By David Ball
PORT ARTHUR — The Port Arthur water and wastewater departments want the public to know though public notices have been submitted concerning effects on the systems since Hurricane Ike, everything has been repaired and all is fine.
John Tomplait, superintendent over the water plant, said a public notice on Oct. 23 stating the water supplied to customers had exceeded the Maximum Containment Level, or MCL, for chlorite has since been rectified.
“The water’s fine. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rule and the state mandate says we must notify the public,” Tomplait said of the public notice. “Additional disinfectant to oxidize the bacteria was needed. The LNVA (Lower Neches Valley Authority) water had a high level of iron and manganese and we needed to oxidize the iron and manganese. We always have a residual to monitor and we keep going up on the disinfectant of two parts per one million grams of chlorite.
“Chlorite is a by-product with the potential to attach to organic chemicals that could cause issues for health with a long-term exposure. We had it under control in three or four days. We had to wait for the LNVA water to change.”
The public notice read some infants and young children who drink water containing chlorite in excess of the MCL could experience nervous system effects. Similar effects may occur in fetuses of pregnant women who drink water containing chlorite in excess of the MCL. Some people may experience anemia.
Tomplait said there was a boil water notice in Sabine Pass following Ike due to system back-up. That order has since been lifted and the water is safe to drink.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, TCEQ, explained in a statement that the city’s water plant uses the disinfectant chlorine dioxide as part of its treatment process. Chlorine dioxide can produce a disinfection byproduct called chlorite.
“Early in October, and as a result of Ike, the water in the canals was very high in iron and manganese. In order to fully disinfect the water, Port Arthur had to increase their chlorine dioxide level. Unfortunately the side effect was that their chlorite level exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level, MCL, of 1 mg/L (measured in a three-sample set collected throughout the distribution system). This level remained high for about three days, after which they were able to get it down to normal levels below the MCL,” the statement continued.
Tomplait said the city will conduct a direct mail-out on Wednesday, Nov. 5 detailing the water is safe to drink and meets all rules and mandates.
Donna King is the wastewater plant superintendent for Port Arthur. She said a 585,900 gallon sludge leak occurred on Oct. 17 from 4 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. at the plant, affecting the back of the plant at the aeration filters and final clarifiers.
A press release read the sluice gate for the aeration basin outlet to the final clarifier fell from the open position due to brass block which holds the gate shaft being worn. With only two clarifiers in service at the time, the aeration basin flow had no where else to go but over the top of the basin.
The spill was contained and the cause of the spill has been corrected. The area was cleaned-up with chlorine tablets utilized in the spill area. Also, TCEQ was notified of the spill.
