Philadelphia Water Department

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Philadelphia Water Department

Philadelphia Water Department logo
Utility overview
Formed 1801
Jurisdiction City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Headquarters

ARAMARK Tower
1101 Market Street, FL 5
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Coordinates: 39°57′08″N 75°09′31″W / 39.9521°N 75.1585°W / 39.9521; -75.1585 39° 57′ 7.56″ N, 75° 9′ 30.6″ W

39.9521, -75.1585
Employees 2,000[1]
Annual budget $607,576,000, FY ending 2008-06-31, actual[2]
Utility executive Howard Neukrug, Water Commissioner
Website http://www.phila.gov/water

The Philadelphia Water Department provides integrated potable water, wastewater, and stormwater services for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and some communities in Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.[3]

The primary mission of the department is the planning, operation and maintenance of both the physical infrastructure and the organized personnel needed to provide high quality drinking water, and to provide an adequate and reliable water supply for all domestic, commercial, and industrial requirements, and to manage wastewater and stormwater to protect and improve the quality of the region’s watersheds, especially the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River.[3] The Philadelphia Water Department's lack of attention to the potential impact of Marcellus Shale gas drilling (hydraulic fracturing) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's resistance to provide information related to drilling have been criticized.<ref name="AP2014>Kevin Begos (5 January 2014). "4 states confirm water pollution from drilling. Associated Press review of complaints casts doubt on industry view that it rarely happens.". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 January 2014. </ref>[4]

Drinking water

Philadelphia Water Department Belmont Pumping Station, built 1900, Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive at Montgomery Drive, Philadelphia, PA. View from the parking lot, looking north, with the Columbia Railroad Bridge in the background.

The Water Department draws about half of its water from the Schuylkill River, and about half from the Delaware River. The Queen Lane Plant in East Falls draws water from an intake pumping station (1895) on Kelly Drive. The Belmont Plant on Belmont Avenue in Wynnefield draws water from an intake pumping station (1870-1900) on Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive.[5] The Fairmount Dam prevents brackish water from the Delaware River from coming up the Schuylkill from the Delaware with the tide.[6]

Water quality

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found elevated iodine-131 (I-131) levels in Philadelphia's drinking water several times since 2007 during routine quarterly monitoring.[7][8] Iodine-131 is used to diagnose and treat thyroid cancer, is produced via nuclear fission, is a byproduct of nuclear power and weapons testing,[9] and is a tracer used in hydraulic fracturing.[10][11] Iodine-131 is also used in annual tests for leaks in injection wells containing waste.[12] Originally the elevated levels were suspected to be related to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster or medical waste.[13] Upon further investigation, iodine-131 was detected in the Schuylkill, downstream of Reading, Norristown and Pottstown. By March 2012 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had ruled out the nuclear disaster, local nuclear energy production, or hospitals as sources and concluded by process of elimination that the episodically elevated levels were probably caused by patients receiving iodine therapy for the treatment of thyroid cancer.[11] They said that the water is safe to drink and posed no immediate risk of harm.[14] The Philadelphia Water Department, the EPA, and Water Research Foundation confirmed that wastewater effluent was one possible source.[14][11] Experts participating in a workshop convened to discuss the issue were uncertain regarding the significance of the elevated I-131 levels and identified gaps in the understanding of the phenomena, including the number and geographic distribution of drinking water plants with Iodine-131 in their source water, the levels of Iodine-131 in those areas, and the effectiveness of removal processes in typical water and wastewater treatment plants. They reported that more information is needed regarding the frequency of I-131 treatments in the catchment areas of water treatment plant source waters and the locations where patients may be expected to discharge I-131 to sewers. The report indicated that more information is also needed regarding the potential contributions of sources such as veterinary treatments, septic systems, Sanitary Sewer Overflows, Combined Sewer Overflows, and hydro-fracturing, and of the impact of I-131 to the ecology of receiving waters.[11] The report noted that at this time there are no "off-the-shelf" large scale drinking water treatment options for I-131 available, little research to provide a basis for developing new water treatment approaches, and that known treatment options are costly.[11]

