Base releases annual drinking water system report

  • Published
  • 366th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  The base water system continues to produce high-quality drinking water and meets Environmental Protection Agency standards to ensure it remains safe for people stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, according to results published in the base's annual drinking water consumer confidence report released this month.

The consumer confidence report, or CCR, is a federally mandated document summarizing the findings of earlier drinking water system tests with a synopsis of the system's overall quality.

Each report includes potential health risks if water testing detected certain biological, organic, inorganic and radioactive substances in the base's water supply and if these substances exceeded federal limits on water quality parameters outlined by the EPA in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The base's yearly report shows Gunfighters how well the base's drinking water meets these standards.

Where does the base gets its water, and how does it manage its drinking water system?
The base draws its water from the Mountain Home Plateau Regional Aquifer in the Bruneau Formation Basalts. The aquifer runs north to south by the Bennett and Danskin hills to the Snake River and from east to west by Glenns Ferry to the Indian Springs Creek area. Water drawn from this aquifer averages from 10,000 to 2 million years old.

The base's water system started running in 1943 and currently serves roughly 7,500 people. The 366th Civil Engineer Squadron's water plant runs six potable water production wells on the main base with another at C.J. Strike Dam Marina. The 366th Medical Group's Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight works with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and state certified laboratories to analyze samples taken from the base's water supply and maintains drinking water quality monitoring and sampling reports based on these samples.

What water quality parameters do these tests check and when?
To ensure tap water is safe to drink, the EPA's regulations limit the amount of certain contaminants in water. The agency established two levels of standards. Primary drinking water standards set drinking water quality levels to protect people's health. Secondary drinking water standards provide guidelines regarding the taste, odor, color and other aesthetic aspects of the drinking water, which don't present health risks.

Sources of tap and bottled drinking 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 and takes with it some naturally occurring minerals, including certain natural radioactive materials. In some instances, it also picks up substances and byproducts of animal or human activity, including industrial and agricultural processes.

What happens if the base detects something? Is the water automatically considered unsafe to drink?
The standards the EPA sets for most chemicals are called maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs. They're based on what would happen if a person repeatedly drank this same water over many years (usually 70 years). The EPA uses this conservative safety approach to protect people long before they are ever overexposed. In other words, the presence of contaminants doesn't necessarily mean the water poses an immediate health risk.

How did Mountain Home do during last year's testing?
Results from last year's tests were very good. However, nitrate levels did exceed the MCL in April 2008 in one of the base's production wells. The well was immediately taken off the system after the base received the laboratory report. A public notification was sent to the base via e-mail and in the Mountain Home Patriot newspaper. Water production was diverted to another well until base bioenvironmental and civil engineering personnel determined the nitrate levels no longer presented a health risk. Extensive sampling and nitrate testing throughout the base distribution system confirmed levels fell below the MCL, and base residents were able to use the water safely.

The base frequently monitors nitrates and recently completed the installation of a new water production well on the base's north side (near main gate) where nitrates will have less impact on water quality. For more information about Idaho's nitrate monitoring program, visit the IDEQ's Web site. The bioenvironmental engineering flight does not mail copies of the 2008 consumer confidence report to base residents, but copies are available by stopping by their office in the 366th Medical Group or by clicking the following link, 2008 consumer confidence report. For more information about the report or the base's water quality, call Maj. Carl Champion or 2nd Lt. David Hocking at 828-7270.