Toxic bacteria Cut Off Water in Toledo

On Saturday, August 2, 2014 routine water testing at the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant in Toledo, Ohio had two samples test positive for microcystin at concentrations higher than the standard of 1 microgram per liter for potable water. A “Do Not Drink” order was issued for the city and the residents were without drinkable tap water. On day three the drinking water from Toledo’s Collins Park Water Treatment Plant was declared safe to drink, and life returned to normal in Toledo, Ohio, but is the new normal safe drinking water most of the time.

Microcystine or cyanobacteria is a toxin produced by microcystis, a type of blue-green algae that spreads in the summer algae bloom. These algae blooms are called dead zones and according to a 2013 Canadian and U.S. International Joint Commission report algae blooms had almost disappeared by the end of the 20th century, but there has been a recurrence with some of the worst algae blooms seen in the lake occurring in the last six to eight years. In 2011, the largest mass on record formed in the lake's western basin, eventually reaching more than 100 miles from Toledo to Cleveland, Ohio. That 2013 report stated that urgent steps are needed to curb runaway algae before the toxicity associated with these newer algae blooms impacts water supplies and affects human health, animal health. Last year this was thought to be an extreme scenario.

Dead zones form in summers when higher temperatures reduce the oxygen holding capacity of the water, the air is still and especially in years of heavy rains that carry excess nutrient pollution from cities and farms. The excess nutrient pollution combined with mild weather encourages the explosive growth of algae fed by excessive nutrient pollution. While the algae produces oxygen during photosynthesis, when there is excessive growth of algae the light is chocked out and the algae die and fall from the warmer top layers to the colder depths. The algae are decomposed by bacteria, which consumes the already depleted oxygen in the lower cooler level, leaving dead fish in their wake. Only certain species of blue-green algae form the toxin, for reasons that aren't fully understood. Toxic bacteria were not a problem until the 21st century, though algae blooms have been a problem on Lake Erie for over half a century.

The dead zones in the 1970’s were caused by the release of phosphorus in (what we would consider) partially treated sewage being released into the lake by waste water treatment plants along its shores. Stronger regulations on waste water treatment plants under the Clean Water Act seemed to alleviate that problem to a large extent. However, in the 1980’s the ecology of the Great Lakes began to change, invasive zebra and quagga mussels have disrupted the aquatic food chain and replaced native species. These invaders consume the beneficial types of algae, while rejecting harmful blue-green algae.

The algae blooms are now fed by a wider source of phosphorus. According to the 2013 report different sources of phosphorus runoff have emerged: farms, where manure and other fertilizers are washed into tributary rivers during storms and snowmelt, suburban lawns, septic systems, city streets and parking lots. Though combined municipal sewage systems are still a big contributor to nutrient pollution particularly the Detroit treatment plant, which discharges into the Detroit River a Lake Erie tributary. The nutrient pollution in the Maumee River, which drains agricultural areas of northwestern Ohio and flows into Lake Erie at Toledo, is believed to be agricultural in origin.

In the winter of 2012 The Ohio state Environmental Protection Agency issued two extremely critical reports about the condition of Toledo’s Collins Park Water Treatment plant, which spells out concerns about the system having an "unacceptable risk of system failure." According to a report in the Toledo News Now the Ohio EPA report identified several areas of regulatory non-compliance and significant deficiencies of Toledo's Collins Park water treatment plant. The most serious is what the Ohio EPA calls a "lack of reliability due to age and condition of essential equipment, such as pumps, check valves, impellers and electrical equipment."

