The Bigfork Water and Sewer District recently released its Annual Water Quality Report, and the drinking water again meets all federal and state requirements.

The surprising statistic is that tap water in this area meets all requirements without being treated.

“This is one of the few places in the world where you can drink untreated water,” district manager Julie Spencer said.

Because of the lack of large commercial septic tanks, coupled with a high-quality aquifer, untreated tap water is safe.

Bigfork Water and Sewer pulls two samples per month for testing to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Federal regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health. All of Bigfork’s water samples are tested at the Montana Environmental Laboratory in Kalispell, which is a private laboratory that is certified by the State of Montana and the EPA to analyze drinking water.

The district’s drinking water comes from three 300-foot deep wells, which serves 1034 residential and commercial service connections with an additional 59 new connections as well as three miles of new water lines this year.

The sources of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of land or through the ground it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and in some cases radioactive elements. Water can also pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Contaminants that may be present in water include:

1. Microbial contaminants such as viruses and bacteria which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

2. Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals which can be naturally occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic waste water discharges, oil and gas production, mining and farming.

3. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential uses.

4. Volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes, petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff and septic systems.

5. Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

The following tests were performed to identify possible contaminants in the system during the period of January 1 to December 31, 2006:

• 24 coliform bacteria tests - all were coliform free.

• Four Nitrate plus Nitrite tests - results were within EPA guidelines.

• Two sets of tests to determine the possible presence of five inorganic contaminants - results were within EPA standards.

• Two sets of tests to determine the possible presence of 61 organic contaminants - none were detected.

• Two sets of tests to determine the possible presence of 40 pesticides & herbicides - none were detected.

For more information, the public may attend any of the district’s regularly scheduled meetings held on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the District Office on 108 Harbor Heights Boulevard.

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