Water Supply and Resources Committee

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA WATER SUPPLY COMMITTEE Monday, July 31, 2017 (August Committee Meeting) Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room, 3rd Floor 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Members Present: Mark Smith, Chair, and Joe Bustos Excused Absence: Gary Santos Staff: Eric DeMoura, Town Administrator Also Present: Clay Duffie, General Manager, Mount Pleasant Waterworks; Susan Mellichamp, Vice Chair, MPW Commission, John Burn, MPW Commissioner Mr. Smith called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. 1. Approval of Minutes from the June 29, 2017 meeting Mr. Bustos moved for approval; seconded by Mr. Smith. All present voted in favor. 2. Public Comments [None] 3. Water Quality Update provided by Mount Pleasant Waterworks – Mr. Smith thanked MPW management and staff for the tremendous work they have done on some very legitimate concerns regarding children being diagnosed with brain tumors and seeking answers. He said that one of the first questions was, “is it in the water”. He stated that MPW took this very seriously and staff has been working diligently to identify any and all concerns. He stated that the Town and MPW continues to stand beside all the family members affected, to seek out solutions to these  Water Supply Committee July 31, 2017 Page 2 of 6 issues. He stated continued funding on an NIH level is important and asked for all to continue to advocate for the funding for research. Mr. Duffie stated that he does not have a formal presentation and would like to discuss some of the steps MPW took. He said that this situation began with mothers being concerned about their children being diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. He stated that almost immediately, the news media focused on this about whether it was in the water or not. He stated that it went from Channel 4 all the way to CNN, not to mention social media. He stated that obviously MPW is seriously concerned about whether anything in the water would cause any type of disease for anyone. He stated that it is their job to provide clean safe drinking water every day to all the 85,000 residents of Mount Pleasant. He stated that it was a concern due to some of the information being distributed about contaminates. He stated that MPW wanted to ensure that pesticides were not in the water. He stated that some of the test strips that homeowners purchased and utilized were not approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control), and are just test strips. He stated that MPW does not believe those methods are in keeping with approved methods for testing pesticides. He stated that Charleston Water Systems (CWS) and DHEC went out and obtained approximately 20 samples of raw, treated, finished and RO (reverse osmosis) water, Charleston Water, as well as the five homes where the residents used test strips. He stated that everything was non-detect for pesticides. He stated that an incident management team was created and they met every day from the first meeting on July 10th with MPW staff, Charleston Water Systems and DHEC and were on conference calls every day until last Thursday. He stated that DHEC and Charleston Water Systems have been exemplary in their attitude towards this situation, as well as their assistance in helping MPW with this situation. He stated that they will continue to be great partners moving forward. He stated that a gentleman had his water tested for GenX and other compounds. He stated that MPW had a meeting today with general engineering and laboratories about those reports and will be issuing a statement regarding this at a later date. He  Water Supply Committee July 31, 2017 Page 3 of 6 stated that one of the things MPW was concerned about was how that went viral in the news media as well as social media with headlines saying there is GenX in the water. He said that all are concerned about what has been going on at Cape Fear River, which does have GenX in the water and it caused serious concern in concentration. He stated that MPW took samples of the water and said that GenX is a non-detect. He said that Charleston Water Systems has taken samples, as well, and will report their findings. He stated that he would like to assure the MPW customers that they believe the water is safe and meets all the federal and state standards and surpass many of the sampling requirements that they must comply with. He said that the late breaking news today is that with restrictions in budget for EPA and rollback in some of the potential regulations, that the EPA may not have the funds to adequately determine what health risks do exist with some of the chemical compounds. He stated that if you look at the Meeks Index, which is a list of all the chemicals in the United States, there are 85,000 chemicals that you are able to test for and down to levels of parts per trillion. He stated that MPW has a concern as a water industry that the regulators need to do their job in helping to set the health standards and MPW will do their job to meet or surpass those standards. Mr. Smith stated that MPW has made available all studies and will continue to make them available. He stated that MPW believes in full disclosure and accountability. Mr. Duffie stated that there is a table in the MPW lobby with all the information that has been reported over the years. He stated that the Water Quality Reports are published every year. He stated that there is concern that the public does not receive enough information and there are some bills being introduced by Congress that required a water quality report to be published every six months as opposed to once a year. He believes there is a need for the public to better understand what is in the water and MPW wants to help provide that information in a useful fashion.  