Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2008 > March > 20 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USRelax: The drinking water is fine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Neal Spivey should have been my high school chemistry teacher.
If he had, I might not have gotten all those “C’s.”
Spivey is the county director of water production. He simplifies scientific stuff to the point that a child could understand, that I could grasp. Maybe that’s because thousands of kids visit the Shoal Creek Filter Plant in Buford. The Badie Tour paid a visit Wednesday.
Drinking water has been in the news of late. An Associated Press investigation, published in newspapers nationwide on March 11, found that an array of pharmaceuticals have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. Some findings included traces of medicine taken for heart problems and cholesterol.
Naturally, alarms went off. The thought that a glass of H2O might contain drug traces is unsettling, no matter how tiny the concentration or minute the possibility of adverse health effects.
But how real is that possibility to the local water supply?
“Gwinnett’s water is completely safe,” Spivey told me. “We use a very different disinfectant process than most metro Atlanta counties.”
That would be the ozone disinfectant system. It removes disease-carrying bacteria, contaminants and viruses. It oxidizes iron and other elements. It zaps nasty tastes, colors and odor.
“Ozone is stronger than chlorine, seven times more reactive, and as it turns out, it deals with a wide variety of things,” Spivey told me. “It’s effective at oxidizing pesticides and other contaminants.”
In December, the county authorized the University of North Carolina to conduct tests for pharmaceuticals and personal care products at three locations: Our water source (Lake Lanier), drinking water and treated wastewater at the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center in Buford.
Initially, investigators tested for 19 different classes of pharmaceuticals; 17 showed up in the wastewater the first time. But as the water flowed through the treatment process, Spivey said fewer compounds hung around. Only two were found in the final batch of treated water. The lake water contained traces of caffeine; no contaminants showed up in the drinking water.
“I was rather pleased with the results, given all those locations,” Spivey said. “We think the [ongoing] study will answer what we are discharging in our wastewater and secondly, whether our water treatments can remove all contaminants. We think the answer is ‘yes.’Â ”
Before I left Shoal Creek, Spivey gave me a step-by-step explanation of the purification process, from the intake of water from Lake Lanier to the final product that eventually flows through a network of 3,300 miles of pipe.
He made the process sound simple, nothing like my experience in basic high school chemistry.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
Comments
By PSA
March 20, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this
You know that you can turn off the “post you comments” feature on the “No comment” blog and stop the spammers, don’t you?
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 8:55 AM | Link to this
I can vouch for the fact that Gwinnett County water tastes and smells better than Rockdale County water. Rockdale isn’t bad but Gwinnett is better.
By LT5000
March 20, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this
If only Rick would have been as diligent in checking his facts before declaring, ignorantly, that their is a Recession.
Maybe he could have stopped by Georgia State and had a talk with an economist about what a Recession really is.
Since he is apparently speaking with county officials, maybe he could stop by and have a chat with Sheriff Butchie why he doesn’t do something about the illegal immigrant problem in Gwinnett. A true health hazard given the recent wrong way drivers.
LT5000
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this
LT5000, Ok, I’ll bite. Why are you starting in on the Sheriff? I just gotta ask though, why is it that you end people’s names in the “ie” sound when you’re picking on them? LOL, thankfully my name already ends with that phonetic sound.
Ya know, he’s doing his level best to get 287(g) going. LT, you’re not Bannister are you? Just asking.
By LT5000
March 20, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this
Cindy,
I went to a Gwinnett CID meeting and Sheriff Butchie was there to speak about crime in the CID.
Well, the first words out of his mouth were “I’m not going to speak about illegal immigration, that’s not our job.”
Well, he lost a lot of fans right there.
Norcross’s major crime components are illegal aliens. Which even Sheriff Butchie admits that roughly 60% of immigrants admitted to the Detention Center are illegal.
This is from a law enforcement official. Now I will admit, Sheriff Butchie has been singing a different tune lately, and I think that’s because the BOE finally told him to do his job. Let’s hope he does.
Here’s one of those links that Brucie hates so much.
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=84&ArticleID=11958
LT5000
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this
Sometimes not being somebody’s scapegoat or refusing to cower can make one less than popular. However, since we don’t know everything about the dynamics between the Chairman, Commissioners and Sheriff, we have to use our own brains to realize that some of the public p** matches are simply a means to an end.
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=17&SubSectionID=116&ArticleID=12518&TM=36593.06
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
sorry we hijacked your blog Rick…
…ok LT5000, Bruce, Michael…I have to ask…because I just can’t imagine ya’ll being here and not being on the other place I go. Do you know what I’m referring to when I say are you also on SG?
By Michael H. Smith
March 20, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this
I really don’t have the time to tour very many other blogs, Cindy. I enjoy reading Mr. Badie’s blog for a great many reasons, though my time constraints will not allow me to expound upon them at length.
It is good to see Mr. Spivey is making science appealing. Hopefully a few kids will take a career interest in pursuing what the broad field science has to offer.
By LT5000
March 20, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Cindy,
Sheriff Butchie has changed his tune drastically in the last 6-8 months. When I heard him speak he was unequivocal that immigration enforcement wasn’t his job.
