Tuesday, January 18, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 9
water supplies
The age of a building's plumbing system can adversely affect water quality. No matter how clean water is when it enters a building's pipe system, old pipes can leave lead deposits in drinking water, which can lead to health complications. However, the age of a building does not necessarily correspond directly with the age of its pipes because plumbing could have been replaced.
Jason Williams/KANSAN
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copper in the water. Every three years, 30 samples are tested. Child care facilities are of greater concern because children are at more risk than adults, who process the waste better than children.
Rossillon said the temperature changes in the spring and fall affected water in distribution, resulting in more rust in the water supply. He said that brown water indicated the presence of rust but that people couldn't drink enough for it to be harmful.
ws for lead and
The University Drinking Water Quality Report was put on the Environment, Health and Safety Web site in October. Beginning this year, the report will be published annually in July. The report can be found at www.ehs.ukans.edu/hazmat/1998waterq.html
— Warisa Chulindra and Iryna Rodriguez
at they are drinking
The Act is one of after Act, which was to clean up coastal waters iming and fish-
ment but enforced by states.
Allen said that the act gave the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to set regulations regarding the healthiness of the water but that states had to adopt laws to regulate chemicals affecting the water's taste.
or who was in
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federal govern-
More information about the status of Lawrence water can be found on the Web at http://www.kdhe.stateks.us/water.
— Erinn R. Barcomb, Ryan Blethen, Sara Nutt and Doug Pacey
Don't drink the water? Don't worry about it
Steve Randtke, professor of civil and environmental engineering, discussed Lawrence water treatment procedures on Sept. 27.
The need to disinfect the water supply comes from the millions of chemicals developed in the last 30 to 40 years, Randtke said. Today, water treatment plants regulate more than 100 contaminants.
In the late 1960s, the United States began waging a war on cancer. The growing concern about waterborne diseases, including possible carcinogens, led to the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, Randke said.
To drink or not to drink the water — that is the question.
"If we didn't disinfect the water, most of us would be dead by tomorrow morning," he said.
For Steve Randtke, a specialist in water resources, the answer is yes.
"The fact is that cancer increases with age, and by that time we had nearly doubled our life span." Randlike said.
Still, with a host of chemicals contaminating the water supply, the process of disinfection became necessary. To date, the most cost-effective method involves the use of another chemical — chlorine.
Randtke said that without chlorine, the distribution system of pipes would corrode with untreated water flowing through it.
One misconception about chlorine is its toxicity
"Pure chlorine is toxic, but not when
"If we didn't disinfect the water most of us would be dead by tomorrow morning."
Steve Randtke Professor of civil engineering
diluted." Randtke said.
Then what's all the fuss about water treatment? The answer rests in chlorine's reactions with organic ingredients in the water to produce potentially harmful byproducts known as trihalomethanes.
"They first discovered the trihalomethane chloroform in the mid-1970s," Randtkue said. So how much of a risk do these trihalomethanes pose?
"They shoot for a one-in-a-million risk factor that someone could be harmed by one of the byproducts," Randtke said. "We still must give priority to disinfection."
Keith Whealy, water treatment supervisor at the Kawai River Water Treatment Plant, said the water treatment process was a constant balancing act.
"The rules keep getting tighter," he said:
There are other methods of disinfection, but they all have their downsides. Randtke said.
"Right now, water is the cheapest resource you can buy," he said. "It's cheaper than dirt."
Julie Gurnon
Student reactions
WRETCHED BUT FREE
It's wet and we drink it,but we don't think about it much. When we do,we usually think about the taste.Here's what some students had to say about the drinking water on campus.
Lindsay Porter, Prairie Village junior, said she thought the water on campus was wretched.
"I'm not really qualified to say what's exactly wrong with the water," she said. "All I know is that most bottled water tastes good, whereas the water from the fountains makes me want to vomit."
Abdul Aziz Alyahya, Brudiah,
Saudi Arabia, graduate student, said the water back home was scarce but tasted better than the water on campus.
He said drinking from the water fountains on campus could be an unpleasant experience.
ALL IN THE PIPES
"Sometimes when you drink the water from the fountains, you see the calcification on the spouts," he said. "It's not very appealing. Everybody I know complains about the water on campus."
