The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has notified the LAGUNA MADRE WATER DISTRICT water system that the drinking water being supplied to customers had exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for total trihalomethanes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has established the MCL for total trihalomethanes at 0.080 milligrams per liter (mg/L) based on running annual average (RAA), and has determined that it is a health concern at levels above the MCL. Analysis of drinking water in your community for total trihalomethanes indicates a compliance value in quarter one 2013 of 0.105 mg/L for DS01.
Trihalomethanes are a group of volatile organic compounds that are formed when chlorine, added to the water during the treatment process for disinfection, reacts with naturally-occurring organic matter in the water.
Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidney, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
You do not need to use an alternative water supply. However, if you have health concerns, you may want to talk to your doctor to get more information about how this may affect you.
We are taking the following actions to address this issue:
We are pre-treating our reservoir with potassium permanganate to remove algae and some of the organic matter and we adjusted our Chlorine ratio. By these actions the first quarter results of 2013 was 0.055 mg/L which is below the 0.080 mg/L MCL.
Please share this information with all people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (i.e., people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
If you have questions regarding this matter, you may contact Carlos J. Galvan Jr. at (956)943-2626.
Posted/Delivered on: 04-17-2013