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96 South Main Street, PO Box 77, Nephi, Utah 84648 - Voice: 435 623-0525 - FAX: 435 623-4735 On our front page this week June 7, 2023 |
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By Myrna Trauntvein At a work session, Mayor Randy Christensen asked Alicia Hills, city recorder, to add the approval of $5,000 for the 120 Water, Lead and Copper Rule consultants to the meeting agenda for May 30, 2023. That was done and the approval was addressed at city council meeting on May 30. “I didn’t think we needed to approve the expenditure by vote,” said Ron Warren, council member, “since it is under our limit for expenditures needing a vote.” R. Christensen said that he wanted a record of the transaction and a vote by council members to approve the expenditure. Jay Christensen, council member, made the motion to approve the $5,000 to pay for consultants and Jay Mecham, council member, made the second and by roll call vote all approved. “The 1991 EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Rule established a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of zero for lead in drinking water and a treatment technique to reduce corrosion of lead and copper within the distribution system,” said Chad Phillips, city gas and water operator. According to EPA, lead and copper enter drinking water primarily through plumbing materials. Exposure to lead and copper may cause health problems ranging from stomach distress to brain damage. The treatment technique for the rule requires systems to monitor drinking water at customer taps. If lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppl or copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10 percent of customer taps sampled, the system must undertake a number of additional actions to control corrosion. EPA’s 2021 Revised Lead and Copper Rule, states EPA, better protects children and communities from the risks of lead exposure by better protecting children at schools and child care facilities, getting the lead out of our nation’s drinking water and empowering communities through information. If the action level for lead is exceeded, the system must also inform the public about steps they should take to protect their health and may have to replace lead service lines under their control. Phillips said that LCR compliance programs take up an incredible amount of resources, and operating inefficiently can take you away from other important tasks. In addition, changing regulations are only making rules more stringent, and systems aren’t equipped to handle new requirements with outdated kit delivery methods, siloed data and ineffective communication. “It is a good to hire consultants to help us out,” he said.
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