Saturday, December 11, 2004

City joins drinking water arsenic study

Lisa J. Tabet El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

LTABET The Environmental Protection Agency has lowered the level of arsenic allowed in drinking water.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA to revise the existing 50 parts per billion standard for arsenic in drinking water. Instead, the EPA is implementing a 10 ppb standard for arsenic levels. The new standard goes into effect Jan. 1.

City Utility Director Jay Santillanes said this new level would affect the majority of communities in the state, including Socorro.

"It affects almost everyone that has a well," he said.

In July 2004, Sen. Pete Domenici established legislation called the Community Drinking Water Assistance Act (S.1432), which created a six-year, $1.9 billion grant program to assist disadvantaged communities, tribes and water associations in meeting the new arsenic drinking water standards set by the EPA.

Domenici said the grant would be issued to Sandia National Laboratories for pilot programs to deal with the arsenic standard change, according to a press release.

"With each passing day it is increasingly evident that small communities will not be able to count on any immediate federal assistance in converting their water systems to meet the new arsenic standards. This bipartisan bill represents one means of giving more time to these communities, most of which have lived with naturally-occurring arsenic and the like for ages," Domenici said in the press release.

As part of the grant program, Sandia National Laboratories asked the City of Socorro to be involved.

Santillanes said the pilot system was designed by Sandia National Laboratories to compare the effectiveness of four different materials used in removing arsenic from Socorro Spring well water.

The system is being installed in Socorro during the first two weeks of December.

Santillanes said it is important that citizens know the treated water will not be released back into the water system.

"It won't impact our water at all," he said. "We won't be reintroducing any of the treated water back into the system."

Santillanes said the program would run a small amount of water through filter systems to determine the arsenic levels therein.

The pilot system is a project of the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership program made up of: The Awwa Research Foundation, Sandia National Laboratories and WERC: A consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development. The U.S Department of Energy is funding the program.

A public meeting for citizens who want to know more about the partnership and its effect on Socorro will be held Wednesday, Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Express.

ltabet@dchieftain.com

E-mail this story Printer-friendly version