The nation's many water districts were right to be alarmed five years ago when a relatively unknown parasite, cryptosporidium, invaded Milwaukee's water supply, made over 400,000 people sick and killed 100. Anytime a substance as vital as water becomes contaminated, the consequences can be frightening.
And so, while we generally oppose federal government mandates on local providers, we understand and accept President Clinton's announcement last week of tougher water standards. But the principle of local control still holds. Many large water systems, including Salt Lake City's, already are way ahead of the federal government in reacting to concerns. They have to be. They deal with customers on a daily basis, and no water manager wants to worry that a deadly parasite may be on the loose.In Salt Lake City, water officials have been testing for trace amounts of cryptosporidium since 1994 at levels far lower than those the president announced. Crypto, as it's commonly called, is a microscopic organism carried through human or animal feces.
The other part of Clinton's tougher standards is a little murkier. It involves testing for trihalomethanes, a compound formed when chlorine joins with natural organic materials. These don't exist much in the Utah water taken from fast-flowing streams, but they are found in trace amounts in reservoirs where water is allowed to sit. Their actual effect of human health is unclear, but they have been suspected of causing cancer in laboratory rats.
Still, despite the unknowns, Salt Lake City already allows no more than 44 parts per billion of the substance. Clinton's new standard is 80 parts per billion.
What this means is that people who use Salt Lake City water won't have to pay more to meet the standards. Neither will people in some other Utah water districts. For the rest, slight increases await on water bills.
The United States already has the healthiest water supply on earth. Not only that, local water officials generally respond quickly and responsibly when problems occur, as they did earlier this year in various parts of Utah. The federal government can easily get carried away when it comes to setting levels in the parts-per-billion range. That may be the case with trihalomethanes.
But the cryptosporidium requirements are reasonable and in the public's best interest. In either case, stricter standards for both substances will cost Utahns little.