Double Springs Water Department Manager Ron Padgett points out on the water report which quarters of 2019, in which the TTHM levels were high in the Moreland area.
MORELAND - The Town of Double Springs’ water system published a legal notice in the Alabamian Jan. 8, stating their system had violated a drinking water standard by exceeding the maximum contaminant level for trihalomethane, or TTHM in the Moreland area.
“Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have the right to know what happened, what you should do and what we are doing to correct this situation,” wording in the notice read.
The Town of Double Springs routinely monitors the presence of drinking water contaminants, and testing results received in October, 2019, showed that the system exceeded the standard on maximum contaminate level of TTHM, the report further stated. The maximum standard for TTHM is .080 milligrams per liter.
TTHMs are the result of a reaction between chlorine used for disinfecting tap water and natural organic matter in the water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
However, a chart provided to the Alabamian by the Town of Double Springs shows for the period of 2019 that higher than the standard maximum contaminant amount for TTHM was found in the area of 91 County Road 3159 at Jeff Sudduth’s residence in the Moreland area.
The Town of Double Springs Water & Sewer Board has two sites where water levels are routinely tested - 91 County Road 3159, and 411 County Road 55 in the Double Springs area. The only site which listed a high contaminant level of TTHM was in the Moreland area, the report shows.
On the Report for the Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule, showing testing in four quarters of 2019, TTHM levels had exceeded maximum levels at County Road 3159 for both the second and third quarters.
For instance, keeping in mind the maximum contaminant level is .080, the area tested on County Road 3159 showed maximum levels of TTHM at .100 for the sample date April 17, 2019, and .124 for the July 18, testing date.
These marked the two high months. The first quarter of testing taken on Jan. 28, showed the levels at .0762 and the fourth quarter taken on Oct. 24, showed a level at .0631, for the site on County Road 3159, according to the chart.
All four quarters showed levels below the maximum level for the testing site at 411 County Road 55, the chart also showed.
“In October, (the TTHM) levels were down below what they needed to be, but on the annual average they were elevated,” noted Double Springs Water Department Manager Ron Padgett.
See the complete story in the January 15, 2020, edition of the Northwest Alabamian.
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