Despite constant reminders of the vulnerability of our drinking water supply to contamination of the source water, failure of the treatment and distribution system failures, we have barely thought twice about our water and have taken for granted the capital investment made by previous generations. The water bill that most pay barely covers the cost of delivering the water and some repairs and there seems to be significant resistance to increasing water bills to pay the true cost of water and the systems needed to deliver that water. No infrastructure lasts forever and we have failed to properly maintain and plan for the orderly replacement of the water distribution systems in most places. The water distribution systems in most of our big cities and many of our older suburbs have reached the end of their useful life and water mains are failing at an ever increasing rate. As documented both by this survey and the AWWA, report: “Buried No Longer: Confronting America ’s Water Infrastructure Challenge” the need to replace or rebuild the pipe networks that deliver water comes on top of other water investment needs, such as the need to replace water treatment plants, upgrade treatment technology to respond to emerging contaminants in our raw water supplies, replace storage tanks and on-going monitoring and compliance costs.

Life returning to “normal” is not good enough, the algae bloom is still floating on the lake, but for the moment the Toledo intake is clear. The United States has had one of the finest and safest drinking water supply systems in the world. To keep 42/7 on demand safe water, we need to invest in the system for our future and protect our ecosystem.

Protecting Drinking Water in Karst Terrain

Most of us are familiar with the caves and the more striking karst features that occur in karst terrain though visits to the National Park System and caverns. My own introduction to karst features was Howes’ Caverns in New York where the stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone created from the calcite dissolved from overlying rock was a wondrous site for a child. My husband, a native son of Virginia, went to Luray Caverns as a child. In Virginia karst terrain covers much of the Valley and Ridge Province in the western third of the state. Smaller karst areas occur in the Cumberland Plateau, Piedmont and Coastal Plain Provinces, too. Cave systems are just some of the features that occur in karst terrain. Karst terrain may including sinkholes, fractured bedrock, sinking streams, and sinkhole ponds that are all direct routes of groundwater recharge that provides little if any containment or removal of contaminants of surface waters that recharge karst aquifers. Ground water flows rapidly through karst aquifers, through the enlarged solution channels, discharging from springs and supplying base flow to surface streams and rivers.

Karst terrain occurs in areas where the underlying rocks are carbonate rock such as limestone (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) and gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O). These rocks are soluble in dilute acids and typically have only a thin soil overlay with areas of rock outcroppings. Rain water becomes slightly acidic when passing through decaying organic debris in the surface soils. The decaying organic material is a ready source of carbon dioxide, CO2. The CO2 and H2O chemically react to form a weak acid called carbonic acid. The slightly acidic water percolates down through the soil into fractures in the carbonate bedrock. These types of rocks are the very type of rocks used in the filters to neutralize acidic or corrosive well water because they easily react with the slightly acidic rain water. The carbonic acid in the moving ground water slowly dissolves the bedrock forming passageways and caves. This geological process results in unusual surface and subsurface features ranging from sinkholes, disappearing streams and springs to complex cave systems and caverns that are the characteristic Karst features.

These Karst features are very important to understand because approximately 20% of the land in the United States is classified as karst topography, but these areas produce 40% of the groundwater used for drinking water in the United States. World wide approximately 10% of the earth's surface is classified as karst; with an estimate 25% of the world's population living in karst areas. The hollow nature of karst terrain results in a very high pollution potential. The thin soils over fractured limestone allow precipitation to enter the subsurface with minimal natural filtration. Streams and surface runoff enter sinkholes, fissures and caves, carrying surface contaminants and without the natural filtration provided by soil and sediment cover the contaminants quickly flow to depth. Groundwater can travel quite rapidly through these underground networks. In tests by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, groundwater was documented to travel thousands of feet, even miles, per day transmitting tracer dyes and potentially contaminants to wells and springs throughout the vicinity. In karst terrain groundwater can flow like an underground river.

Karst aquifers are among the most highly vulnerable to contamination, particularly where the overlying soil is thin. This vulnerability results from: sinkholes, widened flow paths, and rapid velocities of ground water and contaminants. Contaminants can be transmitted quickly from entry in a sinkhole to wells and springs in the vicinity. A sinkhole is generally a funnel-shaped or steep-sided depression that is caused by the underlying carbonate rocks dissolving away and the subsidence of the land surface into a subterranean passage, cavity, or cave. Sinkholes proved a direct path for surface contaminants to enter the groundwater. Sinkhole creation, sinkhole flooding, and groundwater contamination are the major hazards associated with karst terrain, and unlike other natural hazards they are chronic in nature. Rapid infiltration of surface water allows bacteria to reach groundwater depth while still alive. Also, rapid infiltration does not consume a lot of the oxygen in the water and nitrate does not denitrify making karst aquifer highly susceptible to bacterial and nitrate contamination (major contaminants in human and animal waste).

