ARCHBOLD WEATHER

Spend $2 Million On Water Plant?

Consider 2% Water Rate Hike


The Village of Archbold may need to spend $2 million to upgrade the village water treatment plant to meet new standards of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dennis Howell, Archbold village administrator and water treatment expert, doesn’t believe the new standards are a benefit to public health.

Council also discussed but took no action on a proposed 2% increase in water rates. Howell said part of the reason for the rate hike is to set aside money to upgrade the water plant.

At issue are trihalomethanes, a group of chemical compounds that are a byproduct from disinfecting water with chlorine. The EPA requires water plant operators to monitor trihalomethanes as TTH, or total trihalomethanes.

The EPA first lowered the allowable level of TTH from 100 parts per billon to 80 parts per billion.

Howell said the water plant could cope with that by spending more on chemicals and doing additional water treatment.

But then, he said, the EPA changed the rules again, requiring water plant officials to obtain their samples for TTH testing from the absolute worst possible places for TTH– places like dead-end waterlines.

That made compliance even more difficult. No Benefit

An Ohio EPA fact sheet states that while trihalomethanes could cause cancer, reproductive problems and developmental disorders, “there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding any one individual’s risk when exposed to levels of disinfection by-products above the maximum contaminant level.”

Howell said, “No one has proven that reducing TTH by 20 parts per billion has saved any lives. The EPA, in its infi nite wisdom, has decided this is the thing to do.

“It has cost billions and billions of dollars, and is little, if any, benefit to the public.

“This is regulation by whining, not by science. The whining is coming from some environmental groups,” Howell said.

But even so, Howell said village officials have taken a proactive stand on keeping the water and wastewater plants in compliance with rules and regulations.

The usual approach in treating TTH is to treat water by bringing it in contact with a material called activated carbon.

But Archbold has found a way that Howell said is less expensive.

Rather than using activated carbon, the Archbold water plant conducted tests on a process called ion exchange.

Water being treated is passed through a special resin. The resin traps molecules that are the precursors of trihalomethanes. The resin is flushed using a saltwater mixture, and reused.

Howell said the resin has a useful life of about 15 years. Activated carbon must be replaced regularly and “reactivated.” Up Front, Long-Term

Ion exchange and activated carbon treatment methods have the same upfront costs.

Howell said the upfront costs are about $2 million for special tanks called “contactors” that would bring water into contact with the resin or carbon, all the associated pumps and plumbing, and a building to house the process.

The savings come from being able to reuse the resin, as opposed to replacing the carbon.

The water treatment plant conducted a pilot study, in which a small ion-exchange system was set up.

Howell said OEPA offi- cials have not approved the ion system. But part of the problem may be OPEA offi- cials don’t fully understand the Archbold test results.

A meeting is scheduled between Archbold and OEPA officials, including Howell, to discuss the results of Archbold’s pilot study.

“I’m optimistic we’ll have a good session,” Howell said, saying the official at OPEA “is a pretty reasonable guy.” Rate Hike

Kenny Cowell, councilman and chairman of council’s utility committee, said the committee met Monday, March 21, and discussed increasing water rates by 2%.

Cowell told council the committee wanted to bring the rate hike before it.

“We thought it’s something we should probably do,” he said.

Howell said Archbold water rates are the lowest in the area.

“Lowest by a long shot,” Cowell said.–David Pugh



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *