Northwest Arkansas water system had minor violation in December

The Benton-Washington Regional Public Water Authority had a minor violation in December, but officials say water from the system was retested and is safe to drink.

The authority, known as Two-Ton, was required to notify customers after testing by the Arkansas Department of Health found the system exceeded the maximum coliform limit in December. The samples came from three sites on the west side of Benton County.

Coliforms are bacteria naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially harmful bacteria, may be present. Coliforms were found in more samples than allowed, a warning of potential problems.

"This is the first time we've ever had this hit," said Scott Borman, general manager. He said expected changes in federal Environmental Protection Agency rules wouldn't result in a violation if it happens again.

Under the total coliform standard, no more than 5 percent of samples collected during a month can contain the bacteria. Systems collecting fewer than 40 samples, like Two-Ton, are allowed to have only one positive sample to meet the standard.

Two-Ton officials resampled all of the original positive sample sites along with upstream and downstream sites. The results were all coliform negative and showed more than adequate disinfection levels, Borman said.

Borman asked the Health Department not to penalize Two-Ton, arguing the cause of the positive samples wasn't the water or a sampling error, but most likely a problem with the sample bottles provided. All the samples that tested positive came from the same box of bottles.

In response, department officials said they reviewed the lab data and found nothing to indicate there was an issue with the bottles.

NW News on 02/14/2015

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