City of Bloomington Utilities officials will present the Indiana Department of Environmental Management with a proposal today that could help reduce the amount of Disinfectant Byproducts, or DBPs, in Bloomington's drinking water.
The plan uses two chlorination points that have been installed but are not yet been active.
DBPs appear when chemicals interact with organic material in the water supply. Moving the point of injection could keep the chemicals from interacting with as much organic matter.
Rachel Atz is the water quality coordinator for the city of Bloomington. She says the city will discuss a number of ideas with state officials.
"So, if perhaps the injection points don't meet IDEM's standards or if for some reason they reject those, we have some other options that we are ready to talk with them about," says Atz.
DBPs are linked to health risks including cancer.
In January, Mayor John Hamilton announced that DBPs levels were below the EPA's standards, but are trending upwards. Two times over the last 18 months, DBPs hit a 75 percet threshold. Industry best practices suggest a level of less than 50 percent.
Noon Edition Friday
You can hear the CBU's Rachel Atz, Mary Hollingsworth of IDEM, and SPEA professor Jim Barnes today at 12:00 pm on Noon Edition. Call in with your questions. The panel will be discussing water quality.