Water chemical treatment monitoring requirements not met by Walker in October

Public notice was recently made by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in regards to the Walker, Mo., Public Water Source (PWS). The notice stated that the Walker PWS failed to meet chemical treatment monitoring requirements.

Walker's water system, which is subject to compliance monitoring requirements under the Ground Water Rule, failed to monitor the residual disinfectant concentration or failed to record or report the disinfectant concentration for each day during October 2022 to ensure that the PWS was effectively and reliably providing adequate treatment to the water.

The notice further stated that this particular incident was not an emergency, however, citizens have a right to know what happened and what measures are being taken to correct the situation.

For this type of violation, actions such as boiling drinking water are usually not deemed necessary for the general population. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their healthcare providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

The notice states that “this is not an emergency. If it had been an emergency, you would have been notified within 24 hours.” Inadequately treated or inadequately protected water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, cramps, and associated headaches. “While we have not detected any evidence of contamination in our source water, we have failed to meet Ground Water Rule monitoring requirements,” stated the notice.

The failure to meet these requirements were a result of the monitoring being briefly interrupted due to employee and staff turnover. As of the release of the notice, daily monitoring has resumed and is ongoing daily.

For more information regarding this public notice, contact water system staff at (417) 465-2230, or P.O. Box 58, Walker, MO 64790.

Additionally you may contact the Missouri DNR Southwest Regional Office at (417) 891-4300, or Public Drinking Water Branch at (573) 526-6925.

For information on your community's water, including an Annual Drinking Water Compliance Report; a list of chronic violators; boil orders and advisories; water monitoring and data; and water quality testing parameters, visit the Missouri DNR website at www.dnr.mo.gov/water.

City of Nevada

In addition, residents of the City of Nevada, Mo., can find their water quality report at www.nevadamo.gov/departments/finance/water-quality-report. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires community water systems to deliver a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also known as an annual drinking water quality report, to their customers each year by July 1. These reports provide Americans information about their local drinking water quality. Nevada citizens can also request a hard copy of the report by calling (417) 448-5115.

According to the most recent quality report, no violations of drinking water regulations occurred in the City of Nevada in 2021. Regulated contaminants that were listed as present in the report were Barium (typically from discharge of drilling wastes, discharge from metal refineries, or erosion of natural deposits); Fluoride (typically from natural deposits and water additive); and Nitrate/Nitrite (typically from runoff from fertilizer use, leaching from septic tanks, sewage, or erosion of natural deposits). Disinfection byproducts that were listed as present in the report were HAA5 (typically a byproduct of drinking water disinfection); and Total Trihalomethanes (typically a byproduct of drinking water disinfection). In addition, the report detected Copper (typically from corrosion of household plumbing systems); and Combined Radium and Radium (typically from erosion of natural deposits).

According to Nevada's 2021 Annual report, “drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.” Levels of contaminants in Nevada's drinking water tested for the 2021 Annual Quality Report were considered to be in the safe range. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can by obtained by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

The Missouri DNR regulates communities' water systems and requires the municipalities to test their water on a regular basis to ensure its safety.