Dredged materials from Lake Erie are migrating toward the raw water intake for Nottingham Treatment plant, one of four treatment plants in the Cleveland Water system, according to Cleveland Water.
The utility company has scheduled a press conference Monday at 2 p.m. to give an update on the safety of its water supply.
Ohio EPA reportedly sent a certified letter on April 26 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers communicating its concern over the migration of contaminated sediments towards the City of Cleveland's water intake.
In the letter, EPA references two additional correspondences, saying it told the Army Corps that PCB and PAH contaminated sediments around a disposal site, CLA-1, were migrating in the direction of the water intake for Cleveland. The disposal site is within approximately five miles of a water intake, according to Ohio EPA.
And there are already approximately two square miles of sediments with PAH levels in excess of 100 ppm, according to the April letter.
PCBs have been shown to cause a variety of adverse health effects and are associated with acne-like skin conditions in adults and neurobehavioral and immunological changes in children. The EPA has also classified all PCBs as probable human carcinogens.
Several of the PAHs and some specific mixtures of PAHs are considered to be cancer-causing chemicals.
The city and Ohio EPA took a first round of sampling of raw water from the City of Cleveland intake as well as finished water in April and the results did not show any impact at this time, according to the EPA letter.
"We want to assure our customers, that their drinking water is safe," Cleveland Water spokesperson Erica Creech stated Saturday.
The utility company said it is working with Ohio EPA and has plans to implement enhanced monitoring in the area of concern.
