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tudents and faculty living in The Langston Commons and other town residents are concerned about the brown water that sometimes comes out of their faucets. Other complaints include water that tastes bad and smells chlorinated even when it appears clear. The photo above was taken in a student's apartment.

Brown, smelly water irritates The Langston Commons residents

By: By Leethaniel Brumfield

Posted: 11/7/07

Like many Langston residents, Vaniecia Pollard is very worried that the water coming out of her faucets is not truly safe for drinking, bathing or cooking. She is so skeptical that she recently bought a filter for her kitchen sink and spends at least $40 a month on bottled water.

"Water contamination is a major concern for me because I have a child in my home," said the 21-year-old biology major who has an apartment in The Langston Commons. "Also, I am pregnant and have lupus, so the possibility of water borne illnesses and diseases worries me on a daily basis. I feel like the water is not safe at all, and it's only a matter of time before I or someone in my family becomes ill because of it."

Pollard and other Langston residents may have good reason to be concerned. According to Skylar McElhaney, the public information officer for Oklahoma's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Langston's water supply has been cited for numerous compliance violations dating back to 1997 in the Public Water System Supervision Program's (PWSS) annual compliance reports. The compliance reports are compiled by the DEQ and serve as a notice to the public concerning the safety of the water being distributed for human consumption. The DEQ monitors more than 1,600 active public water supply systems in Oklahoma that do not meet federal regulations, which includes Langston's water supply.

In the 2006 report, the town of Langston was cited for seven violations because of the high levels of various contaminants in the water: nitrate; interim enhanced surface water treatment rule (IESWTR) turbidity treatment technique; disinfection byproducts rule maximum contaminant levels; coliform; total organic carbon (TOC); total trihalomethane (THM); and HAA5 (haloacetic acid).

Nitrates are naturally occurring chemicals that form after the breakdown or decomposition of animal or human waste. Langston's nitrate levels were found to be too high.

Turbidity refers to the cloudiness of a fluid caused by individual particles generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The higher the turbidity, the higher the risk of drinkers developing gastrointestinal diseases, especially immune-compromised people. The technique that Langston uses to reduce turbidity was found to be ineffective.

Disinfection byproducts (waste material) are formed when disinfectants used in water treatment plants react with bromide and/or natural organic matter (i.e. decaying vegetation). Langston's levels of disinfection byproducts were, again, too high.

Coliform is a type of bacteria that does not actually cause of sickness, but since it is easy to culture its presence is used to determine the existence of other pathogenic organisms of fecal origin. Higher than normal levels of coliform were found in Langston's water.

TOC is the amount of carbon in an organic compound, and Langston's levels exceeded the DEQ's acceptable limits.

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are formed as a byproduct when either chlorine or bromine is used to disinfect water for drinking. THMs are also environmental pollutants, and many are considered carcinogenic. Langston's THMs levels were greater than the DEQ allows.

The HAA5 are a group of chemicals that are formed along with other disinfection byproducts when chlorine or other disinfectants used to control microbial contaminants in drinking water react with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in water. The five chemicals are monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, and dibromoacetic acid. Because Langston's HAA5 levels were so high, they caused an increase in disinfectant byproducts in the water.

Students and faculty living in The Langston Commons are affected because they share the same water supply as the citizens of Langston, who get their water from Langston Public Works Authority (PWA), whose source is Langston Lake. Every other university building receives its water supply from Guthrie. Periodically, residents of The Langston Commons and other citizens receive notices on their doors about the violations, but the notices do not explain what the violations entail or what is being done to solve the problem.

Since school has started, many residents of The Langston Commons have described the appearance of the water as "dirty" and "as brown as tea." Some have even experienced skin problems, and the staining of clothing and other household garments. Even when the water appears clear, some students say it smells extremely chlorinated, which makes them fearful of drinking it.

"Not only do I have to spend extra money for bottled water, but the quality of the water has stained my laundry more than once, and it makes it difficult to bathe, cook etc.," Pollard said. "I have a 2-year-old in my home that has eczema, and the water has irritated her skin numerous times."

Dwan Brumfield, a junior broadcast journalism major who also has a 3-year-old daughter with eczema, is also wary of drinking and bathing with water in her apartment in The Langston Commons.

"The water in general is less than okay, and when it's brown it's disgusting and it stinks," Brumfield said.

She said her uneasiness with the water led her to contract with Ozarka to have water delivered every two weeks for the Ozarka filter machine that she recently bought. Before the filter machine she primarily used bottled water. She said she also adds a cap of bleach to her daughter's bath water when it's brown, and she feel it's disappointing she has to take such measures.

Felicia Ekpo, a junior biology major, said she spends at least $30 a month on bottled water and refillable filters to assist in purifying her drinking water.

The mayor of Langston, Blayne E. Hinds, said that he has not experienced problems with the drinking water in his Langston home, however, some of his neighbors have expressed their concerns with the water's color. It is Hinds' understanding that the lines were recently flushed, which should have corrected the problem. Currently, the water is not brown; however, what bothers residents is that they can't be certain if it will turn brown again next week or the week after that, nor can they be sure it's safe to drink despite its clear color.

In an attempt to find out what is being done to ensure Langston's water supply is indeed safe and there are no current violations, The LU Gazette repeatedly attempted to contact David Livingston, the superintendent of the water department. However, he did not return phone calls regarding the matter.

Livingston is not the only person that seems to be unwilling to answer questions regarding the quality of Langston's water supply. Pollard said she personally contacted the health department twice about the water and they made it seem as if it were not a major concern at all.

It is difficult for the average citizen to determine what type of contaminants are currently in the town's water and whether the levels are too high since the next compliance report will not be available until after June 30, 2008. McElhaney noted, however, that it's unlikely residents would experience any long-term health effects because of the violations that Langston was cited for in 2006. She did say that babies under 6-months-old who consume water contaminated with nitrates may develop Blue Baby Syndrome, a disorder caused by the blood not getting enough oxygen.

Langston residents who want to voice their concerns or dissatisfaction with the quality of Langston's water may call the DEQ's 24-hour hotline for complaints at 800- 522-0206. The DEQ's website is www.deq.state.ok.us.