Hilary Morton, Lawrence sophomore, said, "I only get my water from certain buildings. I've had several bad experiences. I live in the dorms, and the water there is completely disgusting."
Some students said the water had a different taste in different buildings on campus. They say that water in Budig and Wescoe halls seemed to taste better than the water from older buildings.
She said that she wouldn't get her water from Murphy Hall and that Wescoe had the best water.
"I trust that water," she said.
But Aziz Alyahya said he preferred the water in Malott Hall.
TREND IN A BOTTLE
Some students said they drank bottled water as an alternative to water from campus water fountains, but others said they refused to pay for water. Others were poised precariously on the fence, buying bottled water but refilling their empty ones from campus water fountains.
Morton said she could taste the difference between campus water and bottled water.
"Sure there's a difference," she said. "That's why I'm paying for it. I trust that they're selling me filtered, purified water."
Linda Siter, Lenexa graduate student, said she thought students carried bottled water around because it was trendy.
Jesse Summers, Iola senior, said, "It's one of the marks of the decline of civilization that people buy water in bottles."
Summers doesn't drink bottled water.
"Nor do I buy bottled oxygen," he said.
Mike Rundle, membership services coordinator of the Community Mercantile, 901 Mississippi St., said bottled water sales were increasing.
He said some people were concerned about chemicals such as atrazine in the water. Others are aware that hydrating is a healthy thing to do, he said.
"People buy the individual bottles for the convenience of carrying water with them," he said.
"It's also stylish, and there are a lot of bottled waters that cater to that aspect of the market."
The increase in water sales could be partly because of Y2K, but it's hard to be sure Rundle said.
"We think there are significant sales attributable to Y2K," he said. "But people are private about their personal Y2K things. There is probably a little social stigma about it."
Whether it's a matter of healthy hydrating or preparing for millennium mayhem, the Merc's bottled water sales are up from 56,930 gallons in 1998 to 63,259 as of November 1999.
About 940 bottles of water are sold on campus each week, according to KU Food Services. That is 22,400 ounces or about 35,000 cups of Dasani per week.
On campus, Coke's Dasani is the only brand available. And fewer than one in 25 students are buying it on a weekly basis, excluding vending machine figures, which were not available.
Dasani comes from a regular municipal water supply, just like tap water. It is then sent through a filtering process called reverse osmosis, according to the Web site www.dasani.com.
— Christi Bear, Ryan Devlin,
Jason Franchuk, Shawn Linenberger and Jim O'Malley
STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Taught by George Wilson,
distinguished professor of chem-
istry
Travis Abicht
Anne Arnott
Lori Allen
Matthew Armstrong
Ryan Bartlett
Justin Bradford
Karrigan Bork
Adam Chase
Jason Cheney
Jeremy Chrysler
Clint Colberg
Andrew Craig
 Anna Drewry
Josh Gilmore
Andrea Komarek
Olga Kuchment
Paul Gottesburen
Nickolas Laplant
Angela Jones
Lesley Liu
Michael Lewis
Rebecca Rosanske
Candice Bassell
Lindsay Waters
Aldon Corle
Tiffany Addington
Johnie Gallagher
Marlon deRouen
Guy Janusek
Bitt-lee Lee
Kyle Brown
Mala Phaophant
Tracy Robertson
Sarah Pyszczynski
Jordan Smith
Kelly Rake
Ryan Stuckey
S. Kyle Zimmerman
Jeff Woo
Jesse Braun
Bradley Simmons
REPORTING II
Taught by Tom Eblen, general manager and news adviser for The University Daily Kansan
Ryan Blethen
Erin Barcomb
Christi Bear
Warisa Chulindra
Ryan Devlin
Rasika Dhawe
Hilary Evans
Jason Franchuk
Julie Gurnon
BriAnne Hess
Shawn Hutchinson
Shawn Linenberger
Shea Mayberry
Mindie Miller
Sara Nutt
Jim O'Malley
Doug Pacey
Beth Powell
Iryna Rodriguez
Vibha Shetiya
Diana Victor
Jenny Weaver
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