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Water report card released

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The report is out, and Farmington residents still have some of the most pristine drinking water found anywhere.

The “2007 Annual Water Quality Report” was released recently. Its the  latest edition of an annual report required by municipalities operating public potable water systems.

The report answers several questions including: “what is the source of my water ... why are there contaminants in my water ... is our water system meeting other rules that govern our operations ... do I need to take any special precautions?

To answer those questions, city residents draw their drinking water from 14 wells in an inter-connected network of wells, towers and lines. All are relatively deep wells which draw only ground water — no direct surface water. Some communities, not Farmington, rely on lakes or rivers for a portion or all of its potable water. Farmington relies solely on the system of groundwater wells.

The annual water quality report outlines a long list of “what could be” scenarios, such as listing contaminants that can be found in drinking water — including bottled water. Just because the list contains a section listing all contaminants, that doesn’t mean the city’s water system includes high levels of those ingredients. The report also includes sampling results of actual water tests taken at the well sites. That spreadsheet lists what was actually found in the city’s water system.

Farmington’s water system is regulated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, based in Jefferson City. Wells are tested regularly to assure safe drinking water.

As for testing in 2007, under the heading of “regulated contaminants” the city rated far below the MDC’s accepted “maximum contaminant level” in all categories. Most were harmful contaminants including Arsenic, Barium, Chromium, Nitrate and Nitrite and Tetrachloroethyle which come from a variety of sources including discharge from manufacturing plants, factories, dry cleaners, fertilizer use and steel and pulp mills.

The only seemingly good contaminant the city’s water was lacking in as it came out of the ground was fluoride, which is found as the result of “natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth” the report states. Additional fluoride can easily be added to a public water system.

The water system also tested well within the safe zone on copper and lead, chloride, iron, manganese, nickel, PH, sulfate and zinc.

The one area the city’s water system continues to stuggle in is Radionuclide contamination. Radionuclides are naturally occurring radioactive particles which sluff off of underground radioactively charged portions of the Earth’s crust. As groundwater passes through the rock microscopic particles, called, radionuclides, become part of the makeup of the water.

For years the “Maximum Contamination Level” for radionuclides in public drinking water was well above the measured readings of wells in Farmington and much of the Midwest. Then, a few years ago, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and state DNR lowered the acceptable levels to a point that many cities fell into “violation” for having levels higher than acceptable standards.

As a result, Farmington has worked for the past several years to find cost-effective ways to bring its water system into compliance with the more stringent parameters. Explored options have included costly treatment systems at the sites of the wells which would filter out radionuclides, and more cost-effective experimentation with “plugging” wells to operate at shallower levels — keeping water from flowing past contaminating sub-surface rock. There has even been talk of abandoning existing wells in favor of new wells drilled in specific locations which would yield water with lower levels of radionuclides.

City officials have been negotiating with the EPA and DNR for years for time to come into compliance with the new standards. Until that happens the city must continually include “required health effects language or violation notices” as part of its annual water report card.

This year’s report includes the statements that “certain minerals are radioactive and may emit a form of radiation known as alpha radiation. Some people who drink water containing alpha emitters in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.” The report also states “some people who drink water containing radium 226 or 228 in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.”

In closing the report states “there are no additional required health effects violation notices.”

For several years the EPA and DNR has assured that levels of radionuclide contamination to the degree of Farmington’s well water poses no immediate health risks. The annual report is not meant to frighten citizens into believing they do not have a safe drinking water system, but merely to keep them informed about what’s in their water.

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