In October, 2012 EPA's Rad Net's periodic Iodine-131 readings were elevated to 5.46 pCi/L (the highest reading in the US) at the Belmont facility and to 3.28 pCi/L at Queens Lane. EPA's July readings were 2.83 pCi/L and 3.65 pCi/L respectively.[15] The federal drinking water standard for Iodine-131 is 3.00 pCi/L.[16] David Allard, Director of the Bureau of Radiation Protection for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), and reappointed PA State Liaison Officer to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Tom Corbett in 2011,[17] responded that the elevated levels do not pose a health issue.[15] Joanne Dahme of the Philadelphia Water Department explained that whereas many towns get their drinking water from groundwater, Philadelphia's water intakes are on the Schuylkill River, which is fed by streams whose sources include treated effluent from sewage plants. October was a dry month, so much of the river water may have consisted of effluent, which could include excreted Iodine-131.[15] The October 2012 readings were deleted from the web site in February 2013 and reposted in March 2013. No quarterly readings have been posted since October 2013.[16] The Philadelphia Water Quality report for 2013, usually released in May, was delayed.[18]

The Associated Press has reported that starting in 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection strongly resisted providing the AP and other news organizations with information about complaints related to drilling.<ref name="AP2014>Kevin Begos (5 January 2014). "4 states confirm water pollution from drilling. Associated Press review of complaints casts doubt on industry view that it rarely happens.". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 January 2014. </ref> The Philadelphia Water Department officials' lack of assertive action in addressing the potential impact of Marcellus Shale gas drilling on Philadelphia's drinking water has also been criticized.[4] The bulk of waste from hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania is disposed of or used within the state.[4] Not all companies submit reports on production or waste.[4] Council members have been lobbied to oppose gas development, due to concerns that hydraulic fracturing threatens the city's water. The first Marcellus exploratory wells in the Delaware basin were drilled in 2010 in Wayne County, approximately 180 miles upstream from Philadelphia's drinking water intakes.[19] There are also drilling waste processing facilities upstream, including Waste Recovery Solutions, Inc., about 80 miles upstream in Myerstown, Pennsylvania.[20][21] Officials say that although they are concerned about the negative environmental effects of drilling in the Upper Delaware River, gas drilling is only one of many potential threats with which they must deal, such as agricultural runoff, chemicals, spilled fuel, and treated waste water.[19] Any spills from the wells in Wayne County would take about three days to work their way down to the drinking water intakes. Officials said They would monitor the spills in the same manner as they do the dozen or so other spills occurring each year.[19]

In December 2011 Radium-228, a naturally occurring radionuclide found in hydraulic fracturing wastewater, was detected at levels within the risk range in Philadelphia's drinking water for the first time during EPA's routine annual monitoring.[22] No Radium 228 levels have been reported for Philadelphia's drinking water on the EPA's Envirofacts web site since that time. The EPA also stopped posting Philadelphia's levels of Radium-226, another radionuclide associated with hydraulic fracturing, on the web site in 2010.[23]

Also problematic may be the high levels of Bromide released into the rivers. The Bromide in the water combines with chlorine, which is used to disinfect drinking water at water treatment plants, and forms trihalomethanes (THMs).[24] The levels of THMs detected in Philadelphia's water have fluctuated. In 2011 the average readings were between 39-42ppb, with a range of 17-87ppb. The EPA MCL for THMs is 80ppb. Long term exposure to trihalomethanes increases the risk cancer, especially bladder cancer.[24]

