The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has notified the Port O'Connor Improvement District water system that the drinking water being supplied to customers had exceeded the maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established the maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes at 0.080 milligrams per liter based on locational running annual average, and has determined that it is a health concern at levels above the containment level, according to a notice the Port O'Connor Improvement District sent to residents this week.

Analysis of drinking water in Port O'Connor community for total trihalomethanes indicates a compliance value in the third quarter this year at 0.114 mg/l for DBP2-01 and 0.122 mg/l for DBP2-02.

Trihalomethanes are a group of volatile organic compounds that are formed when chlorine, added to the water during the treatment process for disinfection, reacts with naturally-occurring organic matter in the water.

Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCl over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidney, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

You do not need to use an alternative water supply. However, if you have any health concerns, you may want to talk to your doctor to get more information about how this may affect you.

We are taking the following actions to address this issue:

Because Port O'Connor Improvement District purchases water from the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority in Port Lavaca, the district has no control over the treatment of water it receives from GBRA. The district has notified GBRA of its test results to make them aware of the problem. GBRA is working with its engineers and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to determine what steps need to be taken to address the situation and will notify us when they have reached a solution.

The City of Port Lavaca also receives water from GBRA and been issued a violation for exceeding the total trihalomethanes.

One contributing factor is the state-wide drought conditions that have left the level of the Guadalupe River lower than normal.

Another contributing factor can be related to one time per year GBRA switches to an alternate source of disinfection to burn access ammonia from the system that is created from the production of chloramines.

It was during this annual burn that TCEQ's contract sampler collected the samples for testing which could have caused abnormal results.

Residents with questions are asked to call Victor Leach, district manager, at 361-983- 2652.

https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/new...-contaminants/


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