Multiple issues surround water quality

In November, it was reported that water received in the South Thermopolis Water and Sewer District is above the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for levels of disinfection byproducts, specifically for total trihalomethenes (TTHM).

At that time, tests showed the amount of TTHM was .081 micrograms per liter, just .001 micrograms out of compliance with the EPA.

However, according to the EPA’s Drinking Water Watch, a collection taken Jan. 2, 2018, indicates the TTHM for the South Thermopolis Water & Sewer District was .0627 micrograms per liter.

A collection taken Oct. 3, 2017, showed the TTHM for the Owl Creek Water District at .0800 micrograms per liter.

A Jan. 10, 2018, collection showed the TTHM for the Town of Thermopolis at .0480.

Though there is concern about consuming trihalomethanes through drinking water, a report from Environmental Health Perspectives has shown that absorption through the skin and inhalation of the byproducts — through activities such as simple hand washing, showers, and washing dishes by hand — could result in significantly higher blood THM concentrations.

Members from both Owl Creek and South Thermopolis districts are working to create a Hot Springs County Rural Water Joint Powers Board. Monday afternoon, Rose Basko, Devin Bult and Colte Russell of Owl Creek and Neil Miller, Matt Ryan and Phillip Scheel of South Thermopolis Water & Sewer spoke about the issues they’re having when it comes to water quality.

Owl Creek has been under an EPA administrative order since Sept. 29, 2016, which shows Owl Creek violated the TTHM Maximum Contaminant Level. For the collection taken July 13, 2016, the TTHM for Owl Creek was .124 micrograms per liter.

Miller noted the district has until March 30, 2018 to negotiate with the Town of Thermopolis to obtain and improved water quality parameters for water entering into the Owl Creek Water District system, and implement monthly system flushing to keep the freshest water available in the system and evaluate the effectiveness. If the deadline is not met, the district could be subject to some hefty fines.

Ryan said it’s important to note that the water is tested where it comes into the district from the town. “It’s not like it’s clear at the end of the system. It’s at the delivery point from the Town of Thermopolis,” he said. Tests are done quarterly, and, according to members of the joint powers board, TTHMs are regularly higher than the .0800 micrograms per liter maximum contaminant level.

A collection on July 11, 2017, showed TTHM concentration of .0929.

However, Mayor Mike Mortimore noted there was a test in January at Vault 102, where the point of sale is for Owl Creek, as it is as close to an area as any that shows where the water leaves the town system and goes to the other two systems. That test showed the TTHM rates were within the acceptable range.

Basko mentioned there has been some discussion for the town and districts to test together to ensure they are testing in the same location.

With regard to the joint powers board seeking out other sources for water, Mortimore said he doesn’t have an issue with it. Though there are different districts, he added, they are all citizens of the county. While supportive of free enterprise, Mortimore said they would help in any way but not at the cost of the Big Spring or the town.

The issue arose, Basko said, when the districts were getting water from the town that had no chlorine in it when there should be some residual amount. When chlorine was introduced again, the problem exacerbated because organic compounds were allowed to grow in the line. When those compounds met with the chlorine, the concentration of TTHMs grew as well.

Miller further explained the water that comes into the system is surface water, and comes with total organic carbons (TOCs) that cannot be completely filtered out. When the water is filtered and chlorine injected, “the clock starts ticking, and the longer they’re in contact the more problematic it becomes.” There even comes a point when the chlorine runs out and must be added again.

As for mitigation of the problem, Basko said a thorough flushing system was started in an attempt to keep more fresh water coming into the system. For a while, that solution was acceptable by the EPA, but in November of 2016 the district received a letter stating the flushing would no longer suffice.

Scheel noted the district is still under order to remove the TTHMs. There are some filter options, but they are expensive and temporary, so the reason they formed the joint powers board to look at an alternate source of water. The board has had a lot of help from Big Horn Regional, Scheel said, to do studies looking at potentially using groundwater from a test well drilled at Buffalo Creek, as well as exploring the option of another large well in the Lysite Mountain area.

