The Raleigh Tribune

Beginning Friday, Feb. 26, the City of Raleigh temporarily will stop adding ammonia to its water treatment disinfecting process.

The change is required by the federal and state regulations governing the operation of the City’s water system.  The City will resume adding ammonia to the water treatment process on Friday, April 9.

Using ammonia in the treatment process helps reduce the amount of trihalomethanes, a byproduct formed when water is disinfected with chlorine. The six-week return to chlorine-only disinfecting is not expected to cause any significant increase in trihalomethanes. Trihalomethane levels are strictly regulated in drinking water, and the City of Raleigh has maintained compliance with all limits on trihalomethanes since regulations were put in place in 1981.

Some users of water may be affected by the temporary change in the treatment process. Water customers should be aware that residual traces of ammonia and chlorine must be removed from the water prior to use in fish aquariums and ponds, kidney dialysis and some commercial manufacturing of food and beverages.

The City also conducts flushing of the water distribution system during this period to hasten the change of chloramines to chlorine residual disinfectant. The flushing may cause some temporary minor discoloration in the water. The water is absolutely safe.  However, as a precaution, customers may check to see if their water is discolored before washing white clothes.

Water customers affected by this change include those who pay water bills to the City of Raleigh and to the towns of Rolesville, Garner, Knightdale, Wendell, Wake Forest and Zebulon.

Questions about this change in water treatment should be directed to Edward Buchan, environmental coordinator for the City of Raleigh Public Utilities Department, at 857-4540 or by mail at the City of Raleigh Public Utilities Department, P.O. Box 590, Raleigh, N.C. 27602.

Popularity: 14%

Gallup-Healthways Poll Finds Area Tops in ‘Work Environment’

The Raleigh/Cary area has the highest well-being in the South and the nation’s top Work Environment Index. That is according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which placed the area third nationally among the nation’s most populous cities with an index of 68.6, just a smidgen behind Washington, D.C./Arlington/Alexandria, Va., at 69.1 and San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, Calif., in first place with a composite score of 69.2.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index score measures for each area an average of six sub indexes which individually examine life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities. The overall composite score and each of the six sub indexes’ scores are calculated on a scale of 0 to 100.

Raleigh/Cary has the top score in the work environment index.  The report sated that: “citizens in Raleigh were much more likely than those in Cleveland to say they were satisfied with their jobs, they had a positive relationship with their supervisor, they were able to use their strengths at work, and they found their workplaces to be trusting environments.”

The Charlotte/Gastonia/Concord MSA placed 23^rd among the nation’s most populous areas.

The surveyors wrote of the findings: “Leaders should be mindful of the well-being of the residents in their respective cities, as it has potential ramifications for economic development, law and order, and a sense of shared pride and purpose. The results are based on telephone interviews with more than 353,000 American adults aged 18 and older. It was conducted Jan. 2 through Dec. 29, 2009.

The 52 areas referenced by the index in the “large cities” category are based on the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget range from the New Orleans area with 969,000 persons to the New York City area with a population of 16,772.

Popularity: 6%