PITTSBORO — Pittsboro officials said on Friday they were “encouraged” by the minimal amounts of 1,4-Dioxane measured in the most recently tested water samples after the improper discharge on Nov. 3 from the City of Greensboro, and were continuing to monitor water.
By Tuesday, however, the 1,4-Dioxane levels had increased to a point where officials began to voice concerns. Town Manager Chris Kennedy sent another release letting residents know samples from Monday weren't expected until Wednesday.
"The numbers are trending in the wrong direction," he wrote on Tuesday. "but the numbers as of last Friday remain under the EPA’s 35 ug/L advisory level. The Town will continue to sample and report out the results as soon as we are able to do so."
As of Friday, the town's water tanks were filled with water "consistent with concentration levels displayed for finished water," Kennedy said, along with a chart provided in the release.
“The town will continue to pull samples until it is abundantly clear that the 1,4-Dioxane release has passed our raw water intake,” Kennedy said on Friday. “The water levels in the tanks should last the town 3-4 days, depending on consumption demand. While the town is not imposing any formal water restrictions to conserve water, any conservation will assist in the longevity of the water in the tanks.”
Increasing the longevity of that water, Kennedy said, allows Pittsboro to continue to distribute “safe water free of elevated levels of 1,4-Dioxane by allowing us to limit our draws of raw water from the Haw River and adding more separation time from the contamination date that may prove beneficial should any remnants of the 1,4-Dioxane release remain upstream of our water intake.”
Town officials continue to discuss remedies, Kennedy said, with the N.C. Division of Environmental Quality and with the City of Greensboro.
Pittsboro was alerted Monday the Greensboro had again allowed an excessive amount of 1,4-Dioxane — in the form of a “slug,” of concentrated segment of water — into the Haw. With each previous release, Pittsboro has detected the contaminant and by stopping the town’s draw from the Haw River.
The City of Greensboro has on more than on occasion discharged more than 20 times the recommended threshold of 1,4-Dioxane into the Haw River. 1,4-Dioxane, coming from a yet-to-be-identified source, is a synthetic chemical typically found in laundry detergent, shower gel and other soaps. The toxic chemical is thought to be a likely carcinogen, so the EPA has a Drinking Water Health Advisory Level of 35 micrograms per liter of 1,4-Dioxane based on a 1 in 10,000 cancer risk for lifetime exposure.
In a release earlier last week, Kennedy said the town found almost nonexistent levels — mostly between 1 and 2 micrograms — of the chemical in its drinking water.
“It appears the town has ‘dodged the bullet’ with this release event,” Kennedy said Friday.
The sample of water from Nov. 3, the day of the discharge, through Nov. 8 indicated only 1.07 micrograms per liter of 1,4-Dioxane was found in the drinking water. On Nov. 10, water samples were tested again and showed levels of 1,4-Dioxane had increased by less than one microgram per liter.
Last week, Kennedy said town staff believes the most recent “slug” must have passed through Pittsboro outside of the water plant’s hours of operation.
Some residents were skeptical on social media and said they believed the slug would take longer to come downstream due to low stream flow in the Haw River.
It appears residents may have been right after all.
Tuesday’s numbers indicate the “slug” in question may just be coming through Pittsboro, different than what Kennedy and staff originally thought to be the case.
According to a press release sent on Tuesday by Kennedy, 1,4-Dioxane levels had increased substantially from the last two reports. The raw grab from the Haw River saw an increase from 3.74 micrograms per liter on Nov. 11 to 9.80 micrograms per liter on Nov. 12.
Kennedy said in the press release he was concerned about the uptick in 1,4-Dioxane levels in the water and wants residents to remain diligent in their conservation efforts.
“The Town is continuing to draw only the bare minimum of raw water to keep from inundating our system with contaminated water,” Kennedy wrote. “Town staff will continue to pull samples and seek rush orders on those samples so that we can continue to provide current updates of the water quality to our drinking water customers.”
Town staff expect the results from the next round of samples to come in within the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Pittsboro passed a motion Monday to contract with Chatham Marketplace to allow town water customers to access its water filling station for free. This move is a response to the recent delay of the Granular Active Carbon filtration system project — which is known to clean out chemicals such has chlorine or hydrogen sulfide from water — at the town’s water treatment plant, which will not be completed until spring of 2022 because of supply chain issues.
Chatham Marketplace’s water filling station will be made available for free to any resident of Pittsboro who pays to use the town’s water utilities. The water filling station uses reverse osmosis and UV filtration to treat the water for “forever chemicals” such as PFAS and PFOS, meaning residents will be able to have a more dependable source for safe, clean water.
“The Chatham Marketplace filling station is currently active and ready for distribution as soon as the town contracts with the Chatham Marketplace,” Kennedy said in a memo to commissioners. “Town staff believes that the town could be distributing water via Chatham Marketplace within two weeks following authorization.”
Reporter Taylor Heeden can be reached at theeden@chathamnr.com.