3/12/2018 What is Potable Water? Water Issues and Cross- - - PDF document

3/12/2018 1

Water Issues and Cross- Connection Problems in the United States and Beyond

Presented By: Sean Cleary IAPMO Backflow Prevention Institute

What is Potable Water?

• Water that is safe to drink
• Water that is pleasing appearance

and odor

• Water that has a pleasant taste
• It is not pure water
• It is not distilled water

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

How Much Potable Water is Available?

• Less than three percent
• f the water on our planet

is considered potable water that is safe to drink.

• Of that three percent,

almost half is frozen into the worlds existing glaciers.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

As the World Population Grow More Potable Water is Needed

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Water is Being Wasted

The United States suffers about 240,000 water main breaks annually and the country loses approximately 6 billion gallons a day, enough water to supply the entire state of California.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Clean Safe Drinking Water is a Basic Human Right

According to the World Health Organization the lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills children at a rate equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every ten hours. Water should never be wasted.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 2

Who Has Jurisdiction in Requiring the Protection of our Water Systems?

• Is it the Federal Government?
• Is it the State Government?
• Is it the Water Supplier?
• Is it the Local Health Department?
• Is it another agency?
• Is it no one?

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Safe Drinking Water Act

• In the 1970’s it became clear to many that pollution of our

environment was becoming an large issue

• The US EPA was created
• The Clean Water Act was passed
• The Safe Drinking Water Act was passed
• The clean up began and awareness of the importance of

pollution control was heightened

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Safe Drinking Water Act

• Amendments were made in 1986 which included increased

monitoring for unregulated contaminants, greater enforcement standards, increased protection of wellheads, and changes to the lead-content of plumbing materials including prohibiting use

• f lead solders, flux and pipes in new installations and repairs of

public water systems and drinking water plumbing connected to such systems. A warning was required on any solder containing more than .2 percent lead.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Safe Drinking Water Act

• Originally, SDWA focused primarily on treatment as the

means of providing safe drinking water at the tap. The 1996 amendments greatly enhanced the existing law by recognizing source water protection, operator training, funding for water system improvements, and public information as important components of safe drinking

• water. This approach ensures the quality of drinking

water by protecting it from source to tap.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Safe Drinking Water Act

• The United States Congress has revised the definition
• f “lead free” in the Safe Drinking Water Act with respect

to the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures. As of the effective date of January 4, 2014, all pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fitting, and fixtures must meet a 0.25% weighted average lead

• content. The Congressional Act was dated January 5,

2010 and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011 with the effective date of January 4, 2014.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Safe Drinking Water Act

• The most direct oversight of water systems is conducted

by state drinking water programs. States can apply to US EPA for “primacy,” the authority to implement SDWA within their jurisdictions, if they can show that they will adopt standards at least as stringent as US EPA’s and make sure water systems meet these standards. All states and territories, except Wyoming and the District

• f Columbia, have received primacy.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 3

Ground Zero of Water Issues

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Flint Water Issues

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Potable Water?

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act

• The Michigan Department of Environmental

Quality has primary enforcement authority in Michigan for the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act under the legislative authority of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Lea ead in n the he History ry of

• f Plumbing
• The word plumber or plumbing actually

comes from the Roman times. The Latin word for lead is plumbum. In the Roman times, plumbers were actually those who worked with lead, which was used on water supply and drain piping. Plumbers were considered an expert working with the material lead, or a plumbarius.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Affects of Lead on Humans

• Too much lead can damage various systems of

the body. Lead is especially harmful to the developing brains of fetuses and young children and to pregnant women. High blood lead levels in children can cause consequences which may be irreversible including learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and mental retardation. At very high levels, lead can cause convulsions, coma and death.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 4

Lead in the Water System

• Some major U.S. cities still have lead piping

bringing water from the utilities to consumers. The dissolved oxygen in the water combines with the metal at the surface (copper, zinc or lead) to form a metal oxide. This oxidation layer develops through time to coat lead piping.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Roman Times Lead Water Piping

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Lead Water Service

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Lead to Brass Wipe Joint

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Is There a Weak Link in Your System?

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Lead in the Water System

• It is essential to the nation's health that lead piping systems be

upgraded, a task estimated by the EPA in 2003 to cost $276.8 billion and take more than 20 years achieve. For now the best protection for the U.S. public is the ongoing testing and monitoring of what makes up our drinking water. We need to know the amount of lead and other minerals that actually leach into the water. That imformation is critical.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 5

Lead in the Water System

• Utilities at times add lime or other chemicals to prevent

lead from getting into drinking water. When water chemistry is controlled, it prevents dangerous levels of lead from entering the water system from the lead supply or service piping.

