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Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Bid approved for arsenic treatment in Los LunasLos Lunas It's been eight years in the making, and the implementation of an arsenic treatment project is at the beginning of the end. The Los Lunas Village Council unanimously approved a request for a bid award to RMCI, Inc. for $2,380,871 for arsenic treatment systems and buildings. The village went out to bid on June 9 and recieved seven bids. On January 23, 2001 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lowered the Arsenic Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) to 10 parts per billion (ppb). Previously, federal regulations regarding drinking water stated water systems could have up to 50 ppb of arsenic in the water. When the regulations changed, all four of Los Lunas' water wells were below the previous 50 ppb level but higher than the newly mandated standards. Betty Behrend, the village's public utilities director, said the equipment for the project is ordered and should be arriving any day now. Once it gets here, the awarded contractor can begin preparing the first well site. Behrend said she hopes to have two of the four wells that serve Los Lunas completed with the arsenic treatment by December. A coagulation and filtration process, with the use of iron, will be used to treat the well water. Behrend said the contractor and equipment would be paid for from a $6 million loan specifically for the treatment of drinking water that the village acquired from the New Mexico Finance Authority in May 2008. On Jan. 23, 2006, the new 10 ppb standard took effect. The village, along with the other municipalities in the state, was granted a three-year extension to comply with the federal mandated standards. According to the New Mexico Environment Department, water systems with a population of more than 3,300 were given the three-year extension if needed. Behrend said the main reason the arsenic project has taken so long is simply because the process is expensive. "The money has been the biggest issue because it's very expensive," Behrend said. According to the Village of Los Lunas' 2007 water quality report, the amount of arsenic in the water ranged from a high of 22 ppb to a low of 12 ppb. In 2008, the high was 20 ppb and the low was 10 ppb. For both years, the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), which is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health, was zero. The MCL, or the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water, is 10 ppb. Behrend said with the new system, the village is shooting for the four wells to contain no more than 7ppb, although 10 ppb is perfectly safe, she said. Arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral in ground water, especially in the state of New Mexico where arsenic occurs naturally in volcanic soils and then leaches from the soil into the water. Although arsenic occurs naturally, it is still labeled a chronic contaminate. Arsenic is not an immediate risk to the public and is not at a life-threatening level. According to the New Mexico Environmental Department, unlike E. coli in a water system, which can be deadly in the very young or old, symptoms from chronic contaminates such as arsenic take time to develop. People may drink water containing arsenic for years and not show any effects. In other action the council:
Mondragon said the cost of housing one animal for a period of three days in an Albuquerque shelter was about $160. Mondragon said if the county increases their prices, the village has the right to agree or disagree to continue the service.
The program provides services through several professional services contracts including comprehensive alcohol and DWI out-patient services, DWI prevention and enforcement programs and licensed substance abuse associate services.
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