IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER Pace Fleming Grid Public Notice Failure to Meet Treatment Technique Requirements

What happened?
Our water system did not meet the requirements of a drinking water rule. Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation.
On September 26, 2023, at approximately 1:30am, the Pace Island Water Treatment Plant, one of the two water treatment plants that serve the Pace Fleming Grid, failed to maintain 4-log treatment of viruses before or at the first customer for more than four hours. Disinfection residual fell below the required 1.0 mg/L free chlorine residual required to maintain 4-log treatment. The chlorine monitoring equipment low level alarm was activated, but due to miscommunication with the alarm system, appropriate staff was not immediately notified. The required chlorine level for 4-log compliance was restored by 11:00am.
Though disinfection residual levels fell below the standard to maintain 4-log compliance (1.0 mg/L), our system continued to maintain residual levels that meet the standard for routine bacteriological compliance. The standard minimum residual required for routine bacteriological compliance is 0.20 mg/L. During this period, our minimum residual was 0.24 mg/L.
What should I do?
There is nothing you need to do unless you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, or are elderly. These groups may have been at an increased risk when our system failed to provide 4-log compliant disinfection levels and should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. If you have specific health concerns, contact your doctor.
Inadequately treated or inadequately protected water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, cramps, and associated headaches. While we have not detected any evidence of contamination or other health threats in our source water, we are still committed to maintaining the required level of treatment to the water to achieve 4-log compliance and eliminating the threat of contamination.
What does this mean?
This is not an immediate risk. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately.
What is being done?
This is what we have done to correct the problem:
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Addressed the cause by repairing the chlorine line and updating alarm response procedures.
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Reestablished the appropriate chlorine residual within a few hours.
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Reported the drop in chlorine residual both verbally and in writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) the day of the event.
For more information, please contact Heather Webber, Environmental Compliance Manager at 904-213-2435
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses.) You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
This notice is being sent to you by Clay County Utility Authority - Pace Fleming Grid
State Public Water System ID#:2104391 Date distributed: b/t 2/21/24 & 3/7/24
Legal 100683 Published 3/7/2024 in Clay County's Clay Today newspaper