
The Orono-Veazie Water District was found to be out of compliance with EPA THM standards in Nov. 2011. The district was given a remedial time period to get the levels back in compliance, which it did by May 2013.
“[The running average system] has made it possible for the district to remain technically compliant in recent years. Nevertheless, the fact is that 40-percent of time test results since 2011 have exceed concentrations that the EPA considers safe for the public health via long term exposure,” Warring said.
According to Dr. Jean McRae, an associate professor of environmental engineering at The University of Maine, the infrastructure of the Orono-Veazie Water District contributes to the fluctuating levels of THMs found in the water supply.
McRae said that the problem is two-fold. First, the size of the water supply infrastructure is relatively large for the number of people it serves, leaving water sitting in the pipes for an extended period of time. And secondly, the structure of the water supply system doesn’t allow for a continuous flow to keep the water moving.
“Generally a water distribution system has a lot of loops in it so that the water can get to your house by a number of different roots and because most of our population runs along Route 2 there will be a lot of places where its not looped up so there’s water coming up from only one direction and basically that means water sometimes sits for a long time in the system, not moving along, and increases the likelihood of THM formation,” McRae said.
However, McRae acknowledges that this will be a difficult problem to fix because anytime there is organic matter in water and the water is chlorinated some THMs will be formed. The water supply infrastructure also has to be large enough to provide water in case of a fire emergency and to sustain The University of Maine population during the academic year.
“If all we were doing was putting in an infrastructure to provide water for domestic use, homes and businesses and things like that, then you don’t need that larger pipe,” said Dennis Cross, superintendent of the Orono-Veazie Water District.
Cross said that he and his board operate the water district based on “facts and federal regulations,” and because the district is currently in compliance he wants residents to be aware that if they desire to place a higher standard on water quality than federally required it will come with a price tag.
“The question is does everybody in the community and at the University want to pay more for water and more for taxes, and that’s a question that needs to be answered by the multitude not just a group of people,” Cross said.
While overhauling the way in which the district monitors THM levels and finding a way to limit exposure to this carcinogen would be costly, Warring points out the Orono and Veazie has the second cheapest water supply in Maine.
“We do not want cheap, low-quality water; we want healthy, high-quality water,” Warring said.
McRae stated that there are many treatment options, which vary in cost and how long they would take to implement.
“Basically, what we need is a long term plan to make sure the water doesn’t stay in the pipes for too long and overtime fix up the system so that the distribution system is better connected and maybe look into a couple options to clean up how the water gets stored,” McRae said.
The Orono-Veazie Water District is a non-profit organization made up of superintendent Dennis Cross and five residents from Orono and Veazie who serve as a board of trustees. The Maine Public Utilities Commission governs the district.