(Editor’s note: This is a follow-up to an August 24 article headlined “Fix for town water problem expected by next summer” in which Water Commission member Ruth Ann Hendrickson speculated about the course of the increase in TTHM contaminants in Flint’s Pond, the source of drinking water for many Lincoln residents.)
By Ruth Ann Hendrickson
I want to clarify the situation with the TTHMs in the Lincoln drinking water. I have speculated in the past about what might have caused the increase in organics in the water, but I have never actually taken the time to look at the data. Today I gathered the data from the required annual Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs), which are available on the Water Department website.
| Year | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHMs (ppb) | 36.8 | 54.2 | 29.3 | 56.1 | 69.2 | 74.7 | 73.7 | 73.7 | 83 | 79 | 83 |
The data shows a gradually increasing level of TTHMs over the last decade. The jump to 83.0 ppb actually occurred before the level of the dam was temporarily raised in 2018. It was my error to speculate without checking the data first. We don’t really know the cause, so any guesses on my part were ill-considered. It’s clear from the data that the increase of organics in the water has been a long term trend.
”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.
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