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WPCA debates reporting duty after Department of Health alert and high PFAS/THM readings
Summary
Members discussed a Department of Health alert that "fell through the cracks," recent high PFAS/THM test results from a neighboring system, and how and when the WPCA should use its own test results to trigger public notification and Department of Health follow-up.
Board members spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing recent public-health testing and notification procedures after a Department of Health alert that board members said had "fallen through the cracks." Members asked whether the authority had been told in time, who should be notified, and whether the WPCA should treat its own sampling results as the trigger to notify customers and the state.
One committee member asked why the authority had not been informed earlier; another noted that some email records were undated and that lab and sampling timelines made it unclear when the Department of Health should have been alerted. Board members referred to testing that another system (referred to in the discussion as "Squaw") reported with PFAS/THM concentrations they described as much higher than expected.
"We should when it comes up from our testing that we're above some limit, we should expect Department of Health to come to us and complain back," one member said, urging the WPCA to be ready and to use its own monitoring data as a trigger for internal and public actions.
Members also discussed the practical steps: ensuring the operations report flags high test results in meetings, improving internal notification chains, and clarifying when staff will notify ratepayers if results cross regulatory thresholds. There was no formal vote on policy changes at this meeting; members directed staff to report testing results more prominently in operations reports and to clarify notification procedures.
