Jul. 5—GRAND FORKS — The latest report on quality shows Grand Forks’ drinking water continues to meet federal and state standards.
Grand Forks Environmental Management Director Lisa Botnen said the good grade is the result of the diligence of the city’s water operators and the capabilities of the new water treatment plant.
“Our water quality is excellent, safe and meets or exceeds all the required state and federal regulations,” Botnen said. “I’m really proud of our water treatment facility and our operators at the facility. They do a great job testing.”
The Environmental Protection Agency requires Grand Forks to track 80 water contaminants. Of those 80, only 13 were detected and those were all within EPA guidelines for what is considered safe and treatable.
“There are 72 different sites in the city that get monitored on a monthly basis to ensure that quality is maintained throughout the different reaches of the city,” Botnen said. “It’s just a real credit to our system, our operators and their diligence to make sure that our drinking water is safe and tastes good.”
The city also tracked two unregulated contaminants, lithium and perfluorobutanoic acid, a chemical often abbreviated as PFBA. In samplings, lithium was found on average at a 15.28 micrograms per liter concentration and PFBA at 0.0088 micrograms per liter.
Botnen said emerging contaminants that have appeared in other water systems across the system have not made an appearance in Grand Forks. When testing, emerging contaminants have not been present in concentrations to get a reliable and statistically significant sample because of their trace amounts.
PFAs, or forever chemicals, have become an issue in many areas. In the Twin Cities, contamination from these chemicals is especially of concern in the eastern and southeastern portions of the metropolitan area. A $850 million settlement with 3M has helped fund abatement and mitigation efforts for communities to enhance treatment, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Nitrates, too, have become a problem for some cities in the Midwest. Agricultural runoff near Des Moines, Iowa, has impacted that city’s ability to treat water from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. The Central Iowa Water Works has issued lawn watering bans this year to ensure that its facilities can keep up with the treatment of nitrates, according to a report from the Des Moines Register.
Grand Forks currently doesn’t have those issues from the water it pulls from the Red River.
“To date, Grand Forks has performed very well on our source water and our finished water,” Botnen said. “From a drinking water quality standpoint, I’ve been working on at the city for 10 years and we’ve never had an issue with any of the emerging contaminants.”
More information about the city’s water quality report can be found on the city’s website: www.grandforksgov.com/waterquality. Additional information about the city’s lead service line inventory, which can impact a home’s water quality, can be found there, along with the inventory the city has completed.