Tennessee American Water Monitors Local Water Quality Following Coal Ash Spill
Tennessee American Water continues to monitor and test the water it provides its customers in the aftermath of a coal ash spill which occurred in Kingston, Tennessee on Dec. 22. "To date, there have been no issues associated with the water supply to the City of Chattanooga and the surrounding communities served by Tennessee American Water," said John Watson, president of Tennessee American Water. Tennessee American Water continues to closely monitor the situation and has been in regular communication with lead regulatory and utility officials 'on-scene' in Kingston, which is 40 miles west of Knoxville.
"We have stayed in contact with the EPA, TVA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) as we closely watch and test our water supply from the Tennessee River," said Watson.
The regulatory and utility agencies in charge have extensive resources working round-the-clock to contain and cleanup the spill. Likewise, they are monitoring for environmental impacts to raw water supplies from the Tennessee River. To date, the closest drinking water intake to the spill, which is in Kingston six miles downstream from the event, has been able to maintain its drinking water within federal standards.
Tennessee American Water has instituted daily sampling of the drinking water to ensure there are no elevated levels of contaminants. The company's "state-of-the-art" treatment process is designed to remove these types of contaminants through a multi-staged approach. The treatment process, under most conditions, should successfully remove contaminants resulting from the spill should they travel this far down the river.
"We will continue to do daily testing until environmental regulatory officials are certain the issue has passed," said Watson.
Tennessee American Water is a member of the 'Partnership for Safe Drinking Water,' a voluntary water quality program whose mission is to improve the quality of drinking water delivered to customers of surface water treatment plants by optimization of treatment plant performance . By instituting this voluntary high standard of water quality, drinking water is treated to a higher standard of water quality and is less likely to be negatively impacted by water contaminants.
Watson said the coal ash spill is less likely to have an impact in Chattanooga since it occurred 115 miles upstream from Tennessee American Water's intake structures. There are two TVA-controlled dams between the site of the spill and Tennessee American's Water's intake. While regulatory agencies will continue to assess the environmental impact and concerns at the site of the coal ash incident near Kingston, TN, Watson said, the dam and lock system on the Tennessee River and lower water levels in the river which were already programmed for winter operations by TVA as part of the river management plan will aid in blocking any suspended material and would control the streamflow rates in the river. This along with dilution of any residual amounts of coal ash, to the extent they were released downstream, will allow contaminants to be captured or diluted at the surface or settle into the river sediment and no longer be an immediate concern.
SOURCE: American Water