Saginaw Chippewa
Utility Authority Annual Drinking Water Report
Is my water safe?
During 1999, your tap water met
all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
drinking water safety standards. Our tribe vigilantly
safeguards its water supplies, and we are proud
to report that our water system had no violations
of maximum contaminant levels or any other drinking
water quality standard this past year. This
report will give you even more information about
the safety of your water supply. Please read
on for additional information. Informed customers
are our best allies.
Do I need to take
special precautions?
Some people may be more vulnerable
to contaminants in drinking water that the general
population. Immuno-comprised persons who have
undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS
or other immune system disorders, some elderly,
and infants can be particularly at risk from
infections. These people should seek advice
about drinking water from their health care
providers. The EPA/Centers of Disease Control
(CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen
the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and
other microbial contaminants are available from
the Safe Water Drinking Hotline (800-426-4791).
Where does my water
come from?
Your tribal water supply originates
as water beneath the surface of the Earth. This
is called groundwater. Groundwater is naturally
filtered as it travels through soil and rocks.
Our tribe has four wells. Well 1 is located
west of Nish-Na-Be-Anong. Well 2 is located
north of Broadway. Well 3 is located south of
Little Elk, west of Shepherd Road. Well 4 is
located west of Shepherd Road, east of Sweet
Grass. All these wells pump this water back
to the surface so we may drink it. The new water
softening plant was put into operation on April
5, 2000. Please consider not using your home
water softener for the following reasons: your
water will have an increase in the sodium (salt)
content, and your water could become corrosive.
The plant was designed and is operated to provide
the tribal homes and businesses with water that
is balanced and softened. Resoftening can cause
a tinny taste and make for using extra water
to remove soap residues.
Source water assessment
and its availability
The tribe is currently working
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
to conduct a source water assessment. This assessment
consists of identifying the area(s) around the
well(s), which need to be protected from contamination,
identifying potential sources of contamination,
and determining the susceptibility of the wells
to contamination. When the assessment is complete,
we will make the results available to you. Because
the water we drink comes from underground wells,
we need to be careful with how we dispose of
harmful contaminants. This assessment will give
us information we need as a tribal community
to make sure our drinking water is safe now
and in the future.
Why are the recontaminants
in my drinking water?
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. More
information about contaminants and potential
health effects can be obtained by calling the
Environment Protection Agency's Safe Water Hotline
(800-426-4791). The sources of drinking water
(both tap water and bottled water) include rivers,
lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs,
and wells. As water travels over the surface
of the land or through the ground, it dissolves
naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases,
radioactive material, and can pick up substances
resulting from the presence of animals or from
human activity. >> Microbial Contaminants, such
as viruses and bacteria, which may come from
sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural
livestock operations, and wildlife. >> Inorganic
contaminants such as salts and metals, which
can be naturally-occurring or result from urban
storm water runoff, industrial, or domestic
wastewater discharges, oil and gas production,
mining, or farming.>> Organic Chemical Contaminants,
including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals,
which are by-products of industrial processes
and petroleum production, and can also come
from gas stations, urban storm water runoff,
and septic systems.>> Radioactive Contaminants,
which can be naturally-occurring or be the result
of oil and gas production and mining activities.
In order to ensure that tap water is safe to
drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit
the amount of certain contaminants in water
provided by public water systems. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits
for contaminants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for public health..
Water Quality Data
Table
The table below lists all of the
drinking water contaminants that we detected
during the calendar year of this report. The
presence of contaminants in the water does not
necessarily indicate that the water poses a
health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data
presented in this table is from testing done
in the calendar year of the report. The EPA
or the State requires us to monitor for certain
contaminants less than once per year because
the concentrations of these contaminants do
not change frequently. Some of the data though
representative of the water quality, may be
more than one year old.
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