1,4-Dioxane Water Testing:
Recently an article was published in the Orlando Sentinel about water quality in Seminole County and the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in their water supply. This chemical was originally indicated by the United States EPA as a potential cancer-causing agent. The EPA required all water treatment systems to originally monitor for this chemical as part of its Unregulated Contaminates Monitoring Rule 3. The City of Apopka sampled for this contaminate during the 2014-2015 cycle and found no evidence of 1,4-Dioxane in our water supply. Neither the State of Florida or the EPA require regular monitoring of this particular chemical.
In an abundance of caution based on the Seminole County results, the Mayor decided in early July for our department to order the sampling kits needed to test for this chemical. We finally received the kits in late August, as they have been on back order. Samples were collected on August 23, 2023 at the point of entry to the distribution system at all five of the City owned water treatment plants. Samples were submitted to our contract lab provider on that date. These samples were processed at a National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program Certified Laboratory in South Carolina. This lab is one of the few certified labs in the Country for 1,4-Dioxane chemical. The lab report is in the South Carolina format, all sample results were listed as ND which stands for Non-detect and qualified as U, which means the chemical was analyzed but not detected above the Method Detection Limit.
The City received the results on 9/5/23:
- Plymouth Regional WTP 1,4-Dioxane Result: Non-detectable
- Jack G Grossenbacher WTP 1,4-Dioxane Result: Non-detectable
- Northwest WTP 1,4-Dioxane Result: Non-detectable
- Sheeler Oaks WTP 1,4-Dioxane Result: Non-detectable
- Mt Plymouth WTP 1,4-Dioxane Result: Non-detectable
Information provided by:
Erica Atkinson – Environmental Program Manager, Public Services Department
Report
