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Story Archives: Report: West Monroe has good water


Report: West Monroe has good water
posted Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 @ 9:51 pmE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
West Monroe's water quality continues to meet state and federal requirements with no violations occurring during the 2007 calendar year, according to the city's annual water quality report.

The city of West Monroe's 2007 annual water quality report can be viewed on page 5B of this week's issue of The Ouachita Citizen.

Terry Emory, West Monroe's environmental quality manager, said, "All the results were great. We were not out of compliance on anything."

In 2006, the city of West Monroe implemented a new water treatment system, which has improved the water quality by lessening the levels of trihalomethanes.

The city in 2006 switched its water treatment system to one that uses chloramines instead of chlorine to meet new federal requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency says chloraminated water is safe to drink and is safe for bathing, cooking and other uses. The cities of Shreveport, Bossier City and Natchitoches, as well as other public water systems in Louisiana and across the nation, have used chloraminated water for years.

The city of West Monroe, along with many other water systems throughout the country, was out of compliance when EPA implemented its new policy regarding levels of trihalomethanes.

Water systems that were in violation were asked to address the issue of unsafe trihalomethanes levels. In Louisiana, more than 700 water systems were in violation. West Monroe was one of the first in the region to correct the problem.

The annual water quality report stated the city of West Monroe's trihalomethanes level for 2007 averaged 67.15 ppb (parts per billion).

The EPA standard is 80 ppb.

Emory said the most recent sample taken for the second quarter showed the city's trihalomethanes was 2.6 ppb.

"That just floored us when we saw that number," Emory said. "We thought it could be some error, so we ran another test, and it's accurate."

That puts the most current annual average for trihalomethanes at 32 ppb.

"That's well below 80 ppb," Emory said.

If any local resident has questions regarding the water quality report, or concerning their water utility, they can call Emory at 325-0496.

In a related matter, the city of West Monroe has scheduled routine maintenance on its water tower, which could take three months to complete.

Emory said local residents may see fluctuations in water pressure while maintenance work takes place.

She said the tank is "completely structurally sound" and city officials will continue to monitor water quality while maintenance is ongoing.

"This is just routine maintenance, and it was past due for a paint job," Emory said.
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