• Nearly all homes built prior to the 1980’s still have lead

solder connecting copper pipes.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Happened in Flint?

• To put it simply each and every branch of government

failed in it responsibility.

• Local, State, and Federal elected and appointed officials

failed in protecting the public. There employees also share in the blame for this totally preventable situation.

• It is now the time to fix the situation and ensure it cannot

happen again.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Created the Problem?

• The short answer is Money.
• In a cost saving move the city switched from

purchasing water from the Detroit Water System, now known as the Great Lakes Water Authority which takes its water from Lake Huron to using water from the Flint River.

• This occurred in April of 2014. This is when things

begin to fall apart.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Flint River

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Who Was In Charge of Flint?

• Since 2011 the Flint had four different state

appointed Emergency Managers.

• Each one played a part in these decisions.
• The Mayor and City Council also played a part in

the switch although the final decision rested with the state and its appointed Emergency Manager.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Players

• Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA). This group was

building a new pipeline from Lake Huron to Flint. It was formed in 2011.

• Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). The

Group who has supplied water to Flint since 1967.

• The water switch from DWSD was to be a temporary

measure until the KWA Pipeline was finished in 2016.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 6

Was the Switch a Bad Idea?

• The idea was to make a long term switch from DWSD to the

KWA pipeline. That made sense and although never completed would have provided good quality water to Flint.

• The short term solution to switch to the Flint River was a

mistake that will end the careers of a number of individuals including the current Governor of Michigan.

• The Failure to address the issue of water quality will send a

number of individuals to prison.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Beginning?

• April 2014: In an effort to save money, Flint begins

drawing water from the Flint River instead of relying on water from Detroit. The move is considered temporary while the city waits to connect to a new regional water

• system. Residents immediately complain about the

smell, taste and appearance of the water, and raise health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Timeline to Disaster

• Switch was made in April 2014.
• Problems begin within days of the change.
• The water smelled like rotten eggs, a number of boil

advisory's were issues by the Flint Water Department.

• In Early 2015 lead issues became clear.
• In June and July 2015 reports were released about the

lead issue in the local and national media.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Timeline to Disaster

• In October 2015 the water supply was switched

back to the DWSD supply but the cover up continued.

• January 5th 2016 Governor Snyder declares a

State of Emergency and the Crisis becomes a National Story.

• The damage is done and a cost saving move will

now cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

National Guard Handing Out Water

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Finger Pointing Begins

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 7

Were the Lead Water Services the Issue?

• The short answer is no. Although lead services should

always be replaced as soon as possible they did not create the crisis.

• The removal of the biofilm in the lead piping as a result of

poor water treatment is the major issue.

• The water quality was so bad the GM had to switch its

water supply for the Flint system in order to stop problems with corrosion in its Flint Motor Facility.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Arrests Have Been Made

• 15 Individuals Have Been Arrested.
• 13 of the Individuals if convicted face serious jail time
• Two individuals have plead guilty and are working with the

federal, state, and local officials.

• Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Have Been Spent.
• Careers Have Been Destroyed.
• The Public Trust Has Been Lost.
• The Lives and Health of Thousands of Citizens Have Been

Forever Altered.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Updates

• On June 14, Bill Schuette the Attorney

General for the State of Michigan announced a new round of charges being filed against local and state officials, officers, and employees.

• In the most serious charges leveled to date

five individuals have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Updates

• The charges are related to a seventeen

month legionnaires disease outbreak which occurred in 2014 and 2015. This

• utbreak resulted in the deaths of twelve

people.

• Dozens more were stricken with the

illness.

IAPM PMO-Backflow Pr Prevention Institute

Updates

• Nick Lyon the director of the state

Department of Health and Human Services has been charged with several felonies including misconduct in office and involuntary manslaughter. The departments chief medical executive, Dr. Eden Wells is charged with obstruction of justice and lying to a police officer.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Updates

• Four others previously arrested are now charged

with involuntary manslaughter. These include Darnell Earley, Flint’s former state emergency manager, Howard Croft, Flint’s former Water Department manager, Liane Shekter-Smith, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s drinking water chief, and Stephen Busch, district supervisor for the Office of Drinking Water.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 8

Michigan’s Attorney General

• Part arrogance, part viewing people in Flint as

expendable.

