QUALITY

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Perchlorate - Staying Ahead of the Curve

The Hicksville Water District has embarked in a cooperative effort with three other local public water suppliers to address the newest water quality concern to the industry— perchlorate. A salt that is found in many different agricultural and manufacturing processes, perchlorate can be present in ignitions, rocket fuel and fertilizer.

In 2000, the US Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) put together a list of contaminants that were not currently required to be tested for by public water suppliers and mandated that a sampling program be conducted to determine the presence, frequency and concentrations of the constituents.

On Long Island, perchlorate was in a wide array of supply wells in very low concentrations (0 – 10 parts per billion). Currently, the EPA is still reviewing independent reports to determine the effects of perchlorate in drinking water and the possible impact to public health. Although the EPA has not set a regulation for perchlorate, it is expected to do so within the next three to four years.
In the interim, the NY State Department of Health has set an action level of 18 parts per billion for perchlorate, which means that a public supply well would have to be taken out of service if perchlorate was detected at a higher level. Of the 15 wells actively being operated by the Hicksville Water District, only six have shown traces of perchlorate, all well below the state’s interim action level.

“Although there is no requirement to act at this point, the Hicksville Water District has taken the initiative to investigate the technology available to treat perchlorate,” said Commissioner Richard Humann.

In conjunction with three other water suppliers, Hicksville is testing the effectiveness of different treatment alternatives for the removal of perchlorate from the drinking water, as part of a pilot testing program and study. When the study is completed, the district will submit a cooperative engineering report and summary of its findings to the Nassau County and NY Departments of Health for endorsement.

“If and when the EPA establishes a water quality standard for perchlorate, we will be well prepared and ready to deal with the issue,” Humann concluded.

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