The Department of Environmental Protection issued a water standard violation to the Univerisity of Centeal Florida earlier this year.
“The University of Central Florida routinely monitors its drinking water for contaminants. We had a drinking water standard violation earlier this year, and we want to let you know what happened and what we are doing to correct it,” a message from UCF said.
According to UCF, the violation was the result of a water flow issue within the pipes that caused a chemical by-product build up above normal levels.
“Florida and many other states require the use of a disinfectant to minimize the possibility of bacterial contamination in the drinking water distribution system,” a message from UCF said. “If water flows at too slow of a pace through the pipes on its way to the tap, that can lead to an increase in the amount of Total Trihalomethanes, or TTHMs. TTHMs are by-products of the reaction of the chlorine disinfectant with the natural organic and inorganic matter in the water.”
The sampling site at the CFE Arena was the location of the violation and since then, UCF has increased the flushing of pipes to make the water move faster.
UCF also has adjusted the amount of chlorine added at the water treatment plant and expanded monitoring and tracking through a computerized maintenance management system.
UCF assures that the water is safe to drink.
When asked why it took so long to report the violation, which happened earlier this year, UCF said the tests are averaged over a year, and had there been an emergency, there would have been immediate notification.
“The federal Environmental Protection Agency sets the guidelines for acceptable levels of TTHM and other contaminants in the water supply and also for the reporting of violations. The EPA guidelines for TTHM are based on the average test results over a one-year period (the four most recent samples collected). If this were an emergency or if it required you to take any corrective actions, you would have been notified immediately,” UCF said.