• "The victims are real people, families who have

been lied to by government officials and been treated as expendable," "But when our investigation is completed and our prosecutions are successful -- and we believe they will be -- then accountability and justice will be delivered to families of Flint and families of Michigan."

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

But It’s Not The End

• Aug. 14 2017: A federal emergency

declaration over Flint's lead-tainted water crisis ends, but state officials say work continues to fix the drinking water system and provide services to city residents.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Was Any Money Saved?

• The answer is NO
• Piping replacement and related cost continue to rise
• Lawsuits and settlements will cost millions of dollars
• The related health costs for hundreds of effected

children will continue throughout their lives

• Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's wide-

ranging probe into the Flint water crisis has cost more than $5 million as of the end of 2017.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

The Future in Flint?

• This is a road back to restoring faith and confidence in

all Michigan families in their government," state Attorney General Bill Schuette said in announcing the first criminal charges to come out of the disaster, which he blamed on a series of bad decisions by bureaucrats and political leaders.

• He warned there will be more charges — "That I can

guarantee" "No one is off the table."

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Will Be the Final Cost?

• To simply replace the lead services may cost

up to a billion dollars.

• The total cost to replace all lead services

nationwide could cost hundreds of billions dollars nationwide to upgrade water systems as a result of the awareness of what happened in Flint, Michigan.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Where Are We Today in Flint?

• Flint Public Schools Are Still Using Bottle Water
• As of December 13, 2017 6200 Water Services Have

Been Replaced

• The City Is Committed To Replace 18,000 Services By

The End Of 2020

• Class Action Lawsuits Are Moving Through Both State

And Federal Courts

• Public Trust In Both City And State Officials Remains

Scarce to Non-Existant

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 9

Can It Happen in Elsewhere?

• The short answer is that it already has.
• Ohio State environmental officials knew as

early as October 2015 that residents of Sebring in Mahoning County in Ohio were drinking water contaminated with lead but did not warn the public, records show.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Sebring, Ohio Issues

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Ground Zero

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Sebring, Ohio

• The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency sent multiple

warnings to the Sebring Water Treatment Plant, demanding that

• perators there notify the public that tests showed elevated lead
• levels. The EPA even set a deadline of Nov. 29 to notify

customers of the health threat. The Ohio EPA issued an emergency order barring the water-treatment plant's director, James Bates, from working at the plant.

• No warnings were issued, according to the EPA.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Sebring, Ohio

• It wasn't until Jan. 21 2016 four months after they knew of

the issue that the Ohio EPA issued a notice of violation to the Sebring Plant, prompting public notification.

• Finally, 8,100 people who get their drinking water from the

Sebring public water system learned they were at risk.

• The Ohio EPA issued an emergency order barring the

water-treatment plant's director, James Bates, from working at the plant.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Sebring, Ohio

• State EPA spokeswoman Heidi Griesmer said the

water-treatment plant gave the EPA incomplete data about its public notifications. Each time the system tested for lead, she said, the plant should have notified

• users. And, she said, state regulators were too lenient.
• Our field staff was too patient with the village.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 10

Sebring, Ohio

• Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler has called for the federal

government to overhaul its regulations over water- treatment plants.

• Melanie Houston, Director of Water Policy and

Environmental Health for the advocacy group Ohio Environmental Council, said it is encouraging that the EPA is taking action. We also think Ohio lawmakers don’t have to wait for stronger federal rules. They can and they should take action.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Corpus Christi, Texas December 2016

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Battle Lines in the Water Fight

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Corpus Christi, Texas December 2016

• Corpus Christi has experienced at least four water

quality issues in the past 18 months. Between June and September 2015, the city issued two boil water advisories, one after E. coli contamination turned up in water samples and another after chlorine levels dropped in some areas. A third notice came in May 2016, when water in one area tested positive for bacteria, possibly indicating low disinfectant levels.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Corpus Christi, Texas December 2016

• Residents of Corpus Christi, Texas, were warned

to avoid all contact with tap water after a corrosive industrial chemical leaked into the local water system, forcing schools to close and prompting emergency bottled water deliveries throughout the Gulf Coast City.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Corpus Christi, Texas December 2016

• According to city officials, a “back-flow incident” at an

industrial complex caused an estimated three to twenty four gallons of a petroleum-based chemical known as Indulin AA-86 was allowed to enter the public water supply.

• The exact ingredients in Indulin AA-86 are not publicly

available, but the chemical is considered hazardous by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 11

What Happened in Corpus Christi Texas

• The problem seems to have started with an unprotected chemical

holding tank at a facility owned by the Valero corporation but run or managed by a company called Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions Inc.

