DRINKING WATER NOTICE
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
The City of West Columbia Public Water System ID 321004
Haloacetic Acid 5 (HAA5) MCL Violation
The City of West Columbia water system was notified on June 28, 2016 about one drinking
water standard exceedance that occurred on May 23, 2016. Although this standard violation is
not an emergency, as our customers, you have the right to know what happened and what we are
doing to correct the situation. Please refer to the enclosed map for the areas affected. If you
received water outside of these areas, this notice does not directly affect your drinking water.
The City uses chlorine and chlorine-related chemicals to ensure that its water is fully safe to
drink before it is sent out to customers. Chlorine interacts with organic compounds which
naturally occur in water. This reaction creates Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) which include
haloacetic acids (HAA5).
The City has four (4) monitoring locations where SCDHEC samples and tests the City’s treated
water each quarter. Results from one (1) of these locations recently exceeded the Locational
Running Annual Average (LRAA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) limits for the DBP
HAA5. The LRAA is determined by averaging all of the samples collected at each sampling
location over the past 12 month period. The LRAA MCL for HAA5 is 0.060 mg/l. The LRAA at
one of our monitoring locations was 0.061 mg/l. This result is approximately 2% greater than the
LRAA allowable MCL for HAA5. The other three (3) monitoring locations did not exceed the
LRAA MCL for HAA5.
Please refer to the enclosed map for the areas affected by the HAA5 exceedance. If you received
water outside of these boundaries, that water did not exceed the LRAA MCL and this notice does
not directly involve your location.
What Should I Do?
• You do not need to boil your water or take any other corrective actions. If a situation did arise
where the water is no longer safe to drink, you would be notified within 24 hours.
• There is nothing you need to do. Some people who have a severely compromised immune
system may consider seeking advice about drinking water from their health care providers.
What Does This Mean?
This is not an emergency. If it had been an emergency, you would have been notified within 24
hours.
During the drinking water treatment process, disinfectants such as chlorine react with natural
organic matter in the water, creating haloacetic acids (HAA5). When organic compounds are
higher than the normal, HAA5 might also rise. The City takes water from Lake Murray. Storm
events, including the October 2015 storm event, and high runoff rates coupled with warm
weather have raised the levels of organic material in this water to approximately double the
normal levels. As a result, HAA5 increased by about 2% in one test at one monitoring location.
Out of an abundance of caution, we want to let you know that people who drink water containing
haloacetic acids in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) over many years may have
an increased risk of getting cancer.
What is Being Done?
In accordance federal regulations and to protect our customers, the City of West Columbia, and
SCDHEC regularly test our water system for contaminates such as the byproducts formed during
disinfection. This problem was detected during routine testing. Our staff and outside specialists
are already taking action that we expect will reduce the formation of these byproducts going
forward. These changes should be in place before July 15, 2016. We will continue to diligently
monitor the system and take other actions as necessary.
For more information, please contact Mark Waller, the Director of Planning, Engineering and
Water Plants at 730 Old Cherokee Road, Lexington, SC 29072. Mark can be reached at (803)
957-4596.
Please share this information with other people who drink this water, especially those who may
not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes,
schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing
copies by hand or mail.
This notice is being sent to you by The City of West Columbia Public Water System.
Water System ID#: 321004
Date distributed: July 15, 2016
