News

Important Information About Your Drinking Water

Disinfection Byproducts (DBP) Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) Exceeded

Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did (are doing) to correct this situation.

We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminants. Testing results from 3rd Quarter 2022 show that our system exceeded the standard, or maximum contaminant level (MCL), for Disinfection Byproducts. The standard for TTHM is 80 µg/L and for HAA5 is 60 µg/L. It is determined by averaging all the samples collected at each sampling location for the past 12 months. The level of TTHM averaged at one of our system's locations for 3rd Quarter 2022 was 105 µg/L.

What should I do?

• There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. If a situation arises where the water is no longer safe to drink, you will be notified within 24 hours.
• If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are pregnant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care providers about drinking this water.

What does this mean?

This is not an emergency. If it had been an emergency, you would have been notified within 24 hours. *TTHM are four volatile organic chemicals. HAA5 are five haloacetic acid compounds which form when disinfectants react with natural organic matter in the water. 'People who drink water containing trihalomethanes more than the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer. People who drink water containing haloacetic acids more than the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.*

What is being done?

• We are working to minimize the formation of TTHM while ensuring we maintain an adequate level of disinfectant. We have taken additional steps to change disinfectant type/levels, remove natural organic matter, and increased flushing of water lines to determine if our efforts have been effective.
• We anticipate resolving the problem within the next several months.

For more information, please contact:

LaDawn Jackson, Lead Customer Service Representative
Clarksdale Public Utilities
416-420 Third Street
Clarksdale, MS 38614
662-627-8499

"Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail."