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Water Problems In High Springs Again December 6, 2018 Drinking water is not something we want to have to worry about. We have always assumed we have a right to clean water, and when something goes wrong there, we feel our rights have been violated. Clean drinking water is a serious thing. Read the original article here from WFUF. Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum. -A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back- Untold Florida: Officials Are Actively Working To Improve Water Quality In High Springs By Savannah Hill December 5, 2018 Untold Florida: Your Neighborhood, Your Story Dawn Mayberry has lived in High Springs for six years and never drinks the water or allows her family to bath in it. “The water smells like bleach as soon as you turn it on,” Mayberry said. “My family’s skin is itchy and dry after taking a shower.” Mayberry said her 3-year-old daughter had severe diarrhea after drinking bath water while playing in the tub. Mayberry now bathes her daughter at her mother’s home in Newberry. Rodney Hoffman, High Springs Water Operator and Utility Superintendent, said the city responds to all water concerns and takes them very seriously. In February, High Springs replaced a major pipeline that was causing problems, primarily from frequent bursts due to age. Hoffman said since replacing the pipeline, issues with water have improved substantially. “In the past, High Springs has had issues with water contaminants,” Hoffman said. “We’ve implemented new measures to reduce contaminants and it has really been helping.” Hoffman explained that High Springs is now adding small amounts of hydrogen peroxide to purify the water. Despite these changes, High Springs still receives its fair share of boil water notices. Sharon Tugman, owner of Secret Garden Bakery, said boil water notices hurt local businesses. Boiling water every time she needs it for baking or running the restaurant is time consuming, she said. Hoffman explained that boil water notices don’t necessarily mean the water is contaminated. “Most commonly, a boil water advisory is used after a pipe bursts to ensure that no contaminants made their way in the line as a result of the burst pipe,” he said. However, the problem is not limited to the boil water notices. Heather Melendez said her well water is crystal clear and odor free, but her neighbors on city water often complain about the color and smell. Hoffman said a variety of factors can go into creating discolored, odorous water. Sometimes, Hoffman said, residents move into a home that hasn’t been occupied in over a year and the water has been stagnant. “Just like anything, if water sits, it starts to get a weird smell,” Hoffman said. Color and odor are considered secondary contaminants that don’t impact water safety, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). But, Russell Simpson, the FDEP Northeast District Ombudsman, said High Springs has certainly encountered water safety concerns in the past, specifically with disinfection byproducts (DBP), contaminants used to disinfect water. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that byproducts of water disinfection have been linked to an increase in cancer incidents. It is for this reason that the EPA sets limits for disinfection byproducts. The state sets maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for disinfection byproducts. High Springs was in violation of all state levels set for disinfection byproducts in 2016, but improved to just one violation in 2017. City water exceeded the state’s maximum contamination level for Trihalomethane (TTHM) by 28.01 parts per billion (ppb) in 2016 and by 15.13 ppb in 2017. It also exceeded the state’s maximum level for Haloacetic Acid (HAA5) by 23.94 ppb in 2016, but brought the average within legal levels in 2017. The 2018 report has not been released yet. Simpson stressed High Spring’s efforts to clean up the water are working. “The changes they have implemented are decreasing the levels, and the system is now meeting the standards,” he said. High Springs is also collecting more water samples and working with the FDEP to ensure the public remains notified of all results, Simpson added. These samples test for any possible contaminants in the water, and with more testing, High Springs is able to better respond to potential concerns. While residents like Mayberry still don’t trust High Spring’s water to be safe, officials continue to assure residents that their drinking water quality is steadily improving. “If you don’t feel safe drinking your water after a boil water notice, wait a few days,” Hoffman said. “If you still don’t feel safe after that, then call us and we’ll come out and take a look.” Another Spill In Valdosta December 6, 2018 Valdosta has been blamed many times in recent years for wastewater spills which head downstream to Florida. Just recently a new water treatment system was put into place, which has worked well except for a couple of human error slip ups. It was also seen that some of the bacterial contamination going into the river was likely from horse farms upstream from Valdosta, and not from the water treatment plant. The latest spill, described below, was simply a case of inability to handle the volume of input, indicating the plant was not designed to handle what was needed. There are just too many problems with the Valdosta water treatment plant. For all their efforts, the result is that we continue to have spills into the river. Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum. -A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back- Spill In Valdosta Due to Heavy Rains Published on behalf of the City of Valdosta Over the weekend, the City of Valdosta and surrounding areas received more than 11 inches of rain during a storm event. During the storm, city infrastructure operated as designed. The Withlacoochee Plant is designed to have a normal capacity of 13.5 million gallon (MG) per day with a peak average flow of 22.5 MG per day. In addition to that capacity the city has also installed a surge tank to accept additional flows. As a result of unprecedented rainfall into the plant, the structures were overwhelmed. The current system has four processing units, although during normal operations the system only requires one. During this storm event, the Withlacoochee Plant was running all four units plus the excess flow equalization basin. On December 2, at approximately 6 p.m., the City of Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant identified a sewage spill. The spill was caused by the large amounts of rainfall received within a 24-hour period, which resulted in stormwater infiltration and inflow entering the sanitary sewer system and exceeding the capacity of the system. During the storm the water spilled onto the city plant property, which is located over one and a half miles away from the banks of the Withlacoochee River, as well as into a nearby waterway. While the WWTP has a normal average daily flow of 3.5 million gallons (MG), this past weekend, the influent flow peaked at more than 32 MG—ten times the normal rate. Unfortunately, we will not be able to get an accurate number of gallons spilled until the water recedes from the plant. Sewer spills are not acceptable at any time. It has been the city’s top priority to prevent them all through the construction of the new WWTP and the Force Main, as well as the Lift Station Rehab Program, Smoke Testing Program, Annual Manhole Rehab Program, and the ongoing River Sampling Program that tests waters before, during and after major rain events. The city continues its ongoing efforts to improve the infrastructure of the sewer system to eliminate these issues in the future. Improving our sewer system has and will continue to be a main priority. For more information, contact the Utilities Department Environmental Manager Scott Fowler at 229-259-3592 or [email protected]. No Changes in Bradford Board December 6, 2018 Commissioners Thompson and Riddick are sworn in by Judge Tatum Davis. The mid-term elections did not change the make-up of the Bradford County Board of Commissioners, as commissioners Riddick and Thompson were re-elected for four more years. Frank Durrance became the chair, and Chris Dougherty the vice chair. Although the phosphate mine was not on the agenda, Carol Mosley and your historian spoke against it. Kate Ellison was present but arrived a bit late to speak. The water abatement plan for increasing the flow of the Sampson River and Alligator Creek was on the agenda in a routine fashion, with the emergency resolutions being approved for its continuation. The December meeting of the Suwannee River Water Management District will take place in Starke on Dec. 11, with a workshop to follow afterward with a tour of the project. The meeting will be held in the Governor Charley Johns Conference Center at 1610 N. Temple Ave. at 9 am. Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum. -A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back- Education is Prime December 6, 2018 Rhonda Long works the booth in Gainesville on Sat. Our hard-working OSFR volunteers are out in the trenches, rain or shine, at the down-town Gainesville Art show, Saturday (wet) and Sunday. Thanks to Kristin Rubin, Rhonda Long, Kathy Fleming, Cathy Messersmith and Natalie Wright. Alas, the storm destroyed the OSFR tent, but all was saved when Danielle from LifeSouth.org generously loaned us a tent and we were back in business.

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