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Cowlitz PUD Commissioner Ned Piper looks for sediment in water samples during Thursday’s taste test at Longview City Hall. Bill Wagner / The Daily News

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No clear winner in county's water taste test

Friday, March 28, 2008 7:01 AM PDT

By Amy M.E. Fischer

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After much sniffing, swirling and sipping, local officials found little difference between treated Cowlitz River water and water drawn from wells at the Mint Farm Industrial Park.

“Tastes like water,” remarked Longview Councilman Chuck Wallace during Thursday’s taste test at City Hall.

Because the Fisher’s Lane water treatment plant on the Cowlitz River is rapidly wearing out, officials are considering drilling deep wells at the Mint Farm to tap into the aquifer hundreds of feet below the surface. This would become Longview’s new drinking water source.

Naturally, the people in charge of making the decision wanted to taste the well water before committing to the project.

Thursday evening, City Council members, Cowlitz PUD commissioners and Beacon Hill Sewer District commissioners tasted five water samples and rated their clarity, odor and taste from a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 considered “excellent.” They weren’t told until later which samples were which.

They tasted:

- Store-bought bottled water (the control group)

- Mint Farm well water filtered with a sand filter

- Mint Farm well water filtered with a membrane filter

- Water from the sink at the Fisher’s Lane water treatment plant (which uses Cowlitz River water)

- Water from the upstairs break room sink at Longview City Hall

“They’re all pretty good,” said Longview Councilman Don Jensen. However, he and other council members complained they detected a whiff of chlorine when they removed the lids from a couple of their water glasses.

In the end, the bottled water scored highest in taste and odor, and the water from the City Hall break room scored lowest in those categories, said Longview Public Works Director Jeff Cameron said. All five water samples ranked close together in clarity.

“I didn’t find any that was objectionable at all,” Councilman Dennis Weber said.

One sample stood out as tasting the “cleanest and most natural,” he said. That turned out to be the membrane-filtered well water from the Mint Farm.

Several participants repeatedly remarked they couldn’t taste any difference among the water samples.

“If they’re all tasting the same, to me that’s a good thing,” Cameron said. “So that means the decision will be based on factors other than taste.”

One such factor is whether contaminants from nearby polluted industrial sites could infiltrate the wells, said City Manager Bob Gregory.

Longview engineers and a hydrologist don’t think that can happen because the aquifer is 400 feet down, separated from the surface by clay and bedrock, Gregory said.

The city tested the unfiltered well water for the presence of metals. Traces of iron, manganese and arsenic were found at slightly higher than acceptable levels, Cameron said. However, when the water was filtered, the level of metals fell to well within the accepted range, he said.

According to PUD Commissioner Mark McCrady, wells at the Mint Farm would be the best long-term value for citizens because of lower operating costs.

“The river’s going to continue to fill (with silt), and there will be an incredible maintenance expense to try to maintain the facility on Fisher’s Lane,” he said.

Updated cost estimates for the Mint Farm well project will be presented to the Longview council at a May 8 water-supply workshop.

The Cowlitz PUD participated in the tasting because it owns 14 percent of Longview’s water system. The Beacon Hill Sewer District runs the PUD’s portion of the system and has the option of acquiring it.

Public invited to take a sip

How does the taste of your city water compare to water in other Cowlitz County cities? Stop by The Daily News office from 5 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and sip for yourself.

We’ll have samples of treated city water for you to try from Longview, Kelso, Kalama, Castle Rock and Woodland, plus water drawn from the Longview Mint Farm Industrial Park’s wells.

Samples will be numbered, so you won’t know which one you’re tasting. We’ll ask you which water you liked best and then we’ll write a story saying which city’s water ranked highest.

Granted, this is just for fun. But aren’t you a little curious?

The tasting starts at 5 p.m. at The Daily News, 770 11th Ave. We’ll have 2 gallons of each water sample available. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

Previous

Water from the industrial park wrote on Mar 28, 2008 6:56 AM:

" This has "Erin Brockovich 2" written all over it. "

Smoke & Mirrors wrote on Mar 28, 2008 7:16 AM:

" Are they comparing what the water rates will be after the implementation of each possible option? I would like to know how much our water bills will go upin the near future. "

Quality wrote on Mar 28, 2008 7:39 AM:

" That still doesn't mean that either source is actually good water to drink! :} "

pangborn wrote on Mar 28, 2008 7:59 AM:

"
There are no safe levels of lead, arsenic or mercury in any ones drinking water.

Tasting fine doesn't mean testing fine.
A clorine odor means the water was shocked to kill whatever.

The City Council might remark if they tried water from Lake Sacagewea. "It's a bit too fishy for me."

Face it. Our water supply is going to change. But the good news is we won't be drinking filtered sewer sludge from the bergs upstream on the cowlitz.

If it comes from the Columbia we will be drinking filtered sewer sludge from everthing the river system drains, including the Snake and Willamette rivers.

