Felton, DE April 23, 2007 – In recognition of Earth Day, officially observed around the globe on April 22nd, Delaware officials gathered in the Town of Felton to celebrate the partnership and successful efforts to reduce naturally occurring arsenic levels in the Town’s water system and to acknowledge compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new standard for allowable amounts of arsenic in drinking water. Senator Thomas Carper thanked the federal, state and local partners for working together to meet EPA’s new standard and for providing an extra measure of protection for the health of all residents. "Through a program administered by EPA and funding provided by USDA Rural Development, Felton was able to upgrade their drinking water system and improve the high quality water that is being delivered at the tap," said Senator Thomas Carper. "Drinking water safety cannot be taken lightly and I applaud the State and Town officials involved for regularly monitoring the quality of our drinking water that so many of us take for granted."

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), originally passed by Congress in 1974 and amended in 1996, lowered the standard for allowable amounts of arsenic in drinking water from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb. EPA, the lead federal entity that oversees compliance of the SDWA, set a more stringent arsenic standard for drinking water at 10 ppb to protect consumers served by public water systems from the effects of long-term, chronic exposure to arsenic. The new standard for public water systems became effective January 23, 2006. Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment and as a by-product of some agricultural and industrial activities; it can enter drinking water through the ground or as runoff into surface water sources. Before the new arsenic water treatment system was installed, Felton’s water system averaged 20 ppb.

USDA Rural Development through its utilities program provided a $300,000 loan to help the Town construct a building for the water treatment system. "One of the biggest challenges that rural communities face is providing clean safe drinking water and environmentally sound disposal of wastewater," said Marlene Elliott, USDA Rural Development State Director. "Communities are called on to provide this vital service while facing constant changes in the landscape, aging infrastructure, and new regulations. This effort requires many people and organizations and we are pleased to be a partner in this project."

After the arsenic water treatment system was installed in June 2006, there were a number of operational issues that occurred which delayed the system start up until early September 2006. Because of the delay, the Town issued a Public Notice to the residents in August 2006 to inform them of the arsenic standard and what was being done to bring their drinking water in compliance. After several months of successful operation and routine monitoring, the Delaware Office of Drinking Water has notified the Town that they may remove the public notice and inform the residents that the water problem has been corrected. The average amount of arsenic present in the Town’s drinking water is 8 ppb.

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