Test Results Show Water Safe in Holly Glen 12/27/06

Water tests in a portion of Holly Glen subdivision show that levels of xylene are barely detectable and that the water is safe to drink.

The Town is continuing to take water samples while it focuses on trying to figure out how the chemical turned up in the water system recently in the vicinity of Sycamore Ridge Lane.

“Because xylene was detected in the water, Public Utilities will continue focusing our attention on investigating how the xylene got there and how to avoid a recurrence,” Thomas Tillage, the Town's Public Utilities director, said Tuesday.

Town employees have been working after hours to specify the location and amount of xylene since receiving the first reports about water problems the week before Christmas. They have consulted with an engineer from the state Division of Water Quality and have met with residents and distributed fliers in the affected area.

“We have erred on the side of caution to make sure everything was done right,” Town Manager Carl Dean said Tuesday, noting that test results have showed xylene levels to be well below what the state and federal government allow. “Our primary responsibility is the health and safety of our residents.”

Mixed xylenes are used as solvents in products such as paints and coatings and are blended into gasoline. Xylene is not one of the contaminants that the state and federal government require the Town to test for as part of its water quality analysis.

The Public Utilities staff put the rush on laboratories testing the water, acting immediately on preliminary results received by phone rather than waiting the usual week or more for written confirmation.

Several homeowners in the vicinity of Sycamore Ridge Lane, Sycamore Creek Drive and Acorn Falls Court had reported odor problems with their tap water. Other homeowners in the same area did not notice any problems.

Tillage said Town firefighters flushed the water system as soon as the Public Utilities staff knew where the xylene was concentrated. Flushing haphazardly could have spread the xylene elsewhere, he said.

The following is a timeline of how the Town responded to reports about water problems in a portion of Holly Glen subdivision.

• The Town learned of the first water complaint on the Monday before Christmas. The Public Utilities staff responded that day and did not detect an odor. Water was flushed from a hydrant.

• The next day, the Public Utilities staff returned to the area in response to a second report. Although the cold water in the home produced no odor, Tillage said he noticed an odor when running the hot water. Based on how the hot water smelled, Tillage ordered tests for the class of chemicals to which xylene belongs.

• Two days later on the Thursday before Christmas, the private laboratory testing the water phoned with the preliminary results of the first sample. In the rush, a laboratory worker gave an erroneously high number over the telephone. Tillage ordered more water samples taken.

• By Thursday evening, Town employees were told that the xylene level from the first sample apparently was well below what the state and federal government allow. Preliminary results from the follow-up samples taken earlier that day also were very low.

• As a precaution, however, the Town distributed fliers that evening advising residents in the Sycamore Ridge Lane , Sycamore Creek Drive and Acorn Falls Court area against drinking or cooking with tap water. Town employees also distributed bottled water to those who requested it.

• Tillage said residents generally have been supportive of Town employees' efforts. Some residents turned down offers of bottled water, offering their case of water to those they thought might need it more.

• On the Friday before Christmas, Michael Douglas of the N.C. Division of Water Quality met with Town staff and with some of the residents in the neighborhood affected. Douglas said the water was safe to drink. By that time, Public Utilities had sufficiently pinpointed where the xylene was concentrated for Town firefighters to begin heavily flushing the water system there.

• On the day after Christmas, a Public Utilities staff member called laboratories and succeeded in finding a certified lab open for testing. Town employees did another round of sampling that day. Within hours, preliminary results of those tests showed that flushing had further diminished xylene levels to barely detectable amounts.

Water testing in the area continues as the search for how xylene entered the water system. Tillage said soil tests may be conducted as part of the investigation. The Town is continuing to consult with state officials on how to pinpoint the cause and determine a response.

The Public Utilities staff has been in close contact with the Town's elected officials and with state officials about the xylene, Tillage said.

“We have worked fervently to address this problem,” he said, noting that Public Utilities began investigating as soon as it received reports about odor and taste problems with the water.

“The Public Utilities staff works hard to ensure that we deliver the safest and cleanest water to the residents of Holly Springs,” Tillage said. “We will in all cases inform the residents of any problems or potential problems as soon as we are made aware of them."

“We are sorry for the inconvenience to Holly Glen residents during this period, but we thought it necessary to take every precaution," he said. "Our first and most important objective is the safety of the drinking water delivered to all residents of Holly Springs.”

More Information

Thomas Tillage
Public Utilities Director
Town of Holly Springs
(919) 577-1090
thomas.tillage@hollyspringsnc.us

Amy Jo Moore
Compliance Laboratory Manager
Town of Holly Springs
(919) 577-2273
amy.moore@hollyspringsnc.us

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Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us