Water Report: Who knew about chemicals in local wells?
Three water districts said they are working on communication locally and federally after news reports highlighted the presence of Teflon in customers’ water.
Security Water District has since shut down seven wells that are impacted by the man-made chemical. Those wells are on a shared system with Fountain and Widefield which is why Teflon was also discovered in the two other districts.
EPA tests show high levels of Teflon. The chemical is used to coat non-stick pans and cooking utensils, as well as the inside of a popcorn bag. Teflon is not regulated by the EPA. Currently, the EPA is collecting data to determine if the chemical will be regulated in the future.
As part of it’s data collection, the EPA examined samples from Security, Fountain and Widefield water districts. Information showing high levels of Teflon were posted online, but the water districts said they had no idea about the Teflon until they were confronted by a journalist.
“It’s not the best position to be in,” said Security Water District General Manager Roy Heald.
“It’s a cause of concern,” said Curtis Mitchell, Utilities Director for Fountain.
While the findings were posted online by the EPA, the information was buried in millions of lines data.
“It’s right out there on the internet but I don’t think anyone realized that it was their responsibility to look at that,” said Heald.
Typically, the EPA relays the information onto Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment. Then, CDPHE gives the information to local water districts. However, since Teflon isn’t regulated, Mitchell said the EPA was in the early stages of data collection and hadn’t passed along the results of the findings.
“This is part of the EPA’s routine process. They are analyzing data. I would say they are early on in the process and at this point they haven’t brought it to our attention directly,” said Mitchell.
While the Teflon levels are low enough for the water to still be considered safe to drink, Security Water district has shut down seven of it’s wells until the problem can be fixed.
“There are a lot of challenges in this business, drinking water and waste water and we just have to work through them as they come along,” said Heald.
Now, the districts say it’s been a learning opportunity, highlighting the need for improved communication with Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“We have already learned a lot. I think the state health department and the EPA are learning that we can utilitize better communication in the future. It’s unfortunate that it took an event like this to point that out but I think we will be in better communication in the future,” said Heald.
“There are always opportunities to improve communication,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell said the EPA will investigate to try to determine the source of the Teflon. After that, the agency will work with CDPHE and the local districts to craft a long-term plan for fixing the problem and eliminating Teflon’s presence in the local water supply.
