FAQ - Hagewood Water System Violation, 7-16-2024

FAQ:

1. Who sent this notice, and when did you receive it? A copy of the notification letter from

LDH, Chemical Compliance Engineer, is attached for your review. This letter was sent to the

Hagewood Water System (HWS) P.O. Box, signed for by Waskom, Brown, and Associate staff

(our accounting firm), and the HWS Board of Directors received an email copy of this letter

from our accounting office on July 11. We took immediate steps to discuss these findings with

our system operator, send a copy to the newspaper for posting, post it on our website, and

begin working on a notification letter to all consumers.

2. Is our water safe to drink? LDH states, in the letter: “This is not an emergency. If it had

been, you would have been notified immediately. EPA and LDH do not consider this violation to

have any serious adverse health effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure…”

3. Where was the test sample taken? DBP01 – POC 5. This is our test site on Posey Road.

4. What do we know about the TTHMs and HAA5 chemical levels that exceeded the MCL? The

limit on TTHMs (total trihalomethanes) is 80 parts per billion (ppb); this HWS test sample was

90 ppb. The limit for HAA5 (haloacetic acids) is 60 parts per billion (ppb); this HWS test sample

was 65 ppb. That's 5 parts per billion over the limit (example: 5 dollars out of one billion

dollars).

THMs and HAA5 are disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that can be found in drinking water when

chlorine or chloramine react with naturally occurring organic material.

THMs: When chlorine reacts with organic material like decaying vegetation in lakes or

reservoirs. THM formation is influenced by residence time, pH, and other factors.

HAA5: When chlorine or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.

Surface water sources like rivers, lakes, and streams are more likely to contain the organic

materials that combine with chlorine to form HAA5.

HWS water supply comes from our underground well, and is supplemented by the City of

Natchitoches. We have just added Sabine Waterworks as an additional supplement.

5. What steps has the Hagewood Water System (HWS) taken to help ensure compliance in the

future? Please be assured that we are following all reporting requirements to comply with LDH

directives. Additionally, we are working to lower the chlorine residual, flushing lines more

frequently, and recently completed a tie-in with Sabine Waterworks to supplement our wells.