Green Stormwater Infrastructure

One of the environmentally -friendly initiatives of the PWD is the Green Stormwater Infrastructure. This project involves increasing the ways and locations where soil-water-plant systems help to filter contaminants out of stormwater, returning some of it to the ground, releasing some to the air, and sometimes a portion of it into the sewer system.[25]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Key Statistics about Philadelphia Water Department". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 
  2. ↑ "PWD 2008 Financial Report". Philadelphia Water Department. 2008. p. 21. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Philadelphia Water Department, Mission". Philadelphia Water Department web site. City of Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Matt Kelso (2 August 20, 2013). "PA Releases Unconventional Production and Waste Data". StateImpact Pennsylvania. Fractracker.org. Retrieved 19 October 2013. 
  5. ↑ Gibson, Jane Mork (1990). "Belmont Pumping Station, 1899-1900". Workshop of the World. Oliver Evans Press. Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-03. "The City of Philadelphia maintains two pumping stations that draw water from the Schuylkill River—Belmont (1870) and Queen Lane (1895)—both of which are connected to filtration and water purification facilities." 
  6. ↑ Gibson, Jane Mork (1990). "Fairmount Dam, 1819-1821". Workshop of the World. Oliver Evans Press. Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-03. "Originally constructed for ponding of the river for water supply and for waterpower, Fairmount Dam no longer is needed for waterpower, but it continues to serve the city by providing a water supply storage area for two pumping stations with intakes on the Schuylkill." 
  7. ↑ Jeff McMahon (10 April 2011). "EPA: New Radiation Highs in Little Rock Milk, Philadelphia Drinking Water". Forbes. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 
  8. ↑ "Japanese Nuclear Emergency: Radiation Monitoring". EPA. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Radioisotope Brief Iodine-131". CDC. 18 August 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2012. 
  10. ↑ Jack E. Whitten, Steven R. Courtemanche, Andrea R. Jones, Richard E. Penrod, and David B. Fogl (Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (June 2000). "Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses: Program-Specific Guidance About Well Logging, Tracer, and Field Flood Study Licenses (NUREG-1556, Volume 14)". US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 19 April 2012. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Timothy A. Bartrand and Jeffrey S. Rosen (October 2013). Potential Impacts and Significance of Elevated 131 I on Drinking Water Sources [Project #4486ORDER NUMBER: 4486] (Report). Water Research Foundation. http://www.waterrf.org/ExecutiveSummaryLibrary/4486_ProjectSummary.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ↑ Steve Roy (14 June 2012). "Containment of Wastes Under the Land Ban Program (Migration section)". EPA. Retrieved 5 January 2013. 
  13. ↑ Bauers, Sandy (21 July 2011). "Cancer patients’ urine suspected in Wissahickon iodine-131 levels". Philadelphia inquirer, Carbon County Groundwater Guardians. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Sandy Bauers (2012-03-30). "Radioactive iodine in Phila. water tied to thyroid patients". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 2. Retrieved 2012-04-03. "Iodine-131 also is a byproduct of nuclear power plants. But officials have ruled out the Limerick nuclear power plant, located on the Schuylkill south of Pottstown, and any of the region's medical, research, or pharmaceutical firms as the source of the iodine-131. By excluding everything else, they settled on the patients themselves as the likely source." 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Sandy Bauers (2012-12-07). "Spike in iodine-131 found in city water". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 2. Retrieved 2012-12-07. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Iodine-131 levels in Philadelphia, PA drinking water". EPA RadNet Environfacts. EPA. Retrieved 7 December 2012. 
  17. ↑ Tom Corbett (20 April 2011). Letter to USNRC re:Allard reappointment (PDF). United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 9 December 2012. 
  18. ↑ "Philadelphia Water Department drinking water quality reports". Philadelphia Water Department. Retrieved 1 June 2013. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Andrew Maykuth (2010-09-28). "Philadelphia Water Department taking measured approach to fracking". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-02-14. 
  20. ↑ "Frac Tracker Maps Unconventional Waste". FracTracker.org. 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2013-07-04. 
  21. ↑ "Waste Recovery Solutions, Inc.". 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2013-07-10. 
  22. ↑ "Radium-228 levels in Philadelphia, PA drinking water". EPA RadNet Environfacts. EPA. Retrieved 9 December 2012. 
  23. ↑ "Radium-226 levels in Philadelphia, PA drinking water". EPA RadNet Environfacts. EPA. Retrieved 5 April 2013. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Bruce Gellerman and Ann Murray (10 August 2012). "Disposal of Fracking Wastewater Polluting PA Rivers". PRI's Environmental News Magazine (Public Radio International). Retrieved 14 January 2013. 
  25. ↑ Green Stormwater Infrastructure
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