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News Release No. 481
CITY OF BROOKFIELD REQUESTS WATER SUPPLY VARIANCE
Volume 33-481 |
Contact: Susan Bloomer |
(For immediate release) |
573-526-1825 |
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV. 22, 2005 -- The City of Brookfield has requested additional time from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to meet the drinking water requirement for disinfection byproducts. The additional time would be in the form of a variance, which would give the city until Dec. 31, 2007 to design and construct improvements to pumping and water treatment facilities. The improvements would enable the city to provide drinking water with less trihalomethane (THM) and haloacetic acid (HAA).
THMs and HAAs are formed in the treatment process when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter, such as algae or decomposing leaves, present in the source of water.
The City of Brookfield has exceeded the standards for these disinfection byproducts. The most recent annual average levels of THMs and HAAs were 132 parts per billion (ppb) and 72 ppb in the system's drinking water. The standards for these contaminants, which became effective in 2004, are 80 ppb for THMs and 60 ppb for HAAs.
Disinfection byproducts in public water systems have been determined to be a health concern in humans. Some people who drink water containing THMs and HAAs in excess of the standards for many years may have an increased risk of liver, kidney or central nervous system health effects. There may also be an increased risk of developing cancer.
The city's drinking water treatment plant has been unable to reduce the disinfection byproducts in the water to acceptable levels in spite of modifications to the treatment process. Additional time is needed to modify pumping facilities, construct new water treatment units, install covers over water basins, construct sludge handling facilities, and make other improvements to the water system. During the term of the variance, the City would be required to implement special control measures to reduce the THM and HAA levels as much as possible, make information available to the public, and minimize the health risk to customers.
Before the department makes a decision on the variance request, the public is being offered an opportunity to request a public hearing on the proposed variance. Any individuals, organizations or other parties who believe that a public hearing is needed to address this issue may request such a hearing by sending the following information to the Department of Natural Resources by Dec. 9, 2005.
- The name, address and telephone number of the individual, organization or other entity requesting a hearing;
- A brief statement of the interest of the person making the request in the proposed variance and of information that the requesting person intends to submit at the hearing; and
- The signature of a responsible official of the organization or other entity or of the individual submitting the request.
Please submit the information to William Price, Department of Natural Resources, Public Drinking Water Branch, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176. For more information, call Price at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-1035.
For department news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming events, meetings and hearings, visit our online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.
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