Concerns remain over chloramines use in Kittery - Seacoastonline.com

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Hadley Barndollar hbarndollar@seacoastonline.com @hbarndollar

KITTERY, Maine - More than 200 Kittery Water District users turned out for a question and answer session on monochloramines Tuesday night, the drinking water disinfectant that has warranted much concern since last month�s announcement of its upcoming implementation.

Tuesday�s meeting, hosted at the Kittery Community Center, was the third public presentation Kittery Water District Superintendent Michael Rogers has held since a public notice went out to water users informing of the district�s transition to the chlorine and ammonia combination, due to the ongoing water treatment plant renovation project.

Despite Rogers� steady confidence that moving to chloramines, specifically a monochloramine disinfectant, is the safe and smart move for the Kittery Water District, a strong citizen opposition has developed, seeking alternatives and perhaps more time.

Chloramines were originally scheduled to be implemented this month, but due to the outcry from water users, that has since been delayed to June. Though deemed a safe and effective drinking water disinfectant by the Environmental Protection Agency, and consumed regularly by one in five Americans, concerns have amounted around the fact that chloramines can kill household fish and amphibians, impact production processes at bakeries and breweries, can�t be used in kidney dialysis machines, and is said to release lead from old pipes and possibly exacerbate health conditions. Chloramines can be filtered out through specialized carbon filters.

A panel of experts Tuesday emphasized that much of the same is already true for chlorine, which the Kittery Water District currently uses as a disinfectant.

The change from chlorine to chloramines, according to Rogers, is necessary in order for the Water District to complete its $3 million water treatment plant renovation, which will require two periods of shutdown during construction at points this summer and in 2020, warranting purchase of water from the York Water District and the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District, which both use chloramines. Water incompatibility is not an option, Rogers said, and would result in poor taste, odors and color issues. It's also good emergency preparedness moving forward, he said.

�We are drinking water professionals and would never do anything that was adversely affect the health of our customers,� Rogers said to begin the meeting, which featured representatives from the York Water District and the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District, University of New Hampshire, and Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Jeff Musich, vice president of Wright-Pierce engineers, said in 2008, neighboring water districts formed a southern Maine water council in response to the region�s rapid growth, and the need for systems to become more reliable and efficient. He noted there needed to be an integrated management plan to allow the water districts to work together.

�We�re the ones paying the bills, we�re the public in your mission statement,� said Eliot resident Michael Thompson. �We weren�t asked. We were told this was happening.�

Thompson said it was �disheartening� that the implementation of chloramines seemed to be a �done deal.�

Janet Saurman, of Eliot, encouraged the district to remain true to its mission statement, which refers to the public as �equal partners� and best advocates for water quality. She said she understood the temporary need to implement chloramines during the construction project, but asked that other avenues be explored.

Dr. Jim Malley, director of the Environmental Research Group at UNH, who has worked with 200 communities on the same topic, said, �The one thing I don�t believe in, because we�ve seen the downside of it, is switching back and forth. The worry I have, and I think we all agree, our infrastructure is crumbling. If we lose a major pipe, you�re going to have to rely on your neighbors.�

Kittery resident Leslie Gregory said he is on a portable dialysis machine, and �one billionth of a part of chloramines could kill me.�

�Are you going to buy the special filters for me?� he asked. �Because I can�t afford it.�

Sarah Brown, of Kittery, praised Rogers for his open process since the announcement of chloramines, and said she appreciated his willingness to listen. That said, she felt Tuesday�s panel was skewed towards convincing water users �why we shouldn�t worry.� She requested another event be held where the citizens group advocating against chloramines, called Kittery Citizens Concerned about Chloramines, could bring its own experts. But mostly, she requested more time.

Rogers said any additional delay would be a decision made by the Water District board of trustees, which meets every week.

Don Neumann, superintendent of the York Water District, said they�ve been using chloramines for 36 years and haven�t had any issues. He said he talked to a local company that makes bread, and they don�t use a filter at all. Stonewall Kitchen, he said, only uses a sediment filter.

Norm Labbe, of the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District, piggybacked off that notion, and said the �brewmaster� at Federal Jack�s made no change whatsoever during a time the district switched on and off, and then back on again, to chloramines.

�There are really a lot of good things about doing this,� said Ryan Lynch, treatment plant manager for the York Water District, pointing to a 40 to 80 percent reduction in disinfectant byproducts. �I don�t see a lot of risk in this. I think it�s just education.�

Kittery resident Jen Thayer pressed the panel on why much of Europe, and some other communities around the country, have moved away from chloramines. �It�s very serious to me and everyone I care for in this community,� she said. �I do hope you will give us some more time.�

Julia O�Connell, of Kittery, who has led much of the chloramines resistance, said no one was addressing the �well-documented� fact that many water districts in the country have had issues with chloramines. She said she called the water superintendent in Poughkeepsie, New York, last week, where he told her they had �many reports of skin rashes and respiratory issues.�

�Ten to 20 percent of the people in a community will have issues with chloramines,� she said. �Let�s not add one more factor that is a known chemical with issues. York County is number two (in the state) for all cancers. Why are we adding another chemical to our water we don�t need? We have good water.�

Lending his expertise in dealing with the same conversation in many communities, Malley said, �Any city we talk about, any small town we talk about, will have to decide. There will be a list of pros and cons.�



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