Sinkholes are easily formed in karst terrain. Alterations to surface runoff during development can cause sinkholes. Groundwater pumping can quickly lower the water level and result in a subsidence or sinkhole formation. Failing septic systems are a significant source of groundwater contamination in karst terrain. Also, there are many cases of septic tanks simply sinking into the underlying cave system in karst areas. Rather than devastating natural disasters, karst terrain unwisely developed has resulted in long-term economic burdens on individual property owners and communities for sewage and water treatment in sparsely developed areas. The residents of karst areas need to be aware of how day-to-day activities affect the groundwater and fragile ecosystems in their karst regions. In addition, surface water can directly influence groundwater carrying with it all the surface bacteria and contaminants that source groundwater is not typically treated for.

Failures in Our Water Infrastructure-Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Water Main Failures

Its Fourth of July weekend and Montgomery and Prince George counties are under mandatory water restriction, which to a large part have been ignored by large portions of the local population. Apparently, everyone is special and should not have the water restrictions apply to them. However, the bottom line is that in order for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, WSSC, to ensure enough water pressure to fight fires and prevent an overall drop in pressure, the population needs to cut back on their water use by about a third and hope that there are no big fires over the holiday weekend. The WSSC reports that mandatory conservation has so far resulted in less than a 10% reduction in water use. If conservation measures do not work, supply will simply be inadequate. If there is a fire there could be inadequate pressure at the hydrant to put it out. If the pressure in the system drops enough then it could impact supply to some homes. Their taps could simply go dry until the repair is completed and the 8 foot diameter water main refilled and might allow contaminants to seep into the entire system.

This is not the first time a massive main has caused major problems for the WSSC. In late 2008, a concrete main 66 inches in diameter burst in Bethesda, causing a torrent of frigid water that stranded cars and drivers. Other large water-main breaks in the past several years have led to advisories to boil-water for homes, businesses and hospitals as well as the temporary closure of schools and day-care centers. If water supply drops enough from a water main break or a water main’s removal from service, the water pressure in the system drops and two things happen, bacteria and other contaminants can seep into the water supply and there would be a drop in pressure at the tap, in many cases no water at all.

The water main that is the source of this weekend’s problem was installed in 1969. In 2007 when it was last inspected the, crews left behind fiber-optic equipment to detect the "ping" sounds created when the reinforcing steel wires break. This past week, the acoustic fiber optic system heard several pings of wire breaking- an indication that a section of the pipe was crumbling. The water main would need to be replaced before it failed as happened last winter. This is just the latest indication that our water infrastructure is aging. It has not been properly maintained.

Like many public water supply companies, the WSSC's attention has not been on maintaining the water deliver system and water purification standards; instead they have been mired for decades by politics. The commissioners have one job, to oversee the maintenance of supply of water to the residents and businesses in the area. The WSSC has a dedicated revenue source with a captive market so they can raise funds to maintain the system in an orderly and organized fashion, but they don’t. The three from Montgomery commissioner and the three from Prince George fail in their primary job. Instead they became deadlocked along county lines over a new general manager, and a Prince George's commissioner accused two Montgomery commissioners of racial bias. The board continued to debate racial issues after last winter’s water main break for two months before addressing the crisis of the water supply. They worry about fairness for rate increases when water rater need to support the maintenance and operation of the water system.

The replacement of the damaged section of the water main has been delayed because the adjacent valves have failed to completely shut and water continued to pour into the damaged section of pipe early Saturday. Repairs are further complicated by the water currently in the system. The WSSC had to discharge the water in the system somewhere. The water has been disinfected and contains chlorine so it could not be released into the sanitary sewer and the load on the waste treatment plants would exceed capacity. After replacing the pipe section the main will need to be refilled.

