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Theory: Purity of Ashland water may prompt copper woes By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings The problem with Ashland's water supply - if it has one - is that it's too pure. In recent water tests of water at Mountain Meadows retirement community, as well as elsewhere in the city, water that remained in pipes for 24 hours showed copper levels exceeding national standards. Later tests of water that had stood for just 6 hours exonerated both the city and Mountain Meadows. John Neilson of Medford-based Neilson Research Inc. conducted those tests, and now he has a theory: Ashland's water is so high quality that it fails to leave deposits of minerals on copper pipes. Ordinarily, that layer of mineral deposits would prevent the water from stripping copper from the pipes. Without that layer, the dissolved metal ends up in the tapwater. "The people of Ashland are very fortunate. They have really pure water. It's so good, it's almost too good. If there weren't this good a quality, then the copper problem wouldn't be a problem. And they may have to increase the hardness and the alkalinity in order � to hold back the corrosion factor," Neilson said. Talent's Public Works Supervisor Lester Naught concurs with Neilson's theory. According to Naught, who has served in his position for the past 23 years, Talent had a similar problem with copper and corrosion control until it switched over to the Medford intertie - a relationship where Talent's water is processed in Medford. "Once the intertie came in, the copper levels shot way down. What I was thinking when we were treating our own water was that we'd have to put a little more into the water to keep those (corrosion and copper) levels down," Naught said. While Ashland has contemplated an intertie with Medford, that relationship would be more about increasing water supply than water quality, according to Public Works Director Paula Brown. But no move is expected on the intertie until 2015, Brown said. Nonetheless, Brown maintains that Ashland's water is safe to drink. "One point I want to emphasize is that higher copper levels aren't what we have. If you use standard protocol, we are below the action level of 1.3 (mg/liter)," Brown said. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization have adopted strict guidelines relating to the amount of copper that's safe for humans to ingest. The EPA specifies an "action level" of 1.3 mg per liter. WHO has adopted slightly looser guidelines. Following the copper controversy at Mountain Meadows, the city has been pursuing its own investigation, adopting a more frequent testing schedule. Those results are due out Friday. What remains at issue is how long water should stand before testing. While Neilson used a 24-hour test at Mountain Meadows, EPA guidelines permit water to stand for a minimum of 6 hours. The results were vastly different. Water standing for 24 hours had roughly twice the concentration of copper than water left standing in pipes for 6 hours. Still, Harold Rogers, the EPA's Coordinator for Safe Drinking Water Action Program said the 24-hour test is "really stretching it." "When we say a minimum of 6 hours, we're thinking between 6 and 12 hours. Waiting 24 hours is probably beyond the scope of the time to wait. Most cities have opted to go with the quicker standing time - the minimum of 6 hours - and that lets them be able to squeak in under the standard," Rogers said. While copper is found in many foods and vitamin supplements, and is a necessary nutrient, too much of the metal can be a bad thing. According to a current WHO report on copper drafted by the EPA's J.M Donahue, the metal is only a hazard if consumed in excess quantities. At higher levels it can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and other gastro-intestinal problems. At very high doses - 363 mg and higher for a 200 lb. male - it can be fatal. The report also warns that "consumption of standing or partially flushed water from a system that contains copper pipes or fittings can considerably increase total daily copper exposure, especially for infants fed formula reconstituted with tap water." Data collected by the Food and Drug Administration in the 1980s puts the average daily dietary intake of copper for adult males at 1.2 mg, while females took in 0.9 mg. Infants average 0.45 mg per day. An earlier WHO report in 1996 sets average copper requirements at 12.5 micrograms per kilogram of body weight, and 50 micrograms per kilo of body weight for infants. Averaging Neilson's 6 and 24-hour tests, Ashlanders consuming 2 liters of water a day can expect to get between 2 and 4 mg of copper in their diet - about twice the USDA average, and far more than WHO's daily requirement. In fact, the WHO report notes that short-term exposure symptoms found concentrations ranging from 2.8 to 7.8 mg per liter. The highest concentration found in Neilson's 24-hour testing of Mountain Meadows water was 2.5 mg per liter. Because even higher concentrations are possible in water that stands for longer periods, Neilson said he remains concerned. " What concerns me are all these people at businesses and schools that leave at 5 p.m. Friday and don't come back until 8 a.m. Monday. Those places that close for 48 hours then come back and make coffee - that water's sitting there for two days, right there in the workplace," Neilson said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | 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. 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