Jamestown NC residents uncover massive discharge of 1,4 Dioxane in drinking water supply source

Feb 27, 2023

High Point, North Carolina Feb 26, 2023 (Issuewire.com) - Residents of the Town of Jamestown, North Carolina, a small town situated in the middle of Guilford County, recently uncovered state records revealing that a large number of state and federal violations pertaining to hazardous and carcinogenic contaminants discharged in their air, groundwater, surface water and drinking water supply have gone unreported to residents.

The most recent episode - according to public records in the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's online laserfiche files - occurred in November 2021, when 1,4 Dioxane at a concentration of 237 ppb was discharged into Deep River, the main water supply feeder to Randleman Lake in neighboring Randolph County, from which Jamestown and surrounding towns purchase their drinking water. The EPA's maximum contaminant level for 1,4 Dioxane in drinking water is .35 ppb. North Carolina 's maximum human health criteria for 1,4 Dioxane is .35 ppb in water supplies.

The residents also discovered that in April 2021, a discharge of 1,330 gallons of sodium hypochlorite solution occurred when an operator at Jamestown's Eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant turned on the wrong pump and didn't discover the mistake until the next day.

Sodium hypochlorite is poisonous if ingested; 1,4 Dioxane is a carcinogen and cannot be filtered out using conventional refrigerator and faucet filters. Guilford County - which includes the larger cities of Greensboro and High Point - has the highest levels of 1,4 Dioxane levels in the state of North Carolina. Randleman Lake, which wholesales its water as the "Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority," has the highest levels of 1,4 Dioxane in Guilford County.

Last December, local media reported that a number of ongoing problems with respect to emissions and operational violations racked up by the town's Eastside Waste Water Treatment Plant had led to court action in which the facility could continue to operate only by a Special Consent Order. Eastside's status since then has been elevated to "SEVERE VIOLATION" indicating that few, if any, of the facility's operational problems have been resolved. Located at the southern border of the town of Jamestown, Eastside is jointly owned by Jamestown and neighboring High Point but operated by High Point.

Although the State of North Carolina requires that municipal authorities notify residents when such discharges and environmental hazards occur, residents say Jamestown has remained mum, even in the wake of these recent news reports and resident discoveries.

One Jamestown resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said "Jamestown's population is around 3,500, and it's run by an elected mayor and 'town council' of four, and a paid staff that includes a town manager, assistant manager, and public utilities director. When a resident has a concern about operations, rules, or regulations that don't sync with the town manager's plan, then - in lieu of a response - the resident is contacted by the town manager and told that his or her inquiry would be best addressed in a personal meeting at Town Hall between the resident and a full round table of council members and town staff. As such, the town manager spends the majority of his time controlling the narrative - and the town council members."

The lack of public information plus the fact there is no ongoing testing, monitoring or public education with regard to Jamestown's water supply source, Deep River - a 303(d) impaired water body that runs through the middle of town - has led to several residents incurring hefty fees for tap water testing.

"We just started doing this - with independent labs certified by the state," the resident said, " Since there's absolutely no way I would trust the results of any water quality test conducted by Jamestown or Guilford County. The only thing that appears to be certain with respect to the oversight of our groundwater, surface water, and drinking water, is that the town definitely prefers to keep the residents in the dark."

Thus far, early test results indicate 1,4 Dioxane levels from Jamestown residents' kitchen faucets at just over 2 ppb, about 600% higher than the maximum limit advised by state and federal authorities.

Jamestown residents concerns about the lack of transparency by public authorities aren't unfounded.

A 2020 investigative report by environmental writer Lisa Sorg (NC Policy Watch) noted that when high levels of 1,4 Dioxane were discovered in Randleman Lake, Mike Borchers, director of Greensboro's Water Resources Department, said in an email, "Please mention to [the engineering firm Black & Veatch] the 1,4-Dioxane results should not be shared outside their organization."

"So how does that work in the report? The report will be public record eventually," responded the staff member.

"It's okay buried in the report. Just don't want it to stick out like a sore thumb," Borchers replied.

Additional discoveries, violations, contaminated properties, Brownfields, and Dioxane in well-water incidents uncovered by the residents of Jamestown, North Carolina, are being collected and recorded at www.thejamestowner9.com.

Specifics regarding discharge violations and noncompliance incidents, including those discussed above, incurred by Jamestown/High Point's Eastside WWTP include:

December 2020: Monitoring violation: 1,4 Dioxane

April 19, 2021: Violation: Discharging without valid permit

April 21, 2021: 1,330 gallons of Sodium Hypochlorite solution was released into Deep River when an operator at Eastside treatment plant turned on the wrong pump and didn't discover the mistake until the next day.

May 3, 2021, NCDEQ letter re Sodium Hypochlorite release: "The pump was promptly turned off the following day when it was discovered it had been mistakenly activated. The chemical was injected into the plant's filters and then discharged directly into Deep River, which is currently classified as a water supply IV, critical watershed area... This unauthorized discharge represents a serious violation of State law, regulations, and permit conditions, and the City needs to act with more urgency when similar incidents occur in the future."

July 2021 Violation: Phosphorous too high in water - 34% overage (.70 mg/l - limit is .50 mg/l)

July 2021 Violation: Residual chlorine too high in water - 61% overage (29 ug/l - limit is 18 ug/l)

July 2021 Monitoring Violations: pH, dissolved Oxygen, conductivity, and water temperature

Nov 1, 2021 Violation: 1,4 DIOXANE discharge into Deep River of 237 ug/l. North Carolina has calculated human health criteria for 1,4 Dioxane of .35 ug/l in water supplies (15A NCAC 02B .0208). The March 2022 letter from NC DEQ below indicates a civil penalty was assessed of "not more than $25,000" for the incident.

April 2022 Water toxicity tests performed wrong; notice of invalidation from NCDEQ

July 2022 Warning of improper testing/monitorig protocol on multiple dates and potential for more violations. "The Aquatic Toxicity Branch ( ATB) has received multiple past sample reports in which the permitted protocols were not followed:
10/ 19/ 2020 - Incorrect outfall indicated on ATForm
01/ 25/ 2021 - Incorrect number of test organisms used for control
01/ 10/ 2022 - Incorrect outfall indicated on ATForm
04/ 04/ 2022 - Incorrect effluent percentage used (Test failed - Invalidated & NOD issued)

Earlier this week, in an attempt to quell residents' concerns about the Town of Jamestown's refusal to update its Land Development Ordinance with new 2020 regulations specific to the Randleman Water Supply Watershed municipalities, the town manager addressed Jamestown's residents with a lengthy spin in the Jamestown News Weekly. In it, Town Manager Matthew Johnson said residents' concerns about the lack of Ordinance water updates since 2010 (when the Randleman Reservoir and PTRWA began selling and transmitting water) was basically unjustified and he credited it to residents' "casual reading" of the Ordinance. Johnson advised residents who had questions to seek a meeting at Town Hall or to compare the Ordinance side by side with the provisions of NCAC 02B-.0251.

Jamestown residents were quick to point out to Johnson, their taxpayer-funded town manager, that this North Carolina Administrative Code section he continues to erroneously cite, that Jamestown residents have called to his attention numerous times, and that he refuses to edit/update - has not been in existence since 2020.