THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605080130
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
If there ever was an appropriate time for Chesapeake citizens to stand up and pay attention, it has to be this week.
It's National Drinking Water Week, celebrated May 5-11.
As part of the city's observation of the wet week, the Northwest Water Treatment Plant will hold an open house Saturday.
National Drinking Water Week, sponsored by the American Waterworks Association, was created to promote awareness of the process involved in providing citizens with clean and safe drinking water. The program also highlights conservation and recycling efforts around the nation.
Clean, safe drinking water has been an issue in Chesapeake.
Residents who rely on the city's Northwest River supply frequently get salty water from their taps, thanks to high chloride and sodium levels when there is not enough rain.
Last summer, for example, residents suffered through months of water that was almost not potable. Wind and the dearth of rain forced salty water from the Currituck Sound into the city's water supply.
At one point, the water's salt content climbed to 965 parts per million, the highest level in a decade. The problem forced large numbers of residents to use bottled water or to obtain less-salty water from local fire stations.
In December, chloride and sodium contents were twice their normal levels. During that time, city officials had to warn residents on sodium-restricted diets to drink non-city water until the problem cleared up.
Although the high levels of chloride in the water posed no health threat, it did make the water taste bad.
According to Chesapeake Public Utilities Director Amar Dwarkanath, a lack of rainfall was blamed for the recent spike. Average rainfall last December was more than an inch below normal.
Chloride levels jumped from a low of 280 parts per million on the day after Christmas to a high of 418 parts per million a few days later. A reading of 250 parts per million is the federal threshold for salty taste.
Average sodium levels for other Hampton Roads cities range from 8 to 12 parts per million.
Chloride levels have subsided, as Chesapeake has experienced a wet late winter and soggy spring.
About 40 percent of Chesapeake's residents get their water from the Northwest River. About 10 percent more get their water from a combination of the Northwest River and unsalty water reserves.
When visitors tour the Northwest Water Treatment Plant Saturday, they'll get the opportunity to see how water is treated and brought to Chesapeake homes. They'll get the chance to see how public utility workers try to keep chloride and sodium out of the city's drinking water.
The tour also will allow citizens to see the site where the city's new reverse osmosis plant will be located. The plant will strip sodium and chloride from the drinking water.
Chesapeake voters in November overwhelmingly approved a bond referendum to pay for $72.5 million in improvements to the water treatment system, including the reverse osmosis facility. by CNB