Ummum yum tasty.

"

ggmo wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:09 AM:

" Yes, the samples tasted mostly the same. But the temporary blindness and euphoria that resulted from sipping some of the Mint Farm well water sold me.... "

LV Resident wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:19 AM:

" Kelso city water FTW in the worst water challenge. The current city of Longview water isn't terrible but it definitely seems like the chlorine level is pretty high and very detectable at times. "

Citizen wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:28 AM:

" I would think that a scientific laboratory analysis would be far far better than a "taste" test. It would also be wise to have that analysis be blind folded so that the results would not be tainted with favorites. "

Re: Citizen wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:56 AM:

" If you've followed the stories at all you will see that laboratory analysis has been done every step of the way and is required to be done continuously for any water supply in use. There has been so much whining about well water tasting and smalling funny from us residents that it made this ridiculous waste of time necessary to placate us. "

longview water user wrote on Mar 28, 2008 9:11 AM:

" if the industrial area is chosen, what happens if there is a major chemical spill? "

For Well Water wrote on Mar 28, 2008 9:26 AM:

" The water in Lexington smells so much of chlorine, you feel like your drinking a swimming pool. And for those of us raised on well water, you should know its better for you, and not "shocked" with chemicals. I drive to Winlock to fill water jugs cause city water is horrible for you. "

Consultant?? wrote on Mar 28, 2008 9:39 AM:

" Now, Why didn't they hire a professional consultant to tell them what they should think about? What are the results from having our water tested chemically? What will happen when the Mercury under Weyco's millsite and the creosote under IP's millsite leachs into a city well? How about the underground plume of radioactive contamination working it's way to the Columbia River at Hanford? (and then downstream)I want lots of money spent on this issue so some outsider can be blamed when the wrong decision is made, again. or, NOT! "

re: longview water user wrote on Mar 28, 2008 9:43 AM:

" They already have Tri-County Truss (hard to imagine the wood isn't chemically treated), Flexible Foam - a plastics manufacturer, ToyocomEpson - makes synthetic quartz, and the Mint Farm Energy Center - converts natural gas into electricity. All of these companies have potentially toxic byproducts. It's no so much an "if" as a "when".

"

Re: COnsultant wrote on Mar 28, 2008 9:50 AM:

" You people should study up a little bit on aquifers. You have no working understanding of them whatsoever. "

MrBee wrote on Mar 28, 2008 11:09 AM:

" If you want to know more about aquifers check out Clean Waters For Washington at http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1622/eb1622.html It will make you ask some questions. Such as what is the flow rate, will it change with multiple wells, how large and how deep is the aquifer. Some of you will remember when Kelso replaced there water source and buried intake pipes in the Cowlitz River. There were many unseen problems and as I recall they chose the system with the lowest cost. Longview needs a new water treatment plant. The question is from what source. "

98 Grad wrote on Mar 28, 2008 11:28 AM:

" Is it cost or are worried about public safety? I already do not trust the water so that is why I have an RO water filter in my home! I just hope we as a city we think about this as a long term fix not just a 20 year fix. "

Little Bro wrote on Mar 28, 2008 11:33 AM:

" Why don’t we just use Reynolds old deep wells? They are already drilled and that would be an even cheaper way to go! Just don’t mind the Aluminum, fluoride and other “trace” pollutants. "

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 12:31 PM:

" I believe it would be more cost effective if you just raised the wall at toutle dam to catch the silt and build a new updated water treatment plant. It would be cheaper. Besides, wells will cost a whole lot more and be a pain because sometimes their will not be enough water or clean enough water and you have to pay people to constantly keep them fixed and all the rest of the stuff that goes along with wells. Wells is a very bad idea and will cost everyone alot of money and irritation when they don't work for a number of very expensive reasons. We say build the dam on the Toutle higher and do a new treatment plant. That is sooo much cheaper and cleaner. Cost effective. "

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 12:36 PM:

" It doesn't matter what the taste is. It matters what is in it. Silt won't harm anyone.
Chemicals from saturated ground will harm you and this is an industrial area. The whole area. Think about it folks. Building a higher wall to the existing Dam on the Toutle, then building a new updated treatment plant is not only safer but definitely more cost effective. "

Winlock Observer wrote on Mar 28, 2008 1:51 PM:

" I don't know what all the fuss is about.
I live in Winlock and I don't like my city water either and I don't drink it.I only use it for bathing and washing.It has too many ferromanganates and ferric oxides and azuritic compounds in it for my taste.
A suggestion to Longview residents would be to buy PURIFIED bottled or jug water from the store and use the municipal supplied water for all other uses.It is as simple as that!Then it won't matter where or what source the water is coming from.(Unless it has radioactive leaching from somewhere;that is a whole another issue!)

