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For Release Wednesday,
7th March, 2002 |
CONTACT: TIM O’CONNOR |
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PHONE:561-355-3576
FAX:561- 355-3038
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SOUTH BAY, FL—As the City of South Bay works to upgrade its water treatment facility to meet the Environmental Protection Agency standard for Total Trihalomethanes an alternative drinking water station is now operational to give residents carbon filtered drinking water free of TTHM’s.
Miracle by Faith Christian Community School on Martin Luther King Boulevard in South Bay had the dispensing unit installed by the Palm Beach County Health Department last week. Residents can now bring their own pre-sanitized containers and access drinking water 24 hours a day.
In October of 2000 it was brought to the attention of the Florida Department of Health, EPA, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and County Health Department that the water treatment facilities in Pahokee and South Bay had high levels of TTHMs. TTHM’s are the result of chlorine, used to disinfect water, reacting with natural organic matter in the water to create a disinfection byproduct. With assistance from all agencies TTHMs in Pahokee and South Bay continue to be monitored and will be greatly reduced when water plant modifications are completed within a year to meet federal drinking water standards.
The addition of filtered drinking water for the citizens of South Bay is the culmination of many peoples efforts including the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF) and Active Citizens Together Improving Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) in western Palm Beach County. Since the water stations were added in Pahokee last year over 53,000 gallons have been distributed.
Funding for the drinking water stations has come from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The health department is ready to answer any question on the water station and also to remind the citizens of Pahokee and South Bay that by boiling water for five minutes and letting it cool will also eliminate TTHMs.
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