U.S. Water News Online
HAGATNA, Guam -- Guam's water system is so contaminated and unsafe that the federal government says it is seeking a court order to force the utility to produce safe drinking water and to properly dispose of wastewater and sewage.
The Justice Department, along with the U.S. Attorney in Guam and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against the Guam Waterworks Authority.
It charged the utility and the U.S. territory's government with repeated violations of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, including wastewater discharges that exceed water quality standards and standards for fecal bacteria.
``The people and environment of Guam are at serious risk,'' said Frederick Black, U.S. Attorney for the District of Guam. ``We will ask the court to take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the island.''
The EPA planned to file the complaint before two typhoons -- Typhoon Chataan in July and Typhoon Pongsona two weeks ago -- struck Guam.
The government said the utility's three wastewater treatment plants have a long history of failing to meet permit limits for pollutants discharged from the plants. The agency's wastewater system is run down and often results in sewage spills throughout the system and bypasses raw sewage at the treatment plants, it said in a release.
The utility's inadequate chlorination system further increases the public health risk by failing to control pathogens in the drinking water, officials said.
``In Guam, the drinking water system is so dilapidated that the choice is either no water or contaminated water,'' said Wayne Nastri, the EPA's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
Guam Waterworks operates three public water systems to provide drinking water and several wastewater treatment plants to collect and treat sewage.
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