Evansville – Digestive Care Center is proud to welcome Dr. Peter Airel to our team of exemplary Gastroenterologists, and now accepting patients.  Dr. Airel comes to us with an extensive and distinguished military background, after completing his MD at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and Graduate Medical Education Gastroenterology Fellowship at San Antonio Military Medical Center. 

Dr. Airel served in the United States Air Force in numerous capacities but most notably as a Flight Surgeon, Deputy Chief of Medical Staff, acting Chief of Aerospace Medicine, and staff Gastroenterologist.  He is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine – Gastroenterology. Among other military honors, Dr. Airel received the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal twice.

Please join us as we welcome Dr. Airel’s family to our community and Dr. Airel to our staff, as we further our mission to provide the highest level of gastroenterology care in the region. 

 Evansville to Switch Water Disinfectant May 10 Through June 28

                                                                                                                                                          EVANSVILLE, IND. – It happens twice a year, in spring and summer. The Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) will temporarily change the disinfectant used in the water treatment process. This brief, scheduled change in disinfectant is a standard water-treatment practice to keep water mains clean and free of potentially harmful bacteria throughout the year.

Beginning Monday, May 10, and continuing through Monday, June 28, 2021, EWSU will be using free chlorine rather than the regularly used disinfectant (chloramine) during this period. This is the first of two disinfectant switchovers, with the second switch coming in August. A separate notice for the second switchover will be issued.

Here’s What You Should Know

What is Chloramine?

Chloramine is a disinfectant used in drinking water to remove bacteria and viruses that can make you sick. It is made up of chlorine and ammonia. ETSU has used chloramine as the disinfectant in its water treatment process since 1999.

What is Free Chlorine?

Free chlorine is a slightly more potent disinfectant than chloramine, and it is used to remove more resistant bacteria and viruses that may be found in the water distribution system.

Why would EWSU Convert from Chloramines to Free Chlorine?

State drinking water guidelines recommend that utilities using chloramine periodically switch to free chlorine for a while. The temporary use of chlorine will ensure that a proper level of disinfectant is maintained throughout the network of water mains and pipes that deliver your drinking water.

Free chlorine is a more aggressive disinfectant than chloramine. This temporary change in the water treatment process denies bacteria the ability to form resistance to the usual disinfection treatment process. Switching to free chlorine is a proactive step to ensure that we maintain optimal disinfectant levels in the water distribution system.

As always, the drinking water will be regularly monitored to ensure that the water delivered meets or exceeds federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.

Why Does EWSU Use Chloramines Most of the Year?

While chlorine is an effective disinfectant, using chlorine alone creates byproducts that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates. These byproduct levels can be significantly and cost-effectively reduced through the use of chloramine. Also, chloramine has less smell than chlorine and remains in the distribution system longer to prevent bacterial growth. As such, chloramine is a better long-term choice as a regular disinfectant.

Will I Notice a Difference in My Water?

During this period, some customers may notice a slight change in the taste or smell of their tap water. Free chlorine may have more of a chemical odor, slightly like that of swimming pool water. Each customer has his or her sensitivity level to the taste or smell of free chlorine. Many detect no change at all. The mild chlorine taste and smell are typical and pose no health risk.

Are Free Chlorine and Chloraminated Water Safe?

Yes, both chlorine and chloramine are effective and safe for people and animals for drinking, cooking, bathing, watering the garden, and all other standard uses. However, precautions should be taken to remove or neutralize chloramine and free chlorine during the kidney dialysis process, in the preparation of water for fish tanks and ponds, and for businesses requiring highly processed water. A dechlorination procedure optimized for chloramine removal will work equally well with free chlorine.

People and businesses that typically take special precautions to remove chloramine from tap water (such as dialysis centers, medical facilities, and aquatic pet owners) should continue to take the same precautions during the temporary switch from chloramine to free chlorine.

Most customers will not need to take any precautions as the water remains safe to drink and is treated according to state and federal standards.

Information for Kidney Dialysis Patients

Just like chloramines, free chlorine must be removed from water used in kidney dialysis machines. EWSU has contacted representatives from the medical community to inform them of this temporary conversion. We advise customers who are dialysis patients to call their physicians or dialysis centers if there are any questions.

Information for Fish Owners

Like chloramine, free chlorine is toxic to fish. Fish owners need to remove chlorine, ammonia, and chloramine from the water before using with tropical fish. Local pet stores carry water conditioners that remove chloramine and free chlorine. If customers have questions, we recommend contacting their pet store for information and detailed instructions.

 

Cleaner, Greener and Sustainable Energy is a Great Step Forward

Joe J. Wallace

It was recently revealed that CenterPoint Energy, the electric and gas utility provider for much of Greater Evansville and Southern Indiana is embarking on a mission to introduce more renewable energy technology into their generation operations.  It was furthermore made known that CenterPoint Energy is adopting a number of Smart Energy strategies designed to provide cleaner power generation through investing in clean technologies and sophisticated management techniques to deliver cleaner, more reliable power to their customer base at competitive pricing.  All of this is good news and will make the Tri-State more attractive to companies seeking locations that are not only cost-effective for their business operations that are concerned about environmental issues.

As a former resident who has been living in Southern California and working to advance renewable energy technologies, I applaud these commitments.  The large solar generation facilities that CenterPoint Energy is planning have much potential for cost-effective clean power delivery.  We have many facilities like this in the deserts and their status as static generators of electricity has been providing clean energy for over a decade now. Some of the recent projects are actually less expensive to operate than the fossil fuel generation stations that they are replacing.

Personally, I invested in rooftop solar on the carbon-neutral home we built when we moved to Palm Desert.  In our case, our rooftop system paid for itself in roughly five years.  With the 20+ year life of the solar panels, we are already enjoying the financial benefits of solar ownership.  This ability to do this is enhanced by time-of-use billing that enables us to sell our solar power to our local provider during the day and to buy our evening power at reduced rates after the sun has gone down. Time-of-use rate structures accelerate the adoption of clean power at the residential level and there is little or no transmission required when the power generation is literally on the roof. 

Smart Energy strategies often utilize multiple power generation sources along with managed energy storage solutions like batteries and pumped hydropower.  In a pumped hydropower station, solar panels pump water into a reservoir that is utilized later for power generation much like a dam does when the power demand is needed. Storage is vital to an integrated solution to be reliable. One of the things that California could do a better job on is reliability as storage has not kept up with the transition to renewable power.  As we all know, solar does not work when the sun is down and wind power does not work when the wind is not blowing at a sustained speed above what it needed to spin the blades.  In most large wind turbines the minimum wind speed to sustain generation is between 12 and 14 miles per hour.  Wind turbines also need to be throttled down when wind speeds are so high that the dynamic forces of rotation literally can destroy the turbines. Energy storage of some type is vital to an effective Smart Energy strategy.

When I was an engineering student at the University of Evansville, my interest was to seek a career in the nuclear power industry.  During my junior year, the accident at Three Mile Island set off an emotional national reaction that was fueled by a movie named The China Syndrome. The American public went into a media-fueled paranoia that has led to the near demise of nuclear energy. That is a crying shame because nuclear energy has zero greenhouse gas emissions and has literally generated safe clean energy now for more than half a century.  I will not be the least bit surprised to see nuclear come back into the Smart Energy strategies of power providers.  Quite frankly, Hollywood manipulated the minds of Americans to rob us of clean energy long ago. 

CenterPoint Energy is embarking upon a series of investments and strategies that have the potential to slowly transition Greater Evansville from dirty expensive solutions to clean affordable power. This is a path to prosperity that I most certainly want to encourage.