Columbus City Utilities are investigating why there is an increased level of Dioxane in water distributed to the city, as well as customers of Southwest Bartholomew Water Corp. Keith Reeves, director of city utilities, says that a report from Environmental Working Group, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, illustrated the elevated levels. He explains that this report took its information from reports made by all state utilities to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

In the results for the City of Columbus, Reeves says that it is reported that Dioxane levels measured at 0.483 ppb (parts per billion). This is in comparison to the “healthy level” of 0.35 ppb indicated by EWG. However, he stresses that Dioxane is not a regulated contaminant for drinking water under either EPA or Indiana drinking water regulations, so it is not tested for on a regular basis. Reeves says that Dioxane is a very common chemical that is regularly found in the atmosphere. He went on to say that it is mostly caused from the burning of fossil fuels, and is regularly used in toothpaste, cosmetics and detergents, all of which get recycled back into the water supply during their use. Reeves says that until such guidelines are set by the EPA and IDEM, utilities “have no basis on which to indicate ‘safe’ versus ‘unsafe’ levels.”

Columbus City Utilities officials say that they are in the process of retesting its finished water to confirm these numbers and testing individual wells to try a pinpoint a source for the increased level of Dioxane. Reeves says that Columbus City Utilities and Southwest Bartholomew Water are committed to providing quality water to its residents. He stresses that both utilities are in full compliance with all currently regulated contaminates for drinking water and will take any action necessary in the future to remain fully compliant with current and future regulations.