Topeka drinking water violates EPA contamination standards

? Utilities officials say Topeka drinking water is out of compliance with a federal standard for contaminants.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the drinking water is still considered safe despite having exceeded an Environmental Protection Agency standard for the presence of haloacetic acids in one location.

City utilities director Bob Sample says the EPA notified Topeka this month that recent testing showed the drinking water at one site exceeded standards for the preceding three-month period by containing an average of 60.6 micrograms per liter of haloacetic acids. The EPA allows a maximum of 60 micrograms per liter.

The city is mailing out a letter this week to Topeka’s 57,000 homes and businesses saying they don’t need to take corrective action like switching to bottled water. The city expects to resolve the issue within about six months.

City of Lawrence Water Quality Manager Aurora Shields told the Journal-World that Lawrence has not had any problems with its levels of haloacetic acids, which she said generally are byproducts of disinfection.

— Journal-World City Hall reporter Rochelle Valverde contributed to this report.