High Chloroform Levels in Exeter Town Water

“The Exeter Water Dept. water system recently violated drinking water standards, read a notice sent out to all Exeter households by the Public Works Department. Specifically, the amount of total trihalomethanes (TTHM), a group of cancer-inducing substances, was roughly 30 percent higher than EPA standards when measured in February of 2018. Officials from different departments around Exeter and the larger state have addressed this issue and discussed their ongoing plans to improve the quality of the tap water in Exeter.

In fact, water from the local Surface Water Treatment Plant has not been able to pass the test for TTHM since 2014, when the EPA revised its regulations. Though the notice stressed that this violation is “not an emergency,” some Exeter residents and PEA members have switched to alternative water sources due to concerns over health and well-being.

“I used to drink tap water, but then I read an article about how New Hampshire water was not clean or safe to drink,” she said. “I didn’t grow up on tap water anyway, so I’m more used to drinking bottled water.”

Upper Ji Yoon Ahn, who has two unopened packages of Poland Spring water bottles in her dorm room, shared that she had been drinking solely bottled water since her lower year. “I used to drink tap water, but then I read an article about how New Hampshire water was not clean or safe to drink,” she said. “I didn’t grow up on tap water anyway, so I’m more used to drinking bottled water.”

According to Dave Gordon of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Environmental Health Program, many water supplies in the state have run into problems with TTHM violations.

“The standard is based on increased risk of cancer over many years,” Gordon said, listing the different types of cancer that TTHM had been known to contribute to, namely blood and colon cancer. The substance could also be toxic to the liver and kidneys. “The longer the time you use it, the larger the risk,” he said.

However, Gordon also stressed that even though the level of TTHM for the water in Exeter did not meet EPA standards, it is still well below the amount it would take to cause serious harm.

The most prominent TTHM present in Exeter water is chloroform, created when the disinfectant chlorine reacts with organic compounds; currently, the Surface Water Treatment Plant is working on several projects to remove excess chloroform by preventing this reaction from happening.

Paul Roy, senior operator at the plant, said, “The biggest issue is the amount of water we have in the distribution system. It will sit in the pipes for so long that the [chloroform-creating] reaction continues once the water leaves the facilities.”

Solutions include mixers and air exchange units that make sure chlorine does not remain stagnant in the tanks. By the end of this year, Roy is also going to launch a switch from liquid chlorine to chloramine, a disinfectant which takes longer to react with organic compounds and hence does not create as many byproducts.

For now, Roy recommends that households with infants or individuals suffering from autoimmune deficiency should consider using carbon water filters to ensure safety, as these individuals may be more susceptible to contaminants in water.

“We’re participating in the Federal government’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring System for the fourth time this year,” he added. “Our surface water is relatively clean, other than high concentrations of manganese and occasionally, during the summer time, a bit of fertilizer and nitrate issues. The water itself is sanitary and has no bacteria in it.”

After a referendum that took place last year, the town of Exeter approved a 1.5 million dollar budget to improve Water Treatment Facilities. Roy claims that these improvements should last the facility for the next ten years, at which point it will need an overhaul to ensure the facility can remain up to government standards.

Exeter’s Water Department will also improve the town’s tap water with the addition of the new Groundwater Treatment Facility in 2015. The facility will offer the department greater flexibility with how much water is pumped into the town and how much is stored in the Surface water facility where they have most of their issues with chloroform.

For now, however, town residents are still wary about drinking tap water directly; Sally Brown Russ has been using a reverse osmosis filter since moving to Exeter in 2013.

“I use it for all food prep and drinking water. It’s hooked up to my kitchen sink and my fridge’s ice maker,” Russ said. “I do not use filtered water for bathing, laundry, watering plants, etc., but some people do have filters for all the water they use in their homes.”

According to Tegan Marquis, the Environmental Compliance Manager at PEA, a push by students displeased with the tap water’s taste resulted in the installation of filtered water stations during Principal Tingley’s time.

“All public buildings and dormitories have filtered drinking water stations that can be used,” Marquis said. “We continuously work with the town of Exeter to make sure that all of the water lines to our buildings are in the best condition possible and support the town on any initiative for improvements to their water treatment processes and water sources.”

  Despite not liking the chlorinated taste, Biology Instructor Sydnee Goddard expressed her support for tap water and water stations on campus. She said, “I think the tap water is drinkable, and we should be drinking the tap water.” Always concerned about the environment, Goddard thought it is a worthy pursuit for campus to become bottle-free. Furthermore, she mentioned that tap water might actually be a much safer option than bottled water, thanks to higher degrees of regulation.

“Public water is tested all the time for contaminants and what it contains in terms of metals or other dangerous compounds,” Goddard said.

Drinking from a local source is also a form of support for the local community; she called upon Exonians and adults on campus to spend their money and focus their efforts on the protection of local drinking water sources instead of purchasing bottled water trucked in from other communities.