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- 2007-07-09 Water there, not here. Water then, not now.
- 2010-05-21 Important collection of information on water and disease. Petrochemical industry.
Fri 17 Mar 2006
Lloydminster Meridian Booster
ALDERMAN QUESTIONS WATER QUALITY; SHOULD THE CITY BE DOING MORE TO ENSURE OUR DRINKING WATER IS SAFE?
BY LEO PARE, STAFF WRITER
A Lloydminster alderman says more could be done to improve the safety and quality of the city’s water supply.
This past January the City of Lloydminster released its annual drinking water quality notice to consumers, which revealed trace elements of chemicals like arsenic, Malathion, pesticide 2,4-D and Picloram herbicide. Although the amounts appear to be well below government limits, Lloydminster alderman Duff Stewart holds concerns about the long-term impacts those potentially harmful chemicals could have.
“When we’re pulling in things like 2,4-D we should be wondering where it’s coming from. Maybe it’s Edmonton, maybe it’s Vermilion,” Stewart said. “Maybe we have to start looking at a lot of the things we’re ingesting, whether it’s water our meat or whatever.
“There has to be an awareness, but we can’t be alarmists and say ‘don’t use our water anymore,’ because that’s not going to work.”
It has been confirmed in recent years that trace amounts of pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products are making their way into the North Saskatchewan River – the source of Lloydminster’s water since 1983 – but little is known about the potential long-term impacts on human health. Municipalities across the country work constantly to improve filtering and treatment methods, but a 100 per cent flawless system has yet to be developed.
In 2003, experts at Edmonton’s Enviro-Test Labs tested tap water in 10 Canadian cities to see whether the samples contained pharmaceutical drugs, such as antibiotics, prescription painkillers, and other drugs. The results were confirmed by a second lab at Trent University in Ontario. Drugs were found in the drinking water of four cities. Scientists called the test results a wake-up call about what’s happening to the Canadian water supply.
CHEMICAL PESTICIDES FOUND IN LLOYDMINSTER WATER SUPPLY
– Bromoxynil: a nitrile herbicide used for post-emergent control of broadleaf weeds.
In one documented case of chronic exposure to humans, workers showed symptoms of weight loss, fever, vomiting, headache and urinary problems.
– Dicamba (Banvel): a benzoic acid herbicide. It can be applied to the leaves or to the soil. Dicamba is suspected of being a human teratogen.
– 2,4-D: a common systemic herbicide used in the control of broadleaf weeds. 2,4-D has a limited ability to cause birth defects.
– Diclofop-methyl: a selective post-emergence herbicide for control of wild oats and annual grassy weeds.
– Pentachlorophenol (PCP): a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide and fungicide.
Accumulation is not common, but if it does occur, the major sites are the liver, kidneys, plasma protein, brain, spleen, and fat.
– Picloram: a systemic herbicide used for control of woody plants and a wide range of broadleaf weeds.
The City of Lloydminster says pesticides in drinking water may occur as a result of these substances used by humans.
These substances may represent a long-term health risk if the Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MAC) or Interim Maximum Acceptable Concentration (IMAC) is exceeded.
To date, none of these substances have been found to be over the MAC or IMAC limits in Lloydminster water.
During a tour of the waste water treatment plant in London, Ont. in 2001, Stewart and other municipal officials observed that city’s use of an ultraviolet light system used to kill bacteria in the water supply. The City of Lloydminster then opted to utilize similar technology, but the $50,000-to-$100,000 investment was continually pushed back. To date, no such technology is used in Lloydminster’s water treatment process.
“One reason you’d want to invest in something like that is because it reduces the amount of chlorine you’d use in the system,” Stewart said. “Chlorine breaks down into a cancer-causing agent … so the more chlorine you put in, the more chances you have of including an agent that’s not good for you.
“(Ultraviolet equipment) was supposed to be on the budget this year, but when I asked they said it had been moved from the capital budget … but from the amount of money we’re making on water, we should be able to tune it up pretty quick.”
Utilities engineer Scott Kusalik said ultra-violet technology is still in consideration for Lloydminster, but because Sask. Environment requires municipalities to use a specific amount of chlorine in water treatment, – reducing the need for UV bacteria control – it is arguable whether the technology is necessary.
“It does a great job of neutralizing the bacteria in the system,” he said. “But part of our permit to operate our waterworks says we have to retain a certain chlorine residual, so if we went full UV and didn’t chlorinate, we actually wouldn’t be complying.”
Kusalik said the city conducts frequent analysis in compliance with Sask. Environment standards, and although he notes an increased awareness in regards to pharmaceuticals and other chemicals now found in water supplies, he says governments have yet to develop clear standards and regulations for those substances.
“Being downstream from Edmonton, sometimes you never know what you can get in the water,” Kusalik said. “There’s absolutely no real clarity for standards on this stuff at all.
“A lot of the drugs and that kind of stuff, we don’t even have to test for yet.”
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Duff Stewart, the alderman behind Leo Pare’s newspaper article, said that his friend fishes in the North Saskatchewan River. But won’t eat the fish he catches. He throws them back to the River. Because they have the accumulated pesticides/toxins in their bodies. Leo mentioned the deformities. (same thing as is happening at Fort Chip, Lake Athabasca).