State grants extension to finish needed treatment for 1,4-dioxane
The Hicksville Water District has received a compliance deferral from New York State allowing the district additional time to install the necessary infrastructure upgrades to treat for 1,4-dioxane. The two-year deferral process is only available to those water providers throughout the state that have shown significant progress in installing the now required advanced oxidation process (AOP) treatment system for the removal of 1,4-dioxane to meet the newly established maximum contaminant levels (MCL).
“We have been working on solutions to this issue well before the state started the process to regulate 1,4-dioxane,” said HWD Chairman William Schuckmann. “Our driving principle is to provide our residents with the highest quality water possible, period. The state’s action levels are extremely conservative in nature, so your water remains safe to consume while we complete this herculean effort to improve our already high-quality water for future generations.”
Schuckmann of the Hicksville Water District
According to the New York State Health Department, “The MCLs are set well below levels known to cause health effects in animal studies. Therefore, consuming water with PFOA, PFOS or 1,4-dioxane at the level detected does not pose a significant health risk. Your water continues to be acceptable for all uses.”
On August 26, 2020, the New York State Health Department finalized regulations establishing MCLs for 1,4-dioxane at 1 part per billion (ppb) and for PFOA and PFOS at 10 parts per trillion (ppt). While PFOA and PFOS are not a concern of the district’s at this point in time as any detection to this point has been below the state’s MCL, 1,4-dioxane is present at 10 of the District’s 14 well sites above or nearing the state’s MCL.
To make the capital improvements necessary to install AOP treatment at each of these well sites, the district is in the middle of making a more than $70 million investment. The district already has its first two AOP treatment facilities online at Plants 1 and 4.
“We are working as quickly as possible to finish construction on the remaining treatment facilities,” Schuckmann said. “Our goal is to have all of this treatment up and running well before the two year extension expires, and, in the meantime, will make operational changes to ensure we are limiting any potential exposures to these contaminants as much as possible.”
AOP treatment, when coupled with granular activated carbon (GAC), is the only proven method to rid the water supply of 1,4-dioxane. This treatment combination is also capable of removing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), should detections of these contaminants ever near the State’s new maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). AOP treatment works by mixing an oxidant, in this case hydrogen peroxide, with water and running it through ultraviolet light. This makes a chemical reaction that destroys the 1,4-dioxane molecules. The water then runs through the GAC filters which removes any remaining hydrogen peroxide and impurities prior to entering the public distribution system.
Visit www.hicksvillewater.com to view the entire deferral notice as well as all of the information on emerging contaminants from the New York State Health Department. To stay up-to-date on the water department’s progress to implement treatment, follow the Hicksville Water District on Facebook or sign up to receive email updates by using the popup on the district homepage.
—Submitted by the Hicksville Water District