• Reports point to a backflow problem from the tank into the facility’s

internal water system that began a number of days prior to the public notification of the problem.

• According to an Associated Press report employees at the asphalt

plant leased to Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions, Inc. first noticed rusty brown water coming from a faucet in the administration building on

• Nov. 23

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Happened in Corpus Christi Texas

• Employees at the facility again noticed water quality issues on

December 7, and notified the city. Municipal workers flushed the water line at the site. It was reported that on December 8, Ergon

• fficials were alerted to the problem and asked if their operations

were the source of the tainted water.

• On December 12, Valero Energy employees again noticed water

quality issues at the facility and again alerted the city. Municipal workers tried on Dec. 13 to locate the source of the tainted water

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Happened in Corpus Christi Texas

• . The city cut off water to the plant on Dec. 13, and notified the Texas

Commission on Environmental Quality of a possible backflow incident from a chemical tank which maybe impacting the public water

• system. TCEQ and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began its

investigation.

• . On December 14 at 10:30 am the City of Corpus Christi issued a Do

Not Use the Water Advisory to all its customers.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Happened in Corpus Christi Texas

• . TCEQ and the EPA ran into problems in its investigation rather
• quickly. There were no tests or accepted health standards for the

chemical because it's never been found in drinking water before and the exact chemical formula was hidden behind a patent.

• State and Federal Regulators were forced to act using the

Community Right to Know Act, which allowed them to obtain this confidential business information on the chemical make up to use in testing the water for traces of the chemical.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Happened in Corpus Christi Texas

• Once the Indulin formula was obtained, technicians in the EPA's

laboratories in Houston calibrated their testing machines in a manner to detect slight amounts of the chemical in water.

• . Testing was begun immediately within the City’s system. The City

conducted flushing procedures throughout its water system and tests conducted by TCEQ and the EPA showed that the materials in the water system were at acceptable levels. On December 18 the City lifted it’s do not use the water advisory city wide.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Happened in Corpus Christi Texas

• . It is apparent that the problem began on private property, however

this facility is served by a municipal water system. The city as the water purveyor has the responsibility to ensure that the proper backflow prevention is installed at the buildings water service

• connection. The city has the responsibility to ensure that after the

protection is installed it is tested and maintained. If it is not the city has the responsibility to disconnect the water service to the facility. The city as the administrator of the building and plumbing code enforcement also has the responsibility to ensure that within the facility, the proper protection is installed, tested, and maintained internally within the facility’s water system to protect the people working within the facility.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 12

Update to the Corpus Christi Backflow Event

• . The incident has led to widespread reform of the city’s

backflow preventer inspection program. Investigations revealed the city did not actively enforce its backflow testing rules, and the city later confirmed more than 4,000 businesses and homes were not in compliance. The City has been working since that time to correct these issues and restore the public faith in the quality of their water supply.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Walkerton, Canada in 2000

• Starting May 13, 2000, many people of the community
• f about 5,000 people began to simultaneously

experience diarrhea, gastrointestinal infections and

• ther symptoms of E. coli infection.
• The Walkerton Public Utilities Commission insisted the

water supply was "OK" despite being in possession of laboratory tests that had found evidence of contamination.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Walkerton, Canada in 2000

• The five people who died directly from drinking the E.

coli-contaminated water might have been saved if the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission had admitted to contaminated water sooner, and about 2,500 more became ill.

• During the time of the tragedy, City Water Operator’s

denied any wrongdoing and firmly held that the water at Walkerton was safe to drink.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Walkerton, Canada in 2000

• Both individuals would eventually plead guilty to a

charge of common nuisance through a plea bargain. In their plea, they admitted to falsifying reports.

• They were both formally sentenced on December 21,

2004, with one receiving one year in jail and the other nine months of house arrest.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Other Water Issues

• Drought
• Pollution
• Aging systems in many parts of the country
• Funding Issues
• Population Growth
• The push for deregulation
• Climate Change

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

3/12/2018 13

Lake Mead

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

What Have We Learned?

• The United States truly needs to begin updating its

water and waste systems.

• What happened in Flint can and will happen in other

areas.

• Access to Clean Safe Drinking Water is a Basic Human

Right.

• People must be held accountable for their actions and

regulations are needed.

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute

Questions? Sean.cleary@iapmo.org

IAPMO-Backflow Prevention Institute