BY ELAINE CHIOSSO, HAW RIVERKEEPER
The Haw Riverkeeper has been working with a group of scientists investigating industrial chemicals that are contaminating the Haw River and its tributaries. They have identified the presence of perfluorintated compounds (PFCs), a family of chemicals used in flame retardants and coatings, and of 1,4-dioxane a common industrial solvent. Both chemicals have been tied to increases in cancer and other diseases. Monitoring data shows that these chemicals are entering surface waters via sewage sludge applications to agricultural fields, or, from treated, but undetected, sewage effluent discharged into streams from wastewater treatment plants. These industrial chemicals are NOT required to be monitored or regulated in the wastewater, the finished sludge, or in drinking water sources downstream. The state agencies responsible for protecting our streams and drinking water, including DEQ, have dropped the ball on this issue – which impacts both public health and the aquatic life in our waters.
Wastewater from homes, businesses and industry are co-mingled in sewage. The treated effluent released back into our waters, and the solids removed (sewage sludge), contain whatever was present in the original sewage water. These include pathogens, heavy metals and chemical contaminants – anything flushed or dumped down a drain.
Many of these industrial chemicals should not be in the wastewater to start with; and clearly, the regulations that govern pre-treatment removal are not adequate and rely on self-inspection. Water monitoring data shows that sludge application on farmland is running into streams, and ending up in our drinking waters. This problem is made worse by weak regulations for setbacks from streams and poor oversight, monitoring and enforcement by understaffed state agencies of rules that govern how often and under what conditions the sludge can be spread. Without adequate state regulation and oversight, and with a ban on local control, rural residents have found there is almost no recourse for the problems associated with land application of sludge in their communities.
The Haw Riverkeeper and Catawba Riverkeeper issued a report for Waterkeepers Carolina in October 2015 documenting the industrial contamination of our surface waters through municipal sewage sludge application. Many of these chemicals in sludge are persistent and resist degradation, and are not effectively removed by conventional drinking water treatment methods.
Read our “Sludge In Our Waters” report online and access the Waterkeepers Carolina Sludge Application Mapping Tool.