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City vows more effort on copper By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings Concern over high copper levels in the city's water supply led to a new round of tests, and the results are in. The conclusion is inescapable. Ashland water is cleaner going in to the city's system than when it comes out of the tap. The latest tests conducted by Medford-based Neilson Research measured copper levels and pH levels throughout the city and at the reservoirs that provide the city's water. And while copper levels met federal standards, Ashland Public Works Director Paula Brown said she plans to do more in coming months to explore ways of further reducing the amount of copper that is shed from pipes into the drinking water. "Ashland's goal is to always meet or do better than the standard, and we meet the standard. What we'll do over the next few months is look closely at our water chemistry. We need to look at how our water reacts with everyday piping sources. It's become obvious with these results � that our water reacts with piping systems in buildings, and with new buildings more than older buildings," Brown said. Early tests at retirement community Mountain Meadows revealed higher copper levels than allowed by federal law. However, those early tests were conducted after allowing water to stand in pipes for 24 hours. Federal standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency only call for a minimum of 6 hours. Later tests conducted using the 6-hour standard exonerated the retirement community of any violation. Nonetheless, because high levels of copper can cause illness and gastrointestinal difficulties, particularly infants and the elderly can be acutely affected. While Brown said she believed the federal standards were adequate to protect health, she acknowledged that it is "difficult to make that blanket statement that everything's fine." "I think that standards are probably conservative, and are protective of health, whether we're talking about the elderly, children or me. But there are people that are more susceptible to all kinds of things," Brown. "That's why we're going to look into the water chemistry and if there's something that we can do that helps overall and doesn't cause a different problem, we'll look at what that is and make a decision as to what we want to do," Brown said. John Neilson, of Neilson Research Corp., said he was delighted with Brown's decision to pursue the matter further. "If the city takes an active role and tries to do better than just meeting the standards, that's fabulous. Just because you met the minimum standards doesn't mean it's the end of the line. I mean, you have businesses out there with their water standing for 40 hours or more over the weekend, and right now, people need to determine flush times to try to get the problem resolved," Neilson said. "The bigger question is what we're going to do for the people - that's what this whole thing is about. And I think the City of Ashland has a fiduciary responsibility to do better than the standard. If they're willing to go forward with this, and be proactive about fixing the water chemistry, then that's good for everyone - it's good for the pipes, but it's even better for the people," Neilson said. The issue for Ashland's water is similar all over the state, according to Medford Water Commission Manager Ed Olson. "The reality of it is that we're trying to determine a worst-case scenario. Water is a universal solvent, and it has an acidity that allows it to corrode pipes, dissolve the copper, and put it into the drinking water. Most waters in Oregon are low in alkalinity, low in hardness and that makes them naturally aggressive," Olson said. Typically water is treated by adding aluminum sulfate - also known as alum - to take out small particles of organic matter, then pH corrected with sodium hydroxide. According to Jim Stockton, the Plant Supervisor for Medford's Robert A. Duff Water Treatment Plant, the alum treatment can make the water more corrosive, requiring additional pH treatment. Nonetheless, complaints about Medford water have remained comparatively few. "We get some complaints, but usually only when someone's been away from their home for a long time," Stockton said. Despite the low number of complaints, Olson said that Medford has continued to issue advisories to its users. "When you let water run slightly in the morning, it helps a lot. We continue to recommend to our customers to not use first-draw samples, and let that water run a few minutes. It's only when the water sits for long periods that it becomes a problem," Olson said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -