Do arsenic, trihalomethane and haloacetic acid sound like something worth drinking?

Teche Area residents do, albeit only several parts per million or billion of the chemicals are found in samplings of the water supply by the Louisiana Water Company and the state Department of Health and Hospitals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these chemicals are byproducts of disinfecting processes that water treatment facilities use to treat tap water.

In its 2007 Consumer Confidence Report, LAWCO said the Chicot Aquifer supplies tap water to New Iberia, Avery Island, Crowley, Eunice and Loreauville. The report said New Iberia has a water treatment plant that adds lime to the water to reduce the hardness and remove inorganic constituents such as iron and manganese.

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“The water in the aquifer is recharged from the Atchafalaya Basin and flows in a westwardly direction,” said Jim Brugh, regional manager for LAWCO. “We have very good water though it is difficult to treat because of the hardness and the iron content which is common for water in this region, but the lime does a good job with that.”

Brugh said LAWCO takes chemical samplings every two hours and sometimes every few minutes for process control. He also said bacteriological reports are prepared once a month and reports regarding disinfectant byproducts, once a quarter.  The chemical samplings included in LAWCO’s report are done by the DHH Department of Public Health.

Karen Irion, chief engineer for the department, said groundwater from the Chicot Aquifer does not change very quickly or contaminate very easily because of its rapid flow and purity. She also said with groundwater, people should expect a little bit of metal or soil and admitted disinfectant byproducts are a new thing with no proof that any harm can come from drinking them.

“People don’t die from chemicals in their groundwater,” she said. “There is still research being done on any potential risk for long-term exposure, like 70 years of drinking the water. But people die from bacteria in the water which filtering and chlorinating prevents and keeps people safe.”

Irion said drinking local water from the tap is much safer than drinking bottled water. “A bottle of water is not the same entity,” she said. “Some are filled with non-treated spring water and some with treated and untreated municipal water. Bottled water is largely self regulated and it is much safer to drink out of the tap.”