The chloramine system is a short-term solution to meet federal drinking water standards.
AUBURN – The trustees of the Water District were told Wednesday that the chloramination project is expected to be completed by late October or early November.
The system will be housed inside the garage at the Auburn Water and Sewerage District on Court Street.
Superintendent Norm Lamie said a decision has been made since the last trustees meeting to use gaseous ammonia in 150-pound cylinders. The system will use five gallons of ammonia gas daily. “Keeping small quantities of ammonia keeps us from crossing the threshold of elaborate storage facilities,” Lamie said.
The chloramine feed system would be a short-term solution for the next three to five years. Similar systems are in use in Massachusetts and New York, and in several cities in Europe. The cost in Auburn is expected to be between $150,000 and $175,000.
The long-term solution that would satisfy federal and state environmental regulations would be a dual system, possibly using ultraviolet light and ozone. He told the board that it is likely that Auburn and Lewiston would jointly build a facility at Lake Auburn between three and five years from now.
A water quality study completed early this year indicated that chloramination might reduce acidic compounds that caused the district to be out of compliance with federal drinking water standards. Chloramination uses a combination of chlorine and ammonia to reduce haloacetic acids.
Haloacetic acidic compounds are created when chlorine added to water for disinfection combines with natural organic matter. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has established a maximum contaminant level of 60 parts per billion for haloacetic acids. It is based on the estimated lifetime cancer risk of one in 10,000, assuming an adult’s tap water consumption is eight and one-half cups per day for a 154-pound adult. The amount found in November was 65 parts per billion in a sample taken from within the water distribution system. The most recent testing indicated a level of 66 parts per billion.
In other business, new district engineer John Storer was introduced to the board. He comes to Auburn from a water utility that serves Kennebunk, Kennebunkport-Wells. The utility Storer worked for uses a chloramine feed system.
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