Lower Water Levels, Lower Water Quality|ABC 7 News

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Lower Water Levels, Lower Water Quality

posted 5:41 pm Mon October 08, 2007 - Manassas, Va.

tags: water • supply • drought • manassas

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The drought is blamed for elevated levels of a potentially dangerous contaminant in the Manassas water supply.

Lake Manassas is where the city's 35,000 residents get their drinking water. The lake is currently ten feet below normal. Now the city's asking residents like Lue Luster to conserve water. "I'm a widow, so I don't use that much anyway," she said. But along with the dropping quantity, comes dropping water quality. Virginia Health Department tests found too many trihalomethanes.

THMs, as the water experts call them, are believed to cause cancer if consumed in large quantities over a long period of time. They are the by-product when algae and even fallen leaves meet the chlorine used to treat water.

Rainfall stirs up the reservoir, helping to destroy THM-producing organic matter. The recent lack of rain means more THMs. City officials say residents have nothing to fear, and they are not recommending that residents resort to boiling their drinking water.

"We feel the drinking water is safe, said Michael Moon, the public works director. "We're saying drink the water as usual."

Moon says the water supply just missed the health department's mark. Officials say the weather caused the problem and is likely to fix it soon, too.

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