By Sherri Blevins
According to Hadley Hitson (Montgomery Advertiser) and the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) website, the DeKalb-Jackson Water Supply District had the most violations of water utilities on the state list that serves rural areas. This ranking found on EWG’s online database at www.ewg.org/tapwater/ permits residents to search their state, ZIP code, or specific utility company to see EWG’s analysis of their tap water quality based on state-gathered data.
According to EWG, its mission is to empower people with breakthrough research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. This group consists of scientists, attorneys, analysts, data and communications specialists with deep knowledge about environmental health. The group stated, “We’re united behind our mission to empower you with breakthrough research to make informed choices and live a healthy life. We’re the leading experts on toxic chemicals, food and water, farming and agriculture, energy, family health – and many other issues.”
The study looked at contaminants like arsenic, lead, and potentially harmful disinfection byproducts in large and rural water utilities in the state. Even though most tap water in Alabama meets federal drinking water standards, the EWG asserts that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water regulations are “out-of-date” and allow higher water contamination levels than are safe for consumers.
According to the EWG database, the top five utilities in Alabama with the most violations were DeKalb-Jackson Water Supply District, North Clarke Water Authority, CWM Water Authority, Centre Water & Sewer Board, and Mid-Central Water Authority.
Hadley Hitson’s article described the report from the EWG for the DeKalb-Jackson Water Supply District as follows: Serving more than 15,000 people in North Alabama, DeKalb-Jackson Water Supply District is one of the utility companies in the state that exceeded federal and EWG guidelines for contamination. Over the past three years, the company spent 18 months in “significant violation of federal drinking water standards.” The federal report on these violations shows that the water contained higher total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids than legally allowed. These are both disinfection byproducts that have been linked to cancer. EWG scientist Tasha Stoiber said, “We do need to disinfect our drinking water to reduce the risk of microbial and disease. However, these types of contaminants form in drinking water when they combine disinfectants with natural organic matter. That’s basically just like decaying plant matter or other organic debris that gets in the water before it comes to the treatment plant.”