DEP Official: Water is Safe to Drink

Washington, PA Observer-Reporter
9 October 2009
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer, niedbala@observer-reporter.com

JEFFERSON - The high levels of total dissolved solids in Dunkard Creek that are believed to have led to the recent fish kill have not been evident in the Monongahela River from which water treatment plants draw their supplies, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said.

Helen Humphreys of the DEP provided that information to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority at the authority meeting Thursday.

Humphreys was asked to attend the meeting to assure authority customers the water is safe, authority manager Joe Simatic said. Because of the fish kill, the authority has received numerous calls from customers asking about the safety of their water, he said.

Humphreys said the pollutant, a "slug" with high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), effected about a 30-mile section of the creek. No water providers draw water from the creek.

The high levels of TDS measured in the creek have not been seen in the river, Humphreys said. The state has been keeping tabs on TDS levels on the Mon because of the high levels recorded in the river last year.

West Virginia DEP now believes a golden brown algae is what actually killed the fish, Humphreys said. There are no indications the algae has any health impacts on humans, she said. Pennsylvania DEP continues to conduct tests to confirm West Virginia's conclusion, she said.

Now that the fish kill is being blamed on algae some people have assumed the party responsible for the TDS discharge may be "off the hook," Humphreys said.

She added, however, Pennsylvania DEP knows golden brown algae only grows in "brackish" water, or water high in TDS and chlorides. "There would be no golden brown algae unless there was a brackish environment for it to thrive," she said.

Water sampling has indicated high levels of TDS were being discharged from Consol Energy's Blacksville No. 2 Mine, Humphreys said.

The water authority also conducts tests for TDS, pH and other factors at its treatment plant and found nothing unusual during the fish kill, said Charles Barno, manager of the authority's treatment plant.

Humphreys also said a system of monitors being installed on the Mon will help DEP better understand problems on the river. She commended Barno for his work on the RAIN (River Alert and Information) Network.

The network has 13 monitors, 10 on the river and three on tributaries, that will give treatment plant operators and the public immediate, continuous information on river conditions, Barno said.

The monitors, which measure TDS, pH and water temperature, came on line about two or three weeks ago, after the fish kill had started, Barno said. It is hoped the information will be on the Web in another two or three weeks, he said.

Humphreys also was asked to check on the status of a plant being built to treat gas well brine across the river from the Hatfield's Ferry Power Station, which is upstream from the authority's river water intake.