COLUMBUS – Columbus officials on Monday canceled a water advisory that had been in effect for the past two weeks in parts of the city.
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
Results of the most recent tests of water samples showed nitrate levels in water from the Dublin Road Water plant below the standard or maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per million, Department of Public Utilities spokeswoman Laura Young Mohr said.
The city issued the advisory on June 8 after unacceptably high levels of nitrates were found in samples from the plant that supplies central and west Columbus, including some suburbs. The city said the water should not be given infants younger than 6 months or used to make infant formula, juice or baby cereal.
Officials say the contamination was caused by fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns. Water in other parts of the city wasn’t affected.
But central Ohio’s water woes aren’t over: Officials across the region spent much of Monday assessing damage from the weekend’s drenching rains, the cost of which could take days to fully determine.
Recent downpours sent sewage spilling from Columbus’s storm sewer lines into surrounding rivers and streams.
About 2 inches of rain fell Saturday, following nine straight days of rain in central Ohio. The rains fell on already saturated ground, causing flooding across the region.
Dax Blake, the city’s sewer administrator, told the Columbus Dispatch raw sewage and storm water runoff contaminated rivers and streams around the city.
Sewer overflows have been a problem in the city for years, as aging sewer lines struggle to keep up with rainwater that gets into the system during heavy downpours. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has issued a mandate effectively ordering the city to all but end sewage overflows from its central sewer system.
Blake said city officials plan to meet with the Ohio EPA in September to discuss the city’s plans to do that.