Oak Creek Water Officials Say Drinking Water Is Still Safe

OAK CREEK, WI — Officials at the Oak Creek Water and Sewer Utility sent a letter to members of the public this February, reassuring them that their drinking water is safe for consumption after one test result from a questionable test site in April recorded elevated levels of a hazardous group of chemicals.

The elevated chemicals in question are called trihalomethanes, a group of chemicals that are formed when chlorine reacts with naturally-occurring material in water. Health officials say that some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the standard over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

In April 2018, the Oak Creek Water Utility tested a site in the 2300 block of W. Ryan Road and recorded an average to 0.141 milligrams per liter which exceeded health standards of 0.080 mg/L. Officials have re-sampled the site on W. Ryan Road six times since then, and the repeat samples average 0.039 mg/L, which is well within safety limits, officials say.

"We now know the sample site in the 2300 block of W. Ryan Rd. was adversely affected by the private-premise plumbing and is not representative of the Oak Creek water system," officials said in a Feb. 8 letter to members of the public. "We are pleased to inform you that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved a new sampling site location to better represent water in the public water system."

Mike Sullivan, General Manager of the Oak Creek Water Utility told Patch that the test site on the 2300 block of W. Ryan Road, which contains a truck dealership and the Pilot Travel Center, was a questionable sample site for a number of reasons.

"The issue was the site chosen for testing, by the DNR, contains a very long and large water lateral pipe from the public water system to the building. This pipe was sized to provide adequate fire protection," he said. "However, due to low water usage in the building the water in the pipe can begin to age. The longer water ages the more disinfection byproducts form. The test, in April, then sampled old water and not water from the public system. There was not a specific event that caused the increased level result."

No other areas of Oak Creek were affected, and Oak Creek's water has always been safe to drink and use he said.

Safer Alternatives

Sullivan told Patch that the EPA considers microbial contaminants as the greatest health risk to the public. He said that Oak Creek proposed a water quality improvement project that would allow the utility to begin to reduce the amount of chlorine added to the water with the addition of ultraviolet light disinfection, which would reduce the risk of creating harmful byproducts in the water.

The problem, Sullivan says, lies across the border in Franklin, which is opposing and delaying the project.

"[Ultraviolet light disinfection] is the cheapest of the enhanced disinfection methods and allows us to put less chlorine in the water. Oak Creek has stated many times that this project would be constructed with no rate increase," he told Patch. "The City of Franklin continues to oppose the project because they feel the added protection is not necessary, even though all other Lake Michigan water utilities have installed an enhanced disinfection process since the Cryptosporidium event in 1993. It is about protecting public health in a financially responsible manner."

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