Press Room

Superior Water Company successfully installs two arsenic treatment systems

The Customer Confidence Report that Superior Water recently sent our customers discloses that the water in its main system (not Ivy Ridge, Meadowbrook or Suburbia) contained arsenic levels that exceed the Maximum contaminate Level (MCL) determined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).This situation arose because the Company deepened several wells at approximately the same time EPA lowered the MCL from 50 ppb to 10 ppb. Unfortunately, in deepening the wells, naturally occurring arsenic appeared in the water at levels that minimally exceeded the MCL.

Due to the very high cost of treating arsenic, Superior Water tried to blend its sources to reduce the arsenic levels. Unfortunately this approach was not successful. Ultimately, at a cost of approximately $1 million, the Company engineered and installed arsenic treatment systems at its Winding Creek and Hunters Run stations. During this period of time, Superior Water, in compliance with the rules of the state Department of Environmental Protection, mailed public notices of the arsenic levels to its affected customers. In those letters, the Company explained that, while the levels of arsenic did exceed the MCL, the levels were low and the risk analysis of exposure above the MCL is based on chronic, not short, exposures. In this case, the exceedances were not chronic.

Superior Water received its operating permit for the Winding Creek arsenic system at the end of 2008. It received its operating permit for the Hunters Run arsenic system in March 2009. Since the issuance of the DEP operating permits, the arsenic levels have been well below the MCL and the Company’s expectations are that those levels will remain low because the treatment systems are working well.

Superior Water regrets that its water sources contain levels of arsenic that exceed the MCL and that our water required treatment which obviously took some time to implement. We know that this circumstance caused our customers concern.

If there is an exceedance in the future, you will receive a public notice.

Please feel free to contact us at 610-222-4171 if you have any questions regarding the remediation of arsenic in our drinking water.