Clone of Water Issue

The City of Montgomery recently notified all city residents and businesses of a water issue based upon an average of all quarterly testing of TTHMs (Trihalomethanes) found in the water.  

Definition of Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM)

   TTHMs are a group of four chemicals formed when the drinking water disinfectant (chlorine) reacts with naturally occurring organic materials in the water source. The City of Montgomery's water source is groundwater. These chemicals are tested quarterly, and the results of these chemicals are added together to form the TTHM reading. The quarterly samples are averaged, and a running annual average is obtained. The current limit for TTHMs is 80 parts per billion. Testing is performed by the State using a third-party contractor to gather the samples.

   We received a Notice of Violation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) dated June 23, 2023, stating that we had exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for TTHMs based on the Local Running Annual Average (LRAA). The MCL for TTHM is 0.080 mg/L or 80 parts per billion. The compliance value determined by the LRAA after quarterly testing in April was 0.082 mg/L or 82 parts per billion. 

   The amount of chlorine being fed into the system at the water plant has been lowered, which should directly result in a lower TTHM reading. While the state pulls test samples at two sites each quarter, we are testing six test sites, including the water well, bi-weekly until confirmation is received that this issue is completely resolved.

      The City of Montgomery feels that we have a good plan of action to rectify the situation going forward. It will take some investigative and experimental work to come up with the source and solution, but we will figure this out and correct it. This plan is already underway and being closely monitored. 

   Additional information is available by clicking here from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.