The Environmental Protection Agency?s Office of Water said 17 drinking water and wastewater utilities conducted successful Y2K tests from July 25 through Aug. 6.
?Control systems, equipment with embedded computer chips, and communications links were among the components tested; in almost all cases, operations continued smoothly,? according to an EPA official.
EPA said the testing was intended to encourage other utilities to conduct Y2K testing and contingency planning exercises. It said the tests also were designed to inform customers about the Y2K readiness of their drinking water supplies and wastewater treatment facilities.
EPA said it is preparing a summary of the lessons learned and case studies to share with utilities and other organizations which are assisting utilities with the process of preparing for Y2K.
Meanwhile, EPA said a new law limiting liability for damages that result from Y2K failures will provide a defense for some environmental violations.
President Bill Clinton signed the Year 2000 Readiness and Responsibility Act on July 20. EPA said the law provides a defense against penalties for Y2K-caused environmental violations between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2000, if certain conditions are met.
The entity must have made a good faith effort to fix its Y2K problems, the Y2K problem must not have been caused by negligence, and it must not have resulted in environmental damages.
Citizens Voice Concerns
A recent study said U.S. citizens increasingly are becoming concerned about the safety of their drinking water. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation commissioned the survey of 1,000 people to measure public opinions on drinking water.
Citizens Voice Concerns
It said 91 percent of the respondents said they cook with tap water and 75 percent drink tap water. But 65 percent said they further treat tap water in their home before drinking it, or use bottled water.
Citizens Voice Concerns
Meanwhile, the Environmental Working Group issued a report that called for a ban on the use of the herbicide atrazine.
Citizens Voice Concerns
It said the chemical compound?commonly used on corn crops?is being found in the drinking water of some Midwestern communities, despite filtration systems. It said in some of the towns the lifetime cancer risk from average atrazine concentrations in water were more than 20 times the level allowed by EPA.
Water Sale Moratorium
A bilateral commission has recommended a 6-month moratorium on the sale of water from the Great Lakes, pending completion of a study to determine the adequacy of supplies (See September column).
Water Sale Moratorium
The International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canada agency, said the ban should include both bulk sales of surface water and new removal of groundwater from the Great Lakes basin. Canada has banned bulk water exports and the U.S. congress is considering similar legislation.
Water Sale Moratorium
The commission noted that no major diversion projects are currently planned and ?there is little reason to believe that such projects will become economically, environmentally, and socially feasible in the foreseeable future.?
