City celebrates water

Published 2:34 pm Wednesday, May 10, 2017

VALDOSTA — The mayor touted the city’s drinking water Wednesday while claiming a news report on the number of past citations levied against the city water is all wet.

After presenting the proclamation naming May 7-13 Valdosta Drinking Water Week, Mayor John Gayle responded to a Valdosta Daily Times report claiming the city had received seven citations for water violations in 2015. 

The news article was based on information released by the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council. 

The mayor claimed the number of citations reported is false.

“This article in the paper today was totally inaccurate; it was changed to suit the editor of the paper’s fancy for whatever he was trying to do,” Gayle said. “We have not had a violation in 2016 and 2017. We have had violations in 2014, not the number that the paper reported. We’re not sure where the other violations came from.”

The newspaper article reported the city is now in full compliance.

Gayle said the city is committed to providing clean water to residents.

“We’ve spent $44 million out here to make sure that our water is of the highest quality,” Gayle said. “We appreciate the citizens of Valdosta (and) we appreciate the Georgia Association of Water Professionals recognizing that. We do no appreciate the reporting that we got today (Wednesday).”  

Gayle said people should not believe everything they read.

Henry Hicks, utilities director of the City of Valdosta Water Treatment Plant, said the proclamation identified the quality of water in Valdosta. 

“This water is constantly monitored throughout the week (and) year,” Hicks said. “We have to test for numerous contaminants that are identified by the EPA and we occasionally have a hit that we get, but that’s the same with basically all water systems. This is a very demanding job, and it’s a fine balance when you talk about water treatment and water quality.” 

Hicks said the Valdosta water quality report being prepared during the past year and for this year showed no violations.

“You buy a bottle of water, and it’s going to cost you about a dollar, typically; the city delivers water to our customers, a gallon, at less than two tenths of a cent, so it shows you what you’re paying for, and bottle water is not regulated by the EPA; it’s regulated by the FDA, so they don’t even have to meet the same standards as we do in drinking water,” Hicks said. 

Gayle read the proclamation, saying, “Whereas the City of Valdosta Water Treatment Plant, originally built in 1992, offers some of the finest drinking water in the state not only to our citizens but also to the industries that chose to locate in Valdosta due to the quality of drinking water.”

Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson said the plant was designed to ultimately be enhanced from a 22-and-a-half million-gallons-a-day plant to a 45-million-gallons-a-day plant.

“We’re very proud of it,” Hanson said. “We’re proud of the people who work here. We’re proud of the quality of water. We’re proud that two years ago this plant was named as the outstanding treatment plant in the state of Georgia, and that says a lot.” 

Kimberly Cannon is an Intern Reporter with The Valdosta Daily Times. Her extension is 1376.