Reflecting on the value of comprehensive testing for assuring public health

By Dennis L. Green

I’ve heard Gov. Rick Snyder’s complaints about the complex and confusing EPA regulations, but I find them specious. Codes and regulations are minimum standards for enforcement actions. They are not a recipe for unqualified people to interpret. They are not an excuse for not exercising due diligence. When the EPA regulation requires a test for a system over a certain size, it does not imply that testing of smaller systems should not be done. It is a delegation of responsibility, not a waiver. The American Water Works Association publishes volumes of recommendations that provide the collective experience of the industry regarding due diligence. In my experience as part of the management team for the construction of a new water plant at the Detroit Water and Sewage Department’s Water Works Park, we thought it unthinkable to put a plant on line without full testing. The guidelines call for testing over all four seasons to capture the effects of seasonal changes in the water source, but that didn’t suit the schedule of the money managers in Flint.

For any qualified water professional, it should be unthinkable to put an obsolete plant in service without the normal recommended testing protocol. The rationalization for omitting corrosion control was a fear that it would feed the growth of bacteria, but had the proper testing taken place, the bacteria problem would have been dealt with, before sending the water out to the customers.

Flint’s problem is the result of politicians practicing engineering without a license. The simple cure is to remove water from politics. The bad decisions in Michigan result from politicians fighting for control of the billions of dollars in contracts involving water. Detroit’s exploitation of its regional system for its local economic development led to Flint’s defection to the Karegnondi Water Authority. Neither authority was putting the customers’ interests first.

Dennis L. Green is retired head water system engineer for the Detroit Water and Sewage Department