"

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 2:37 PM:

" It doesn't matter how it takes. It does however matter whats in it. Will it give us cancer or other icky stuff from all the chemicals in our industrial ground? "

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 2:39 PM:

" Ha, we have a river but we don't have anyone intelligent enough to know how to get the water to us? maybe we should get someone from out of state who knows how to get river water safely to our city homes? "

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 2:51 PM:

" This is an Erin Brokovich all over and reaks of greed and money. City people want city water. We see our Cowlitz River and we want our Rivers water to be filtered and cleaned. You can do this. It is a whole lot cheaper. People wont have to move from up on the hill to another city just to get City water. Down on wells. "

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 2:54 PM:

" Who wants orange water? Mercky white water? How about stained sinks, tubs, hair that turns red? Down on well wanter. "

Just me wrote on Mar 28, 2008 3:29 PM:

" If anyone thinks that a new city water facility isnt needed they should tour the current one on fishers lane. I toured it for a class I took at lcc and saw the impellers of the very expensive pumps chewed up from the silt. I also saw the pit they have to dump the silt in from the filtering process. This town is so negative toward change I am surprised the streets are paved and the women vote "

Kalamakid wrote on Mar 28, 2008 3:44 PM:

" you can not taste arsenic, for one , Castle Rock,Toledo,Morton, Packwood, all dump the sewer in the Cowlitz, how is that for drinking water.
I have been drinking country well water for a very long time , and feel none the worse for it.
Just remember , they have to dump flouride in your water to , its the law.
To protect your chompers.
If you go out in the river, dig a big hole ,fill it with diffrent size rock starting with large first and work up laying the pipe in the bottom,problem fixed, and this works real well no matter what is in the river. "

.....yup.... wrote on Mar 28, 2008 4:21 PM:

" that's right, this was the top story of the day.
Wow. "

Mr. Grim wrote on Mar 28, 2008 4:58 PM:

" You people (bloggers) are unbelievable. Has anyone here ever heard of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974? Educate yourselves; be responsible bloggers... "

wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 5:36 PM:

" If you want well water, go live in the country and you can pay for your well. Us City people want our Cowlitz river to be filtered to us. "

gurgle wrote on Mar 28, 2008 6:19 PM:

" Nusiance.

Chunks of rust and white slake run from many taps in the highlands.
The City might look into replacing the mains coming into the highlands.

The City Cogs don't drink that water so I guess it's okay.

"

This isn't a blog. wrote on Mar 28, 2008 6:50 PM:

" It sounds like you are enamored with the word "blog" but if you bothered learn what "blog" means you'd know a "blog" is a web log in which everything is arranged in chronological order like a pseudo-journal.

TDN allows reader "comments". "

Mr. Grim wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:28 PM:

" Well, let's see... this is on the web, and our posts are logged chronologically. Seems to me that would be a blog. And whether this is a blog or not, the fact is, people are not going to be provided with unsafe drinking water - period. "

tell that wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:37 PM:

" to the people of Hinkley, CA and Woburn, MA "

Let's get our water from underneath Flexible Foam wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:41 PM:

" The EPA has identified flexible polyurethane foam fabrication facilities as potential major sources of HAP emissions such as methylene chloride, hydrochloric acid (HCl), 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Exposure to these substances has been demonstrated to cause adverse health effects such as irritation of the lung, eye, and mucous membranes, effects on the central nervous system, and cancer. "

bluE wrote on Mar 29, 2008 4:31 AM:

" its times like this that remind me that i am lucky to be living far removed from longview usa. i wish you all the best of luck with that industrial waste.

i am glad that i live in one of the greenest countries on the planet, i would rather deal with the crazy politics and whacked cultural diversities any day than to smell, taste or otherwise partake longview as it was when i left and as it obviously is now.
"

what the? wrote on Mar 29, 2008 7:12 AM:

" Does anyone remember the wier above the water intake at the Longview water treatment plant? It helped reduce the build up of silt at the intake pipes. Why did the City pull it out? "

lurkertom wrote on Mar 29, 2008 1:50 PM:

" The solution to pollution is dilution. "

HOLY WATER wrote on Mar 29, 2008 4:33 PM:

" Mt. Rainier & Mt. Saint Helens provide some of the purest water in the WORLD. This Water Flows Naturally, Passing right through our cities and Counties. We Need to stay tapped into this Great Resource. Cowlitz River Water is Better Than WELL WATER any day. I would pay a little more for the Water we have now. Than Pay for an Environmental Disaster Later. PLEASE KEEP OUR DRINKING WATER COMING FROM THE COWLITZ RIVER. Drinking Water in The FUTURE Should NOT Come from Bottles ONLY. Another Disaster! Let's keep the Water source we have NOW! "

City of David, Randy and Paul wrote on Mar 29, 2008 6:29 PM:

" Everyone in Kelso should have seen the inside of 2 reservoirs up on the hill with the shiny roofs.Absolute filth and your drinking it. "