May Cost a Million to Fix LG Water Issue

By H.H. HOWZE La Grange drinking water has been tagged by the EPA as exceeding the standard for trihalomethanes, according to city manager Shawn Raborn and it will cost “approximately a million dollars,” to fix the problem.

The money is not in the budget Raborn just presented to the city council, but he said Wednesday he can come up with it by transfers from other fund balances.  

Trihalomethanes are formed as a by-product when chlorine is used to disinfect water for drinking. They represent one group of chemicals generally referred to as disinfection by-products. They result from the reaction of chlorine or bromine with organic matter present in the water being treated. The THMs produced have been associated with adverse health effects.

Who knew?

There are three methods for reducing THMs in water supplies, all of them expensive.

Raborn said the least expensive and, as far as he is concerned, most promising approach is to aerate the water in the tanks before distributing it through the pipes.

“We’re working to find a long-term solution” Raborn said, noting that standards of permitted water contaminants are subject to change.