BY DENNIS KENNEDY
At the City Council meeting on Dec. 19, late at night and near the end of the council’s agenda, a critical decision was made by the council which has implications on our health.
Councilmember Mark Grzan even voted against the action, concerned about the health implications for our residents if the council moved forward with the city staff recommendations. The decision was made to allow the Nordstrom municipal well to be used without the ion exchange perchlorate removal system in place. In past years, perchlorate readings as high as 7 ppb and more recently in the 4 ppb range have been detected in the water pumped from this well. This perchlorate was removed by the ion exchange filtration system installed for that purpose.
Why is this an issue of concern, especially when the State Department of Health Services recently published a new Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 6 ppb? It’s an issue of concern to me because I have a hypothyroid condition which may be worsened by drinking water with perchlorate in it, even at levels below 6 ppb. If the city moves forward with this action, I will begin using bottled water as my source of water for drinking and cooking. Those at most risk for adverse health effects are prenatal and postnatal babies. Why should we be concerned? The state, by setting an MCL of 6 ppb, has determined that this water is OK to drink. Massachusetts, on the other hand, has set an MCL of 2 ppb. To me this indicates some uncertainty about what is the appropriate MCL. To be on the safe side, I’ll opt for bottled water.
I don’t fault the City Council or city staff for taking this action. After all, they’re simply complying with state standards. The real culprits here are the Olin Corporation and our own Regional Water Quality Control Board for not stepping up and correcting the problem. First, Olin, because they have consistently denied contaminating Morgan Hill’s drinking water northeast of their site, eventhough the evidence of their fault is clear and secondly, the regional board for not issuing an adequate cleanup and water replacement order. It seems the board and board staff are not willing to take a strong stance in the public interest.
So what do we do now?
I would recommend the following:
First, the city must notify its residents clearly and accurately about what actions the city is planning to take, what the possible health effects may be and what actions residents can take, especially those who may be affected by even small amounts of perchlorate.
Secondly, the city should consider other options, such as blending water, as is done with nitrate-laden water, the costs to implement such programs and give the residents an opportunity to make some choices. For example, my rough calculation shows it would cost the average family only an additional $13 a year in water charges to keep the Nordstom well ion exchange system in place. That’s cheaper than my buying bottled water. What would my cost be for the city to add a water blending system?
Since Olin and our regional water board have failed us, now is the time for the city to step up and give us some alternatives and choices for healthy and safe drinking water.
Dennis Kennedy has lived in Morgan Hill for 32 years. He served on the Morgan Hill City Council for four years and then served as mayor for nearly 12 years. He’s now self employed and is a member of the Morgan Hill Times Editorial Board.
