CFPUA Sends Letter to NCDEQ Asking FOr Guidance on Water Treatment Goals
Yesterday afternoon, CFPUA Executive Director Jim Flechtner sent a letter to Secretary Michael Regan of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), copied to Secretary Mandy Cohen of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), and Governor Roy Cooper, asking for guidance from the State as we move forward with our pilot study at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant.
The letter reads in part:
“The pilot study has now entered its final stage, and we are evaluating multiple types of Granular Activated Carbon and Ion Exchange media. We expect to have the final results of the study this spring, and these results will be one component of our decision on whether to move forward with potential upgrades to the Plant.
However, as we consider such upgrades, information vital to the evaluation process is missing. In the absence of significant health data or provisional health advisories from the State, it is difficult to determine which treatment goals will best protect public health. The treatment goals will ultimately dictate the size of new facilities needed and the rate at which media will need to be replaced—considerations that directly impact the initial and ongoing upgrade costs to our customers.
… To be the most effective and responsible stewards of our customers’ funds, and to ensure we design upgrades to the Plant that are fully protective of public health, we ask the State to provide timely guidance on safe and protective levels of identified per-fluorinated compounds in public drinking water. Additionally, we ask the recommended levels be accompanied by the health data and scientific evidence supporting their establishment.”
Read the letter in full.
New GenX Results From the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant
We have received new results for February 28 from our on-going GenX testing at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant. Levels of GenX continue to remain below the DHHS health goal of 140 parts per trillion (ppt).
