Annual Drinking Water Quality Report Turtle Lake, North Dakota
2023
We are pleased to provide you with this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. We want to keep you informed about the excellent water and services we have delivered to you over the past year. Our goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water.
Our water is purchased from McLean Sheridan Rural Water. The water is treated for iron and manganese removal. Chlorine is added for disinfection.
The City of Turtle Lake is participating in North Dakota’s Wellhead Protection Program. Copies of the Wellhead Protection Program plan and other relevant information regarding this program can be obtained from the City Auditor during normal office hours. The ND Department of Environmental Quality has prepared a Source Water Assessment for Turtle Lake. Information
on this program is available at the Auditor’s office.
Our public water system, in cooperation with the ND Department of Environmental Quality, has completed the delineation and contaminant/land use inventory elements of the North Dakota
Source Water Protection Program. Based on the information from these elements, The ND Department of Environmental Quality has determined that our source water is moderately
susceptible to potential contaminants. No significant sources of contamination have been identified.
This report shows our water quality and what it means. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water utility, please contact Darwin Saari, at 701-448-2596 or contact
us at 107 Eggert Street, Turtle Lake, ND. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled
meetings. They are held on the 2nd Monday of every month at the Turtle Lake City Hall, starting at 7:30 PM. If you are aware of non-English speaking individuals who need help with the
appropriate language translation, please call Darwin at the number listed above.
The City of Turtle Lake would appreciate it if large volume water customers would please post copies of this Annual Drinking Water Quality Report in conspicuous locations or distribute
them to tenants, residents, patients, students, and/or employees, so individuals who consume the water, but do not receive a water bill can learn about our water system.
The City of Turtle Lake routinely monitors contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The following table shows the results of our monitoring for the period of
January 1 to December 31, 2023. As authorized and approved by EPA, the state has reduced monitoring requirements for certain contaminants to less often than once per year because the
concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of our data, though representative, is more than one year old.
The sources of drinking water (both tap 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.
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Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.
Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, can naturally occur or result from urban storm water, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil production, mining, or farming.
Pesticides and herbicides, which come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential uses.
Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, 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.
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations which limit the number of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.
In the following table, you will find many terms and abbreviations you might not be familiar with. To help you better understand these terms we have provided the following definitions:
Not applicable (NA), No Detect (ND)
Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.
Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (g/l) - one part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.
Picocuries per liter (pCi/l) –Pico curies per liter is a measure of the radioactivity in water.
Action Level (AL) - the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.
Treatment Technique (TT) - A treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.
Maximum Contaminant Level - The “Maximum Allowed” (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available
treatment technology.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal - The “Goal” (MCLG) is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) – The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial
contaminants.
Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG) – The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
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Bacteriological Monitoring Data-TCR/RTCR: Total Coli Form Data: July had the highest number of Total Coli Form Samples. Total Coli Form Positives for that month: (1)
Coli forms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other potentially harmful bacteria may be present.
EPA requires monitoring of over eighty drinking water contaminants. Those contaminants listed in the table above are the only contaminants detected in your drinking water.
Drinking water, including bottled water, may be expected to contain at least lesser amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791]
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons, such as, persons with cancer undergoing
chemotherapy, 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. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by
cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
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*If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The City of Turtle Lake is responsible for providing high quality drinking water but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. Use water from the cold tap for drinking and cooking. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your drinking water, you may wish to have your water evaluated. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
Please call Darwin at 701-448-2596 if you have questions.
The City of Turtle Lake works diligently to provide top quality water to every tap. We ask that all our customers help us protect our water sources, which are the heart of our community, our way of life and our children’s future.
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