FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - The Flagstaff utility department has found the cause of water contamination in a now unused reservoir.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports (https://bit.ly/1P5asA9 ) that the city alerted 91 customers that their water contained haloacetic acids at concentrations that exceeded federal limits. They have since modified water distribution to remediate the problem.
Officials say the contamination is coming from vegetation that grew along Upper Lake Mary during years of low lake levels that are now increasing carbon in the lake. When the organic carbon interacts with chlorine used in the city’s water treatment plant, it can form haloacetic acid compounds.
The city has since turned off Lake Mary as a water source.
People who drink haloacetic acid at concentrations above federal levels over many years have an increased risk of getting cancer.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, https://www.azdailysun.com/
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