Russell added the EPA knows they’re looking for a permanent solution.

As for the possibility of the Buffalo Creek well having a negative impact on the Big Spring, Ryan said there has been no evidence to show that would happen. Kevin Boyce, a project manager with WWDC, went into more detail regarding the Buffalo Creek test well, which was drilled in early 2004.

Test runs were done with the well, with a seven-day run April 16-23, 2004 and a 28-day run Feb. 9-March 9, 2006. The test runs, Boyce noted, showed there was good quality water. During the tests, there was also monitoring of domestic and stock wells and springs. There was no discernable influence on the Big Spring, Boyce said, other than its normal fluctuation.

As to any future impact the well might have on the spring, Boyce said people could make educated guesses but as of now there is no way to definitively say there would be a positive or negative impact.

The board agrees that the Big Spring is an important part of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, and they would never put their needs of clean, safe, inexpensive drinking water ahead of the spring.

In working with the folks with Big Horn Regional, Miller said, the long-term goal is a water source out of the Lysite Mountain area, where they believe there is more than adequate water for the county.

In town, Mortimore said, there are enough users that the water is continually circulating. Still, there are some areas where they also have had to do some flushing. Town engineers, the mayor said, have pointed out there aren’t enough users in the Owl Creek system to keep the water circulating. Town Engineer, Heath Overfield, has developed a flushing program that he believes will take care of the problem.

Mayor’s assistant, Fred Crosby, said Owl Creek, South Thermopolis, East Thermopolis and the town petitioned Big Horn Regional to do a Level II study to determine if a different water source could be found for the area.

Mortimore said when he was on the joint powers board, which was prior to Big Horn Regional being formed, the idea was that there was a big well around Ten Sleep that could service the area. After his prior mayoral term ended, discussion was starting about having another well here. Crosby said an exploratory well – the Buffalo Creek well – was done, but it was found the water would have to be treated due to iron bacteria. There was also a series of public meetings, during which some said the well would hurt the Big Spring while other said it wouldn’t impact it.

The town chose to leave the joint powers board, as they didn’t want to even chance possibly hurting the spring.

The Level II study, Crosby noted, is going in the direction where they want do more exploratory work at the Buffalo Creek well. Overfield said the study, right now, has identified the existing Buffalo Creek well and the Lysite Mountain well as options, and many feel Lysite is a better option because there is little or no chance it would have any effect on the Big Spring.

There are also some drawbacks to using the Lysite Mountain well, as landowners may not want the well or have issues with it. Mortimore said he doesn’t want the government to just run over the top of the landowners, and their concerns have to be taken into account.

Overfield explained the town water plant takes water out of the river, then treats it and pushes it into the Thermopolis town system and it goes into storage tanks. From the tanks, it feeds into the distribution lines throughout town as well as to East Thermopolis and the Owl Creek and South Thermopolis districts.

The issue the districts are having are the timeline between the water leaving the plant, going through the town system, sitting in the storage tanks and going back out the transmission lines until it gets used in their system. “That timeline is just too long,” he said, so the chemicals in the water are reacting with the organic material in the water for too long a time, creating the byproduct.

Overfield noted Owl Creek has been flushing periodically to try to address water quality issues, but the EPA is strict when it comes to testing procedures and wants tests done under normal operating procedures. You can’t, for instance, flush the water and then test immediately. The bigger issue, he said, is their system holds a lot of water but not many users so it doesn’t turn over as quickly as it should.

Overfield said there has been some discussion about finding areas where they could do continuous flushing, in essence keeping a tiny flow going through the line to keep the water a little fresher.

While this could be seen as a waste of water, there has been some discussion about bringing the flow back to the river or using it for irrigation.

Another concern, Overfield said, is reports have come in that state if the district can’t find a solution the EPA will make them build a new water treatment plant. Given the limited number of users the district has, the monthly debt service on a new water treatment plant would be as much, if not more, than paying for the bit of water continually running through the line.

The EPA’s Drinking Water Watch is available online at https://www.epa.gov/region8-waterops/drinking-water-watch