City provides update, clarity on arsenic in water, 8 main breaks

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - Between reports of arsenic and several main breaks over the last week, Midlanders may have noticed a lot of news about their water.

Thursday, Utilities Director Carl Craigo held a meeting to address these issues and discuss next steps.

The main breaks are a symptom of fluctuating temperatures and brittle pipes, Craigo said. He also wanted to clarify the arsenic was detected in one city water source, not the water that flows into homes.

The city supplies water to Midlanders from two sources and blends them together. That includes one surface water source that supplies 70% of the water and another groundwater source that supplies 30%.

“That 30% of water ends up mixing with the 70%, which is surface water, which has no arsenic in it,” Craigo said. “So, by the time it gets to someone’s house, it’s actually blended way below the allowable levels. But since one point of entry into the city had those high levels, we still have to report it.”

The average annual limit for arsenic in water is .01 milligrams per liter, Craigo said. The city’s groundwater source had .0108 milligrams.

“So this is the first time the City of Midland has gone over the average annual in seven years. Not to say it’s nothing, but the first time in seven years,” Craigo said. “Again, you have to ingest high levels of arsenic for several years to create any health effects in humans, and even animals. Your dogs and cats are fine.”

Long-term exposure to significant arsenic can cause cancer and skin lesions, according to the World Health Organization.

According to Craigo, citizens shouldn’t worry about the local low levels. However, the city is pilot testing a way to remove the arsenic rather than relying on blending water to reduce levels in the future.

There have also been eight water main breaks in three days leaving six to 26 households without water at a time. When the ground freezes, then thaws, brittle and old cast iron lines break. Recently, temperatures have ranged from well below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, to nearly 60 degrees.

There are no preventive measures locals can take, but the city is making repairs to water lines, he said.

“The city is currently replacing all 4-inch iron lines throughout the city,” Craigo said. “We’re spending about $2 million a year for the next five years, trying to get most of those four inch mains out of the ground and then we’ll move up to the larger lines from there.”

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, all water main breaks had been repaired. On Jan 24, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will take another test to determine if arsenic levels are at an appropriate level.