When he was finally forced to take action by the BOE, he decided to use it as a bargaining chip to get more money.
Considering that article was written by his spokeswoman, I wouldn’t turn to it for facts. Just more spin.
Personally, I would rather have immigration enforced with my tax dollars than a new stadium, but that’s just me.
LT5000
By Katie
March 20, 2008 11:28 AM | Link to this
I don’t think the water in Gwinnett is safe-it smells funny and it leaves a residue that stinks even more. And no, it’s not my pipes—had those checked out. I refuse to drink the tap water here. The most I’ll do is gargle with it after brushing my teeth and even that disgusts me.
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 11:29 AM | Link to this
LT5000, you said: Personally, I would rather have immigration enforced with my tax dollars than a new stadium, but that’s just me.
Agreed. You still haven’t told me why you add “ie” to people’s name when you’re picking at them. It’s just what you do? I guess I wonder just because it puts more of “pet name” spin to it, in my opinion, instead of sounding of an insulting manner.
Michael, Asked and answered, thanks. The other isn’t a blog though, it’s a forum. Easier to use…faster too…but i’ve been coming here mainly to see what ya’ll have to say about stuff.
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this
Dang Katie, your water does sound rank. The Snellville water is pretty good. Your sinks have traps and they’re vented?
By Outed
March 20, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this
cindun 100 at ScanGwinnett
You seem like you are about 12 years old
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this
yep that’s me. I’m a little older than that though. Just a tad.
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
LT5000,
Are you sure it was definitely the Sheriff who said that? Not the Police Chief?
By Katie
March 20, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
I’ve owned two different homes in Norcross, the first was in the historic downtown district and my current house is a few blocks outside that district. Both houses have had the same water issues. Each time I talk to the city about it, all they do is come out and flush the system out—they open up the fire hydrants and release water for 5-10 minutes. The water almost smells like chemicals or bleach. We choose not to drink it, we buy our drinking water. Maybe it’s a Norcross problem.
By LT5000
March 20, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
Cindy,
Yes, I’m sure it was Butchie. He was there to pump up the supposed drop in Crime at the Norcross CID.
He hasn’t been pumping up his “tough on crime” credentials considering the 3 homicides in Norcross already this year. And that Gwinnett keeps beating the previous years record by double digits.
Quit carrying water for Butchie. He had to be dragged kicking and screaming to actually do his job. Thank God fro Bannister for not taking any crap.
LT5000
By Cindy
March 20, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this
LT5000, Carrying water? LOL…never heard that expression before.
Katie, Come on down to Snellville. The water is good here.
Bruce, Where are you?
By Nick Spivey
March 20, 2008 11:57 PM | Link to this
I’ll vouch for the great taste of Gwinnett’s drinking water as well. It’s a lot better than that of Anchorage, Alaska. Maybe that has to do with my being raised in Gwinnett and (being the son of Neal Spivey) knowing the vast array of treatment processes the water goes through before meeting the lips of Gwinnett residents. Maybe I’m biased. Who knows?
By Lance in Norcross
March 21, 2008 12:40 AM | Link to this
LT5000, assuming you are talking about the Gwinnett Village CID you need to check your facts. The Sheriff has not attended or spoken at any of our meetings. You should get your facts straight before making accusations. If you give me the date you attended a meeting I can let you know who it was you heard speak. You could then at least whine about the right official.
By Cindy
March 21, 2008 7:33 AM | Link to this
yeah I was thinking about asking the date too, because there should be some recorded minutes or something to account for who was present and who spoke.
By LT5000
March 21, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
If I am wrong then I stand corrected.
However, Sheriff Butchie still is using the illegal immigration issue to attempt to blackmail money out of the BOE.
Again, I’m with Bannister on this one.
The CID meeting I attended was in September.
Can you tell me who the Police official was that got up in front of Everyone and said “I’m not going to talk about Illegals, that not our job.”
LT5000
By Dale
March 21, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this
Nice article, it’s a very interesting topic, and one we feel strongly about. Consumers simply need to protect themselves even if there are not pharmaceuticals now, there could be something else later. http://www.blog.waterfilters.net/pharmaceuticals-in-our-water/41/
By Michael H. Smith
March 21, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this
A few final thoughts on this virtually ignored blog topic. We may relax that our drinking water is safe to drink. However, the measure of safety in supply lingers as an issue of concern. Before the now infamous drought, we were served notice that by 2030 our water supply would allow for no more development or essentially support no more people.
The clock is still ticking my dear fellows. While for the most part, what has occurred under the gold dome so far this year remains woefully insufficient towards securing any peace of mind that even a marginally acceptable level water supply for the future has been insured. Making or keeping our drinking water safe will prove to be the least of our water worries.
By Cindy
March 21, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this
Come one now Michael, this was a successful blog…You, Katie, Dale, Nick Spivey and I discussed the topic at hand.
Outed discussed me. And LT5000 and Lance added to the blog.
By Cindy
March 21, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this
duh. I meant to say “come on Michael.” once you click post though it’s too late to change it. :)
By LT5000
March 21, 2008 2:49 PM | Link to this
What’s more of a health hazard in Gwinnett?
Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in our water or Illegals with Tuberculosis?
LT5000