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NCRWA.COM |
Summer 2014
feature
he Town of Newland is located in the center of, and is the county seat for
Avery County, and at an elevation of 3,589 feet, is the highest county seat
in the eastern United States. Avery County is located in the mountains of
western North Carolina and is known for the many Christmas tree farms
located throughout the county. It is bordered to the west by Tennessee
and Mitchell Counties, to the east by Watauga and Caldwell Counties
and to the south by McDowell and Burke Counties. The Town is located
in a broad flat valley and is at the headwaters of the Toe River. The
Town of Newland provides water to approximately 1,035 customers via
570 connections and uses an average of 109,000 gallons of water a day.
Newland currently gets its water from five wells and uses three ground
storage tanks with a total storage capacity of 500,000 gallons. Water
treatment consists of injecting caustic for adjusting pH, chlorine for
microbial disinfection and orthophosphate for corrosion control. Water
quality in the system is great, and the customers have no complaints
about taste or smell.
The EPA’s 1991 Lead and Copper Rule makes water systems responsible
for something not directly under their control: Not the system, but the
plumbing of the houses connected to the system contribute the majority
of the lead and copper detected in drinking water. The water system
includes the entire infrastructure – but not the plumbing in the houses
- which can be made of copper pipes with lead-soldered connections
and lead-containing brass fixtures. Water in older houses with copper
plumbing can have a long contact time and cause highly increased
levels of lead and copper in drinking water. In the Newland system,
copper levels were the main problem, but there were a few houses with
relatively low lead levels. Lead goosenecks still remain in the system in
places and are replaced as repairs or taps are made.
The Lead and Copper Rule led Newland to approach corrosion control
in an interesting way. Keith Hoilman, the Public Works Director for
the Town, told us “To get it right you must spend money and time”.
Complying with Lead & Copper:
Newland
s Approach
By Keith Buff and Keith Starner, PG
