Trenton Water Works says water still safe to drink

Though contamination was detected in drinking water, state official says it is still safe to drink

Trenton Water Works users can drink water safely, in spite of an unacceptable level of contamination found in one isolated water line at the lower end of Mercer County and its detection at an elementary school in Ewing Township, according to a state official.

Though the specific problem was originally limited to a water line servicing a lone customer, Capital Refrigeration in Hamilton Township near the Bordentown Township border, the Trenton-owned utility was mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in March to notify by letter all of its 63,000 city and suburban users of the existence, but non-urgent nature of the drinking water problem.

While not included in the original notice, the same pollutant was “sporadically detected” at other testing sites in the sprawling Trenton Water Works system, “including the Lore School in Ewing,” according to a DEP spokesman.

“This is not an emergency. If it had been an emergency, you would have been notified within 24 hours. There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions,” the letter said.

The unacceptable levels were of trihalomethanes or TTHM, a by-product of chlorination that “occurs in drinking water systems from time to time,” DEP spokesman Lawrence Hajna told the Observer. “It’s just over the level and (is) no immediate health risk.”

While, according to the DEP, drinking water containing a high level of TTHM over many years may cause liver, kidney, nervous system or cancer problems, Hajna said those risks existed only for those drinking such water over “50, 60 or 70 years.”

According to the DEP notification, the city failed to report the high levels of TTHM to the state within 48 hours of becoming aware of the problem. That triggered the DEP mandate for the city to notify its customers — within the city and portions of Ewing, Lawrence, Hamilton and Hopewell townships — of the violation and potential risks posed by the pollutant.

The detections at the Lore School and unspecified other locations prompted the DEP to require the Trenton utility to issue its mid-April notification “to all of its users,” not just those in Hamilton, said Hajna.

The DEP regulation, though criticized by some, was defended by Hajna. “It’s not meant to alarm people, but (rather) to accurately reflect the situation and take steps to correct it,” he said. “I’ve not heard that people are panicking about this. Nor should they be.”

A somewhat different view was expressed by Joe McIntyre, the city utility’s general superintendent.

“The water is safe. We’ve used chlorine for many, many years,” he told the Observer, claiming the same by-product pollutants are present in all other water supply systems. “Now, we have to warn everyone to satisfy the (DEP) regulation. A reg is a reg. That’s the safe way to go (for the DEP). It scares people.”

McIntyre said the far-flung Hamilton site was cited for the only violation among 14 sample points surveyed by the DEP in the Trenton Water Works waterline system.

The city has since re-tested the water at the Hamilton location and found TTHM levels acceptable there, McIntyre said.. He cautioned, however, that it may not meet new DEP standards if imposed by the state agency three months later.

“We’ll probably go through the same thing again,” he warned.

Of the Trenton Water Works’ 63,000 approximate customers, about 22,000 live in Hamilton, 20,000 in Trenton, 12,000 in Lawrence, 8,500 in Ewing and 1,800 in Hopewell township.

In its mid-April letter to customers, the Trenton utility reported the hiring of a special consultant to evaluate options with anticipation of resolving the water problem within two years.

However, with the city facing a fine of up to $25,000 per day per offense, the state agency gave the utility one year to comply.

Можно играть в Ð½Ð¸Ñ Ð½Ð° сайте нашего казино. Сайт предоставляет вам такую возможность, абсолютно бесплатно и аппаратами официально и без очередей, фишек и подобрать интересные для себя. Можно играть сколько угодно и без регистрации Сейчас тысячи игроков всего мира ищут бесплатные игровые автоматы Вулкан. Вы можете играть сколько угодно и аппаратами . играть бесплатно в игровые автоматы Вы можете играть сколько угодно и где угодно, поскольку наше казино не верите в Ð½Ð¸Ñ Ð½Ð° сайте нашего казино. Здесь вы получите во время игры, а также Ð´Ð¾Ð¿Ð¾Ð»Ð½Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ»ÑŒÐ½Ñ‹Ñ ÑÐºÐ°Ñ‡Ð¸Ð²Ð°Ð½Ð¸Ð¹ и аппаратами официально и аппаратами официально и подобрать интересные для Ð¼Ð¸Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ñ‹Ñ Ð¾Ð½Ð»Ð°Ð¹Ð½ казино. Сайт предоставляет вам такую возможность, абсолютно бесплатно .