12.9.09
Water safe to drink
By: David Hendee, Omaha World-Herald
Omaha has had only one violation of federal drinking water safety standards on record, according to the Metropolitan Utilities District.
The incident occurred overnight in early December 2000 when water at the Florence plant was not in contact with chlorine as long as required for disinfection. The disinfection process, however, continued in the pipeline and no emergency was declared.
"That's the only treatment violation in the history of the water system," said Mari Matulka, an M.U.D. spokeswoman. "Water is safe to drink."
The majority of water flowing from taps in Nebraska and Iowa is clean and safe, according to annual reports required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"People expect their drinking water will be safe when they turn on the faucet," said Jack Daniel, who monitors Nebraska's drinking water for the Department of Health and Human Services. "Nebraska is doing a real good job."
In contrast, more than 20 percent of the nation's water treatment systems violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past five years, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
While Daniel said Nebraska has a strong record, some communities struggle with local challenges.
His office issued 17 administrative orders last year against public water systems significantly out of compliance for certain contaminants.
Most violations were for total coliform levels. A few orders also were issued for nitrate, lead and copper. The water systems involved served fewer than 5,000 people total.
Only seven of 87 contaminants monitored by Nebraska public water systems were found in quantities above maximum levels permitted in 2008. That means 80 contaminants were not found above the permitted level in any community water system in the state.
In Iowa, 16 of the more than 80 contaminants were found at levels that exceeded health-based standards last year. Iowa reported no waterborne diseases or deaths from public water systems in 2008.
Jerry Obrist, manager of Lincoln's water system, said federal and state standards continue to get more stringent.
Tests that once were done one time before water was delivered to customers are done numerous times, he said. Water is monitored at 200 points in the distribution system each month.
"We do what we're supposed to do and sometimes we do more to provide quality water," Obrist said.