Cape Water System customers notified of elevated contaminant level

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A private water company is warning its 4,300 customers in New Hanover County about a contaminant found in the water and it is not GenX.

Homeowners in The Cape and along River Road got a notice from Aqua North Carolina this week.

“I got up this morning and read that letter, and I said, ‘I don’t know what I am supposed to do,'” Marlin Bails said. “The letter just says that we got a problem with the water.”

The notice said the latest test results from June 28th show the system exceeds the standard or maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes.

“I didn’t know if I was supposed to use the water for this or use it for that,” Bails said.

Public Notice from Aqua North Carolina

The letter said you do not need to use alternate water, but it does say some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Aqua Communications Manager Dan Lockwood told us the elevated TTHM concern is the result of a reaction between chlorine, which is added to the source water as a required disinfectant, and naturally occurring minerals – bromide in this case. Bromide can be found in wells along coastal areas due to geology caused by the oceans millions of years ago.

“The Maximum Contaminant Level for total trihalomethanes is based upon two sample locations as required by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality; only one of the two samples exceeded the MCL,” Lockwood said.

“They should in the letter told us a little bit more about it,” Bails said.

Lockwood Said Aqua has requested an engineering analysis and a proposal to identify options to address the TTHM concerns in this system from multiple engineering firms.

“It is important that our customers know that this notice is not informing them of an immediate risk, but is a precautionary notice,” Lockwood said.

In the meantime, Bails said he will continue using bottled water as a precautionary measure.

Lockwood also said Aqua is also working with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to address this issue. He said they expect to have the analysis completed and proposals in hand by the end of this week. Once they receive and review the documents, he said they will proceed with the suggested treatment approach.