Carcinogens found in Columbia water
Possible treatments are not scheduled to begin until 2009.
Published Sept. 15, 2008
Columbia residents might hesitate before drinking local water after a study found high levels of a carcinogen in the city's water supply.
Enos Inniss, a professor at the MU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, conducted the study, which was funded by Columbia Water and Light.
"The goal of our project is to provide the city with water quality and water chemistry data that should help them make more informed decisions about the most effective way to address this trihalomethane concern," Inniss said in an e-mail message.
Trihalomethane, the carcinogen in question, is often formed during the chlorination of water. Inniss and his research team began the study this summer after Columbia's water supply was cited for a violation in April. The violation, presented by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, was issued because the supply was exceeding concentration levels of trihalomethanes in 2007. The maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes allowed in 2007 was 80 micrograms per liter. The average level reported to have been in local Columbia water at the time was 82.3 micrograms per liter.
"What troubles me the most is that I think this issue could have been avoided if action had been taken when the problem became evident," said John O'Connor, former MU professor of Civil Engineering and current CEO of H20'c Engineering, a firm that specializes in municipal water treatment.
"The level of trihalomethanes in the water supply were gradually increasing year by year and the issue was neglected until a violation occurred," O'Connor said.
Trihalomethanes gradually form when chlorine comes into contact with organic compounds. A chlorination process is used to decontaminate well water from various bacteria and organisms that could pose a serious threat. When the organic compounds present in the water wells become involved in this process, trihalomethane agents are produced.
"At this point, it isn't just one well that is problematic," Columbia Water and Light spokeswoman Connie Kacprowicz said. "It isn't as if we can stop pumping water from just one of the wells to stop the problem."
The research team is taking samples from the contaminated wells to determine the bromide levels, as well as the amount of total organic carbon present - these two substances aide in the formation of trihalomethanes after reacting with chlorine. Various locations in the distribution system are being sampled in an effort to discover which areas are most affected by the presence of trihalomethanes.
O'Connor said the use of ammonia when in contact with chlorine could reduce the elevated levels of trihalomethanes. The ammonia present in the water would then counteract the chlorine levels and make it less evident.
According to Kacprowicz, the Water Resources Research Center is considering the suggested treatment option regarding ammonia, but has not yet confirmed such treatment. If the specific method is decided on, the state DNR will have to approve.
If approved, the treatment would not begin until approximately March 2009. Although consuming the contaminated water poses no immediate risks, there are potential long-term health threats that can occur.
Kacprowicz said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri DNR report that a person would have to consume two liters of water per day for a period of 70 years to cause any negative health effects.
O'Connor said carbon water filters, such as Brita filters made for home use, have very little effect on decontaminating trihalomethanes from tap water. Absorbing the water for 15 minutes or longer aides in the filtering of the trihalomethanes, he said, but does not completely rid the water of the compound.
"What we're going to do is move forward with more treatment efforts so we can coordinate what we research and what is done for treatment," Kacprowicz said.