[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Director Owens Hosts Dedication of Upgraded Treatment System at South Shannon Water Facility

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

ADEQ Director Owens Hosts Dedication of Upgraded Treatment System at
South Shannon Water Facility

TUCSON (February 13, 2007) - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
(ADEQ) Director Steve Owens and officials from the Metropolitan Domestic
Water Improvement District today hosted a dedication ceremony and tour
of the recently upgraded South Shannon water facility. 

"The upgrades to this vital facility will ensure that the treated water
continues to meet federal and state safe drinking water standards,"
Owens told the officials, staff and residents who came to tour the
facility at 5781 N. Shannon Road in Tucson. "Protecting precious
drinking water supplies is a top priority for ADEQ." 

The original wellhead treatment system was installed by Metro Water
District in 1997 after groundwater contamination was discovered and the
area was designated a state Superfund site under the Water Quality
Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) program. The Metro Water District
serves 50,000 customers. 

The new 750 gallon-per-minute treatment system, which has been operating
since June 2006, removes contaminants when water flows through a bed of
granular carbon. To guarantee an uninterrupted flow of safe drinking
water, the system includes two filter vessels, each holding 20,000
pounds of granular carbon. Metro Water District must also report
drinking water samples to ADEQ monthly. 

ADEQ paid the $1,017,000 cost for the design and construction of the new
treatment system through its WQARF program funds. 

ADEQ is continuing to work on cleaning up tetrachloroethene (PCE)
contamination from the groundwater at the site.

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News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.