Water, The Next Big Thing

While I know that spring arrives with a large list of work to be done to resolve moisture issues, repair damage and repair our gardens, I would like to draw your attention back to larger environmental issues on a rainy afternoon. Interest in the Cap and Trade is waning, especially as California struggles to come to terms with AB 32. Global Warming lost much of its urgency when it became Climate change and will continue to lose urgency as the coalition of believers breaks apart into its underlying camps. Nonetheless, Al Gore was incredibly effective in convincing a generation that carbon footprint was the key to saving the earth. Don’t get me wrong, the climate of earth does change. Energy use matters. The earth’s resources should not be squandered or mismanaged. However, carbon offsets are shell game.

Water is real. Our quality of life and life itself is dependent on our access to water. Mankind cannot survive without water. One of the world’s most critical problems is a lack of quality water. More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and at least 1.5 million deaths, mostly among children underage five, are attributed to unsafe drinking water each year. The World Bank attributes 12 million deaths annually to the combination of foul water and poor sanitary conditions. People are dying today for lack of clean water. The projections for 2030 are for significant and potentially life threatening water shortages in certain parts of the world despite the fact that the earth as a whole has adequate fresh water supplies. Mankind expands and builds and fouls until he has surpassed the carrying capacity of the location. We do not stop when we should. Though I tend to distrust all long term modeling efforts for their simplifications and straight line projections; water planning ten and twenty years out is a standard practice in the US west and other water critical areas of the world. Water supply projection a decade or two out is a much simpler model than say climate projections, but still are impacted by non-correlated variables and limited knowledge of groundwater recharge and reserves that would make it difficult to accurately project water demand and availability. Nonetheless, water is a real issue and its importance will grow as continuing mismanagement of water resources is highlighted by growing populations. I point out the National Geographic Special Water Issue and the WWF glossy on Sustainable life for evidence of this.

In California, the combined demand for irrigated agriculture, expanding suburban footprint, habitat protection, and drought have stressed the water supply to the breaking point only pulled back from the brink of disaster by the heavy rains that came late this past winter. For more than a half a century the Central Valley of California has been one of the most productive agriculture regions of the world. However, irrigation uses about 80% of California water and there is no longer enough water to survive the seasonal and climatic variability that threatens a reliable water supply. On less than 1% of the total farmland in the U.S. the Central Valley produces 8% of the agricultural output (as measured by value). This is all made possible by a combination of surface water diversions and groundwater pumping. Approximately one sixth of the irrigated land in the United States is in the Central Valley (Bureau of Reclamation, 1994) and approximately one eighth of all groundwater pumped in the United States is pumped in the Central Valley (USGS, 2000). Though California has adequate water for human consumption, it is likely that this irrigated agricultural model is not sustainable since California is clearly mining their groundwater and has diminished the storage capacity of the central valley due to subsidence. The California papers have been filled with water issues, opinions, and arguments.

Suddenly, Bolinas, California is looking more prudent and less fringe with their limit on the absolute number of water meters for the town. (For the record it has been 580 meters for 30 years.) The town’s water supply comes from Arroyo Honda. The town has two backup reservoirs, but by late last winter, before the late season rains, it appeared as if Bolinas might run out of water before the next rainy season. In a rational attempt to live within their available resources, mandatory rationing went into effect last February, but was lifted after the rains restored the reservoir reserves. The rationing plan required that every household (or water hook up) use 150 gallons a day or less, regardless of how many people it supported. All businesses and the town's school were told to cut usage by 25 percent. To enforce this plan home meters were checked randomly every day. Exceed the limit and you got a written notice. Residents were allowed only two notices. The third time, a household’s water could be shut off. The town is a very closed community and succeeded in having 98% compliance with the rationing plan. The town is viewed in parts of California as a leader in water conservation and an indication of the future of the state. The water movement is forming. Mismanagement of water resources will set the stage for this movement.