Chloramines

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Chloramines are a secondary water treatment chemical created by combining ammonia with chlorine. The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has decided to use chloramines instead of traditional chlorine in order to meet new EPA requirements by 2014.[1]

History

In March 2011, the consulting firm, Hazen and Sawyer began conducting studies to determine how the RWSA could meet new requirements detailed in Stage 2 of the Disinfectant Byproduct Rule. [2] Staff from the the RWSA, the city of Charlottesville and the Albemarle County Service Authority agreed to recommend the addition of chloramines to the RWSA's next capital budget. [2] In May 2011, the RWSA authorized the chloramines project but the issue did not gain the public's attention until February 2012 when the budget was approved.[2]

EPA Requirements

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority must meet Stage 2 of the Disinfectant Byproduct Rule by 2014.[1] This requires that the levels of haloacitic acids be less than 60 parts per billion and trihalomethane levels be less than 80 ppb.[1] The requirements must be met by 2014 or the RWSA risks up to $25,000 of fines for every day it is not in compliance.[3] Haloacitic acids and trihalomethanes are carcinogenic when ingested in high doses. They are created when chlorine or chloramines interact with organic matter in water.[1]

Hazen and Sawyer

The consulting firm Hazen and Sawyer was hired by the RWSA to research options that would allow the RWSA to meet the EPA’s requirements. [3]

Alternatives

Hazen and Sawyer researched other possibilities for meeting the EPA's new requirements. The processes they evaluated were chloramine residual disinfection, ultra-violet disinfection with chloramine residual disinfection, magnetic ion exchange resin, granular activated carbon contactors, and nanofiltration.[4].

Hazen and Sawyer and the RWSA estimated the addition of chloramines to cost around $5 million. [2] The next option was granular activated carbon filtration which was estimated to cost around $18.3 million [2]

Response from the Public

In response to public concerns about the safety of chloramines use, the RWSA held a "Safe Water Symposium" on the pro's and con's of chloramines on June 21, 2012. [2] The event featured a panel of experts consisting of Dwight Flammia, a toxicologist with the Virginia Department of Health; Jerry Higgins, superintendant manager of the Blacksburg-area water authority, which uses chloramines; Jim Moore, a professional engineer with the VDH; Ben Stanford, director of applied research at the RWSA and consultant with Hazen and Sawyer; and Steve Vaya from the Washington, D.C. office of the American Waterworks Association.[3] Other panelists were Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech civil and environmental engineering professor who studied the correlation between Washington’s use of chloramines and its problems with lead leaching; Robert Bowcock, the environmental investigator for Integrated Resource Management; and Susan Pickford of the Chloramines Information Center.

At the meeting, some members of the public supported the use of granular activated carbon filtration instead of chloramines. They listed concerns about the potential health effects of chloramination and supported granular activated carbon filtration's ability to remove numerous pathogens from water.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Web. Safety of chloramines questioned: Disinfectant to be added into local water supply starting in 2014, Courtney Beale and Brian Wheeler, Charlottesville Tomorrow, 13 March 2012, retrieved 20 June 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Web. More than a hundred residents come to chloramines panel, Brian Wheeler, [Charlottesville Tomorrow, 21 June 2012, retrieved 22 June 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Web. Water authority and activists preparing for chloramines information session, Courtney Beale, Charlottesville Tomorrow, 18 June 2012, retrieved 20 June 2012.
  4. Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. Executive Summary. Charlottesville: Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, 2012. Web. [1]