Natural Outlook, July, 2016 Page: 2
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plant just to make sure everything is as it
is supposed to be."
Typically, environmental investiga-
tors do routine inspections on community
water systems-which supply water to at
least 25 residents for at least six months
out of the year-every three years and
non-community water systems-which
provide water primarily to transient
populations-every five years. However,
investigators may visit a water-treatment
facility more frequently as issues come
up, such as an issue with its compliance
monitoring reports that the TCEQ receives,
reviews, or a complaint from a customer.
And public water systems keep
environmental investigators quite busy.
In fiscal year 2015 alone, the TCEQ
conducted more than 4,500 on-site
investigations of drinking water.
What an Investigator Does
The TCEQ's inspections of drinking
water treatment plants not only ensure
operators are following all of the
regulations they need to be following,
but they also provide another pair of
eyes to make sure everything is running
as efficiently as possible.King, who has been with the agency
for more than 20 years, says, "I like to
feel we are being helpful. I like for there
to be trust. I like for [water treatment
operators] to be able to call us and ask
questions without worrying that we would
go after them."
At the same time, he cautions, "We are
not their friends," meaning that the first
priority for drinking-water investigators
is protecting the public. However, being
available to water utilities to help them
sort through issues they may be having
does help the public at large.
He says the most important trait for
an investigator to have is "to be fair."
His colleague, Parrish, who King has
mentored since she became an investiga-
tor about a year ago, says, "You need to
know the regulations. You need to know
what you are looking for."
She says investigators use checklists,
so they remember to look at everything
that needs to be checked.
"There are two whole books of regula-
tions that we have to enforce," she says.
"The checklists come in handy for that."
The time it takes to physically
investigate a public water system canTCEQ environmental investigator Lauren Parrish tests water leaving the Martindale Water Supply
Corporation treatment facility to ensure it has an adequate level of chlorine, which helps to
protect the water from harmful pathogens while on its journey to customers' taps.vary from a couple hours for the smallest
(such as one that services a subdivision
of 40 or 50 homes) to a day or longer for
larger systems, King says. An investigation
of the city of Austin's water system takes at
least a week to complete.
Every Site is Different
Each water-treatment facility is site
specific, meaning local conditions dictate
their design. This variability adds to the
complexity for what the investigators
have to do.
In Martindale, which is just east
of San Marcos, they are able to use the
relatively newer technology, membrane
filters-which has microscopic-sized holes
that water is squeezed through-only
because the turbidity (suspended particles)
is low.
In other places, local utilities may
use flocculation, sand filters, granular
activated carbon, ozone, ultraviolet light,
and numerous other techniques to cleanse
the water of unwanted contaminants.
Sometimes, specialized treatment
systems may be necessary to remove
difficult contaminants-such as green
sand for arsenic, hydrous manganese oxide
for radionuclides, or reverse osmosis for
salt-that would otherwise pass through
more conventional designs.
Water treatment plants in the state
also use chlorine to disinfect and protect
the water in its journey throughout the
distribution system to customers' taps.
Operators have to constantly monitor
conditions and make adjustments for2
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Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Natural Outlook, July, 2016, periodical, July 2016; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth839219/m1/2/: accessed April 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.