COLUMBUS – The city of Columbus issued a nitrate advisory for residents who get their drinking water from the Dublin Road Water Plant.
The affected area includes portions of downtown, west and southwest Columbus; Grandview Heights, Grove City, Hilliard, Lincoln Village, Marble Cliff, Upper Arlington, Urbancrest and Valleyview. It also includes areas in Franklin County south of Fisher Road and north of Sullivant Avenue between Hilliard Rome or Norton Roads on the west and Phillipi/Georgesville Road to the east (see map).
Officials say infants below the age of six months should not be given tap water to drink. Also, parents should not use it to mix infant formula, juice or cereal.
Women who are over 30 weeks pregnant should also avoid drinking tap water or any beverages made from it.
Officials say residents should not boil the water as that increases the concentration of initrates.
The elevated nitrate levels in the Scioto River are believed to be related to last week’s storm and resulting runoff, Department of Utilities spokeswoman Laura Mohr said.
A similar warning a year ago lasted two weeks but such advisories may soon be a thing of the past.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
Treatment plant expansions at the Dublin Road plant have been underway the past few years and include a new treatment facility currently under construction that will provide additional treatment options to remove nitrates from water.
Tap water tested at the Dublin Road plant showed nitrate levels at 10.5 parts per million, said Division of Water Administrator Rick Westerfield. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requires public notification when nitrate levels exceed 10 parts per million. The average level is 5 to 6 parts per million.
The $35 million ion-exchange facility being constructed at the water plant someday will eliminate any need for nitrate advisories, Westerfield said.
The new building contains about a dozen tanks that Westerfield said function similar to water softeners, removing nitrates from millions of gallons of water a day. Construction is scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2017.