The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About14.b FYI Pace Fleming Grid Response to CAO 0.0 covNT` Clay County Utility Authority Working together to 3176 Old Jennings Road protect public health, Middleburg,FL 32068-3907 conserve our natural G>, 6Iy.\ Telephone(904)272-5999 resources,and create ��/lyAuTtk www.clayutility.org long-teen value for our ratepayers. February 20,2024 Ms. Katie Williams Florida Department of Environmental Protection Northeast District 8800 Baymeadows Way West, Suite 100 Jacksonville,FL 32256 Kaitylyn.N.Williams@FloridaDEP.gov Re: Response to Compliance Assistance Offer Pace Fleming Grid-PWS ID No. 2104391 Clay County Dear Ms. Williams: Clay County Utility Authority(CCUA)received the above referenced Compliance Assistance Offer(CAO) letter regarding 4-Log Virus Inactivation at the Pace Fleming Grid.Please find attached a draft of the Public Notice(PN)that will be mailed to each customer in the Pace Fleming Grid distribution area and published in the newspaper, Clay Today no later than March 7, 2024. The PWS Certification of Delivery of Public Notice will be submitted no later than 10 days after the PN is delivered, as required by Chapter 62-560, Florida Administrative Code. As you know,CCUA has elected to provide 4-Log Virus Inactivation in the Pace Fleming Grid and as such is required to maintain a chlorine residual of no less than 1.0 mg/L at the first customer,which is the water service line within the water treatment plant. On September 26, 2023, the chlorine line broke and the low chlorine level alarm was not handled as required by CCUA Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), resulting in a chlorine residual of 0.24 mg/L at the first customer. The chlorine line was replaced,and SOPs were reinforced with the appropriate entities. CCUA would like for this letter to serve as a document to the file that notice to our Pace Fleming Grid customers was issued due to FDEP public notice requirements, and not because of any water quality issues found during monitoring and sampling. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please contact me at 904-219-4114 or hwebber@clayutility.org. Sincerely, 1,kkk , Wth i-- Heather Webber Environmental Compliance Manager Enclosure: Draft Public Notice Ec: CCUA: Jeremy Johnston,Darryl Muse,David Rawlins,Ross Bland,Jason McLain,Nate Knepper FDEP:DEP NED, Shane Tierney,Chris Azcuy IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER Pace Fleming Grid Public Notice Failure to Meet Treatment Technique Requirements What happened? Our water system did not meet the requirements of a drinking water rule. Although this is not an emergency, as our customers,you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation. On September 26,2023,at approximately 1:30am,the Pace Island Water Treatment Plant, one of the two water treatment plants that serve the Pace Fleming Grid, failed to maintain 4-log treatment of viruses before or at the first customer for more than four hours. Disinfection residual fell below the required 1.0 mg/L free chlorine residual required to maintain 4-log treatment. The chlorine monitoring equipment low level alarm was activated,but due to miscommunication with the alarm system,appropriate staff was not immediately notified. The required chlorine level for 4-log compliance was restored by 11:00am. Though disinfection residual levels fell below the standard to maintain 4-log compliance (1.0 mg/L), our system continued to maintain residual levels that meet the standard for routine bacteriological compliance. The standard minimum residual required for routine bacteriological compliance is 0.20 mg/L. During this period, our minimum residual was 0.24 mg/L. What should I do? There is nothing you need to do unless you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, or are elderly. These groups may have been at an increased risk when our system failed to provide 4-log compliant disinfection levels and should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. If you have specific health concerns, contact your doctor. Inadequately treated or inadequately protected water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, cramps, and associated headaches. While we have not detected any evidence of contamination or other health threats in our source water, we are still committed to maintaining the required level of treatment to the water to achieve 4-log compliance and eliminating the threat of contamination. What does this mean? This is not an immediate risk. If it had been,you would have been notified immediately. What is being done? This is what we have done to correct the problem: • Addressed the cause by repairing the chlorine line and updating alarm response procedures. • Reestablished the appropriate chlorine residual within a few hours. • Reported the drop in chlorine residual both verbally and in writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection(FDEP)the day of the event. For more information,please contact Heather Webber, Environmental Compliance Manager at 904-213-2435 Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example,people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses.) You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail. This notice is being sent to you by Clay County Utility Authority-Pace Fleming Grid State Public Water System ID#:2104391 Date distributed: