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A look back

The Sentinel first reported on the planned chloramine conversion last August when Pennsylvania American Water Co. announced it was delaying the switch at its West Shore and Silver Spring water treatment plans.

PAWC officials said the decision was made to give people more time to transition to it.

A public meeting was then held in Camp Hill in October with officials from the water company, the EPA, DEP and state Department of Health.

Over the better part of the last year, opponents of the plan, including Susan Pickford of Camp Hill, who started the Chloramine Information Center, have since been fighting the company’s objective to introduce chloramines into the water supply.

By Jason Scott, Sentinel Reporter, July 21, 2008

Last updated: Monday, July 21, 2008 2:05 PM EDT

Susan Pickford knows the fight over using chloramine in the West Shore water supply is a long way from over.

Since last August, the Camp Hill attorney has led the charge against Pennsylvania American Water Co. and its plan to add the chemical, a mixture of chlorine and ammonia, to its area water systems to meet new federal drinking water standards.

Pickford started the Chloramine Information Center to help combat the PAWC project and has taken the water war to court, hoping to overturn state approval of its implementation.

“If we lose at any level, we will appeal,” she said. “This is not a matter of principle, it is a matter of our health, our children’s health, the environment and the future of our water resources. We won’t stop until we have stopped the chloramine.”

PAWC was planning to introduce the chemical to the West Shore in August 2007 but pulled back over public concern.

The legal battle, which includes Pickford’s recent appeal to Commonwealth Court and hearings before the Public Utility Commission in October, has forced the company to delay its plans until early 2009.

“We are preparing for those hearings and fully expect the questions to be resolved, so that we can implement chloramine disinfection,” PAWC spokesman Terry Maenza said.

With permits in hand from the state Department of Environmental Protection, there is no reason to look at other alternatives, Maenza explained.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has set new rules that require water companies to reduce byproducts formed when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in water. As a result, many have turned to chloramine, which is one of the cheapest alternatives.

PAWC maintains that it is also a proven, commonly used disinfection method. Since its first use in 1917, nearly one-third of water systems across the country, serving more than 68 million people, use chloramine, including 4 million in Pennsylvania.

Since chloramine is not as reactive as chlorine with organic materials, it produces substantially lower concentrations of disinfection byproducts, or DBPs, according to PAWC.

Opponents, including Pickford and Josephine Rakow, health officer for Camp Hill, say that there is no evidence to suggest chloramine doesn’t have ill effects.

“Chloramine is responsible for more byproducts being formed in the distribution system,” Pickford said.

Respiratory and skin symptoms are among those most commonly associated with chloraminated systems in other states.

One of the biggest issues is that the chemical leaches lead from water pipes and fittings, Rakow explained, which poses the risk of elevated blood lead levels.

An increased filtration system to remove organic matter will reduce the byproducts from the chlorine and allow the company to continue using chlorine and still meet EPA present and future standards, Pickford argued.

Additional chloramine concerns come into play when kidney dialysis patients and fish are taken into account.

Because water comes in contact with the bloodstream in the dialysis process, chloramine is toxic if it is not removed or filtered prior to use.

It also is deadly to fish and other aquatic life if it’s not removed from the water.

“The fish kill up there around Boiling Springs would be devastating,” Rakow said, citing a water spill in Virginia in April that killed 90 percent of the fish population and other incidents of water main breaks involving chloramine.

West Shore’s water supply comes from Conodoguinet and Yellow Breeches creeks.

“A main break along the Yellow Breeches or Conodoguinet creeks will destroy these treasures,” Pickford added.

PAWC plans to attach an insert in the August billing to its 35,000 West Shore customers to address frequently asked questions about this issue, Maenza said.