Carmichaels councilwoman: Water in compliance
CARMICHAELS — While the Carmichaels Municipal Water Authority has been in compliance with trihalomethane levels as of last month, some residents worry the problems will reoccur.
Ann Thomas, vice president of borough council, tried to assure residents attending Tuesday’s council meeting that their water is now in compliance concerning the levels of trihalomethane (TTHM).
TTHM is a byproduct of the reaction between chlorine, which the authority uses to disinfect water, and organic material in the raw water it takes from the Monongahela River.
Thomas said she personally paid to have her water tested and the water of a friend, and both samples came back normal.
Thomas also noted that other water authorities in the area are having problems with TTHM levels.
Thomas said the Mt. Morris water system, which buys water from Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority in Jefferson Township, recently has been out of compliance with TTHM levels.
Both Thomas and council President John Paletta said that the Carmichaels authority is working on solutions.
Residents began complaining after the state Department of Environmental Protection issued authority customers a boil-water advisory because algae was detected in the treatment plant last spring.
Around the same time, the authority notified its customers that its water contained levels of TTHM that exceeded state standards in 2010.
Resident Joanne Shea said Tuesday the water problems go beyond TTHM levels, and back to 2001.
After doing some research on the federal Environmental Protection Agency website, Shea found that the water authority had 44 violations, some of which were minor, but others involved possible health risks. Meanwhile, in comparison, Shea said that Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority had four violations.
At the authority meeting on Monday, manager Richard Lloyd said that during his 33 years on the board he never had heard of those violations.
Another resident, Terri Donaldson, also requested that a member of the Carmichaels authority be removed from the board. Donaldson said that under the Municipal Authorities Act, any member who misses three consecutive meetings should be removed from the board. Donaldson said she was told at the authority meeting Monday that the decision had to be made by borough council.
In addition, Donaldson requested to apply for the vacant seat if the board member is removed.
“I just think that this community deserves to have someone serve on the board who will attend the meetings,” said Donaldson.
Paletta said he and other members will consider having a council member take turns attending the water authority meetings and report back, as requested by Donaldson.