West Columbia, partner agency cited for water quality problem

West Columbia again has been cited for a water quality problem that affected a partner that distributes the water as well.

Inspections by state officials found drinking water produced by the Lexington County city and supplied to the Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission slightly exceeded limits for one contaminant.

The water is safe to drink for most persons, although those with “a severely compromised immune system” should seek medical advice about switching to other sources, officials said in notices posted online.

About 65,000 homes and businesses receive water from the city and commission.

The problem found is the presence of haloacetic acids, which is a long-term cancer threat if levels remain high.

Those acids occur when disinfectants in drinking water react with organic matter largely coming from the natural landscape.

West Columbia officials blame the problem on a combination of warm weather and frequent storms sending material from trees and plants into Lake Murray, saying it intensified with last fall’s floods. City officials produce drinking water from the 47,500-acre lake.

Efforts are under way to end the problem, Mayor Bobby Horton said. “Our responsibility is to make good, clean water,” he said. “Things are being corrected.”

The problem for city residents is concentrated in neighborhoods on West Columbia’s west edge, officials said. Other parts of the community get drinking water from the lower Saluda River, which is not affected so far.

Officials with the Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission are working to help solve the problem even though “it’s something we don’t have complete control over,” general manager Jay Nicholson said.

His agency provides water to neighborhoods scattered across the 758-square-mile county, mainly in Red Bank, Pelion, Swansea and Gilbert.

Officials at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control are monitoring the changes to assure the level is reduced, spokeswoman Cassandra Harris said.

For both networks, the acids were found to average 0.61 milligrams per liter during the past year, just over the maximum level of 0.60 allowed under federal drinking water standards, according to inspection reports.

It’s the second time since April that DHEC officials have given West Columbia an unsatisfactory rating in its production of drinking water.

City officials were cited in the spring for making water potable with an unapproved method after discovering its use of chlorine as a disinfectant wasn’t doing the job.

The two problems are unrelated, Harris said.

No problem has been found in drinking water at the town of Lexington, another community supplied by West Columbia, officials said.

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 4:27 PM with the headline "West Columbia, partner agency cited for water quality problem."