
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994                    TAG: 9406280297 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B6    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY TONY GERMANOTTA, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940628                                 LENGTH: CHESAPEAKE

CHESAPEAKE WARNS OF HIGH-SODIUM WATER

{LEAD} If residents here needed a reminder of why the Lake Gaston pipeline project is important to their city as well as to Virginia Beach, it came in a warning Monday from the Chesapeake Health Department.

The city's water supply, the public health bulletin said, has become potentially dangerous for those on severely restricted sodium diets.

{REST} Paul H. Sandman, Chesapeake's Environmental Health Manager, advised those on such diets to ``use bottled water at all times.''

The warning was limited to people who should not consume more than 20 milligrams of sodium per liter of water, he said. The supply should not be a problem for anyone else.

``Even those individuals on moderately sodium-restricted diets should not be at any increased risk by consumption of the Chesapeake water,'' Sandman wrote.

On Monday, the city's water supply had 275 milligrams of chloride per liter, which gives it an unpalatable salty taste, said Amar Dwarkanath, director of Public Utilities. It also had a high sodium content of 138 milligrams per liter, he said.

The problem was caused by this year's dry weather and recent prevailing winds that pushed brackish water up the river from Currituck Sound, Dwarkanath said. The city has almost annually battled the same conditions and was counting on a supply of Lake Gaston water to help it through future dry summers.

The pipeline, however, may be delayed for years as a result of a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week that called for another environmental study before any permits can be issued.

In the prolonged drought of 1985-86, Dwarkanath noted, the chloride content of city water reached 1,037 milligrams per liter of drinking water. It is almost never below the 20 milligrams per liter level recommended for severe sodium-restricted diets, he said.

On Sunday evening, the city began pumping water from its deep wells to reduce the overall chloride content in the system. The well water has less chloride, and therefore a more pleasing taste, but is nearly twice as high in the tasteless sodium, which spurred the health warning.

The increased sodium content will be especially important to residents living near the wells west of the Elizabeth River in the Deep Creek section, because the percentage of well water there will be higher than elsewhere in the city, Dwarkanath said.

There are no federal standards on how much sodium is permitted in drinking water, Dwarkanath said, but the city voluntarily informs its customers when the level is elevated.

The pumping will continue, Dwarkanath said, until the weather pattern breaks and the brackish water moves away from the water plant.

For daily updates, call the Water Quality Hotline, 547-6360. by CNB