Water Supply Committee July 31, 2017 Page 4 of 6 Mr. Bustos thanked Mr. Duffie for the update. He said on a different matter, there was discussion last week about residents either misunderstanding their water bills or the new sensing units. He stated that he is still receiving calls and asked Mr. Duffie to provide an update to Council, via email. He stated that the residents who have contacted him, he has directed to the MPW office. He stated that he will continue to route the calls to the MPW offices; however, he asked for an update. Mr. Duffie stated that some of the calls they had, the residents thought they had new meters; however, bills for the new meters have not yet been sent out. He stated that this is all with existing technology. He stated that MPW received 10 to 15 high bill calls every week and in the summertime, people are irrigating and when they look at the consumption for the previous year at the same time, it is typically the same. Mr. Bustos stated that if this is the case and there is nothing significant, he would ask for an update so they are able to relay this information to the residents calling them. Mr. Duffie stated that their first suggestion would be to call MPW first. 4. State Revolving Fund Loan Update Mr. Duffie stated that MPW came before Committee last year to request approval on an application for a State Revolving Fund loan. MPW would like to continue to move this forward, and said that they are requesting $3.6 million dollars through the State for 13 pump station upgrades and will be working this through the Finance Committee next month. He added that he wanted to provide this Committee with the information that this will be requested. He stated that they did not receive the requested funding last year from the State Revolving Fund and had to go out to the market for their Capital Plan funding. He stated that this is a project that did receive approval by the State. 5. Highway 41 Utility Relocation Cost Estimate Update Mr. Duffie stated that they did receive a letter from Charleston County to coordinate the design and ensure MPW was involved early on with the  Water Supply Committee July 31, 2017 Page 5 of 6 design of Highway 41 traffic improvements. He stated that MPW has estimated between $12 and $15 million to relocate the pipes along Highway 41. He stated that they do not receive any return on this investment. He stated that the rate payers of MPW must bear this cost alone and it is not appealing, because MPW needs those resources to continue to upgrade infrastructure that is aging every day. He said he hopes to obtain some support either locally or through the State. He stated that there have been some bills that were proposed for the General Assembly to help fund some of these relocations. He stated that this is not solely a Mount Pleasant concern, but State-wide. He stated that all the water and wastewater utilities and having to move these pipes, are at the rate payers’ expense. He stated that the road improvements are a regional and State-wide improvement and does not believe it is fair for just the customers of Mount Pleasant Waterworks to bear these costs 100%. Mr. Smith stated that the dialogue will continue on both a Charleston and Berkeley County level, as well as a State level. Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, 41 Lillian and Rebecca Lanes, stated that as she listens to the reports on the Highway 41 corridor, project, and knows that Charleston County is considering widening Highway 41. She stated that there is conversation as to whether this road will be widened to four lanes or three lanes. She stated that there was a study conducted previously by Charleston County Council and the National Park Service indicating that with a potential four lane widening, there is potential for significant negative impact on the existing African American Settlement Communities in that area. She stated that there is a leader in that community well known to Council, Richard Habersham, who presented a three lane design for Highway 41 more than 10 years ago to Charleston County Council that was considered at that time. She stated that there was some concurrence at that time, that this would be the best alternative. She stated that as MPW moves forward with the pipe relocations, and determining the number of lanes, that the Town does  Water Supply Committee July 31, 2017 Page 6 of 6 not lose sight of that Community and the potential negative impact to this community. 6. Adjourn There being no further business, meeting was adjourned at 10:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Ashe July 31, 2017