Tensas Water District Association Boil Order
The Tensas Water District Association is currently in violation of the treatment technique requirements for turbidity as set forth in the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). We routinely monitor your water for turbidity (cloudiness). This tells us whether we are effectively filtering the water supply. On January 1, 2005, EPA’s Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT1ESWTR) became effective for our water supply. The LT1ESWTR requires that our treated water never exceed a maximum allowable turbidity limit of 1.499 NTUs any time.
On December 23, 2022, the Tensas Water District Association was in violation of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). The violation occurred because the combined filter effluent turbidity exceeded 5 NTU. The combined filter effluent turbidity was 7.83 NTU on December 23, 2022. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) set drinking water standards and has determined that the presence of microbiological contaminants is a health concern at certain levels of exposure. Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of diseasecausing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea and associated headaches. These symptoms, however, are not just associated with disease-causing organisms in drinking water, but also may be caused by a number of factors other than your drinking water. LDH has set enforceable requirements for treating drinking water to reduce the risk of these adverse health effects. Treatment such as filtering and disinfecting the water removes or destroys microbiological contaminants. Drinking water which is treated to meet LDH requirements is associated with little to none of this risk and should be considered safe.
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-(800)-426-4791.
Action has been taken to prevent this violation from recurring. The extreme temperatures caused some of our chemical lines to freeze up even though they were insulated resulting in treatment issues.
For more information, please contact Tensas Water at 318-766-3285. Please share this information with all the 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 Tensas Water District Association, Mike Thompson, President. PWS
Comments