12/3/2024
WT Staff
 Got water questions? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email us at info@wtny.us
December 3, 2024 943 am EST
Village of Herkimer BWA follows restoration of water service after a weekend water main break
Safe Drinking Water Advisories
Herkimer Village experienced a water main break over the weekend cutting water service to an area from Lou Ambers Drive to Westwood Drive. Water service was restored on Monday, with impacted connections under a boil water order until the daily testing confirms the system clear of any microbiological contamination. Customers under the BWA include those connecting on Lou Ambers Drive, Ronald Street, Talson Park Drive, Jeffrey Street, Park Lane Drive, Dennis Lane, Westwood, Walnut, Oak View Terr, Wood Lane, Springdale, Exchange.
Disinfection: Maintaining the safety of public drinking water
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 73% of the world population had access to clean drinking water in 2022. That's approximately 6 billion people served by safely-managed drinking water facilities globally. Microbiologically contaminated drinking water is a reality for the balance of the global population. Even in North America, the best managed drinking water facilities experience periods of microbiological contamination. Power outages, loss of pressure in the distribution lines, pump failure, rupture of aging water mains, construction accidents and scheduled maintenance work can introduce contamination, prompting the boil water advisories posted here in yellow tags on the maps to the right.
According to the WHO, contaminated water transmits "diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio and is estimated to cause approximately 505 thousand diarrhoeal deaths (globally) each year." The disinfection of drinking water remains key to preventing such illnesses and deaths. Highly trained water operators along with a robust system of monitoring and reporting water quality, inspections and prompt public notice of boil water orders maintains the integrity of public drinking water.
See the our recent drinking water facilities EPA- SDWA compliance report, here.
Even where drinking water facilities are well managed, extreme weather events and flooding can overwhelm public water supplies with contamination. Municipal sanitary sewer works are often located in the lowest elevation areas, these can be the first sites to flood during heavy rains and extreme weather events such as Hurricane Helene. WT documents sewage spills reported to or by state authorities, pinning the locations on the maps in pink. WTGA.us documented sewage spills in just one area of Georgia tallied up to more than 10 million gallons of raw sewage entering a single water body in 2022. Many municipalities are investing to expand the storage capacity of combined sanitary and storm sewers, or separating sewage from the stormwater collection infrastructure. Contamination from the combined overflow incidents is often unreported. Disinfection of drinking water remains a critical issue.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, chlorine was introduced to kill germs in drinking water in 1908. Chloramine, a compound of chlorine and ammonia was first used as a disinfectant for public drinking water in 1929. By 1979, the EPA recognized the need to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to monitor for a new set of contaminants, the by-products of disinfection.
Centers for Disease Control explains, "Disinfection byproducts are chemicals made when chlorine or chloramine come into contact with dirt or other materials in water. At high enough levels, disinfection byproducts can cause health problems over time." When the disinfection by-products trihalomethane and or haloacetic acids are found in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL), the drinking water facility must notify the water customers and report the exceedance to the authorities. A sensitive persons advisory is issued in these cases. According to the Ohio EPA warning for excess trihalomethane, "You do not need to use an alternative (e.g. bottled) water supply. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor." Under the health impacts, the Ohio EPA guidance to the public states "some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer."
The Nov 21 2024 issue of the journal, Science contains a research paper by Fairey, et al identifying what has up to now been an unidentified contaminant. See our coverage of the "chloronitramide anion", here.
Streamflow Situation from the network of USGS monitoring sites in NYS
Chilly weather continues, morning lows in the upper-teens to 20s across the area. High temperatures will remain below average in the upper-30s to low-40s under mostly sunny skies. Measured streamflows in the USGS network are rated normal upstate north and west, much below normal through the central drainage basin Upper and Lower Hudson River and Mohawk River watersheds. Below normal to moderate drought rating is applied to the Hudson River watersheds, the driest area runs through Putnam and north Westchester Counties Tuesday.
Safe Drinking Water Advisories
Orange County: Newburgh City issued a BWA for customers connecting north of North Plank Road (Route 32) and East of Fostertown Road due to a major water main break yesterday.
According to the EPA Enforcement and Compliance History online, Newburgh City Water supplies 29,000 people from a surface water source in the Lower Hudson River watershed. Newburgh City indicates source water supply Washington Lake was replaced in 2016 by the New York Catskill aqueduct as a measure to address PFAS "forever chemical" contamination in Washington Lake. US EPA added six per and poly fluoro-alkine chemcials to the Safe Drinking Water Act regulation earlier this year. Drinking water facilities are required to meet new maximum contaminant levels set for these dangerous chemicals in drinking water. Facilities are adjusting to address the updated regulations by using alternate sources or implementing treatment technologies by 2029.
See our HAB season wrap up report for 2024, including an alphabetical list of the impacted water bodies, the date of first appearance of bluegreen confirmed and the total HAB reports confirmed for each water body this year, here.
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