BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Water Works met or exceeded every standard in this year's inspection by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), with one exception.
Jeffrey H. Stark, the environmental specialist who did the inspection, said loading stations where tankers buy tens of thousands of gallons every year lack devices to prevent the flow of contaminated backwash from tankers into the drinking water system.
Mr. Stark said the problem is akin to a common siphon.
If a water main breaks or firefighters put heavy demand on the system, pressure would drop and allow water to flow back from the tanker truck and into the pipes.
If this has happened, Mr. Stark said on Tuesday, he knew of no instance in which anyone was sickened.
OEPA assumes tankers would contaminate any water put into them, and that would return now-undrinkable water to the system serving more than 768,000 people in 221,000 homes and businesses in four counties.
Mr. Stark said loading stations in Winton Place, Bridgetown, Cherry Grove and Peach Grove lacked safety devices.
Back-flow prevention requires extensive redesign. But George Gehring, assistant superintendent for the commercial division of the waterworks, said he hopes to update the stations by year's end.
Mr. Gehring said the Winton Place loading station no longer is used but another, in Delhi, is in service. It was not on Mr. Stark's list, but it also will be refitted, he indicated.
David Rager, waterworks director, said the issue of the loading stations was the only surprise about this year's OEPA inspection, because longtime employees could not remember any year the utility failed state standards.
Among the systems checked by OEPA were disinfection, fluoridation and the particle filtration.
