Worden Ballantine Water District Office Building
Originally published by Yellowstone County News
by Parker H. Jimison
The Worden Ballantine Yellowstone County Water District is working with the Department of Environmental Quality to continue trying to solve the nitrate problem affecting the Worden area. It is not currently clear just how long residents should expect the nitrate warning to last, but it could be as much as a few years. The most important thing to keep in mind during this time is that while adults’ bodies can naturally filter out most nitrates that enter it, nitrates are potentially deadly for infants. Unless you have a reverse osmosis system on your water, under no circumstances should infants be given any water from anywhere in the area, this includes in juice and for use in formula. Bottled water is still available to pick up at the WBYC Water District Office at 2449 Main St. in Worden between 7:30am-4pm.
A few years ago, the water in the area broke what is considered the background nitrate level of 5 mg per liter of water, prompting quarterly tests. Since that time nitrate levels have steadily increased, testing at 9.19 mg/L in 2018. This May it finally broke the 10mg danger threshold, testing at 12.4 mg/L and triggering a response from the Department of Environmental Quality and the Worden Ballantine Yellowstone County Water and Sewer District issued a nitrate warning alert.
The Water District and the DEQ are currently working together to try and isolate potential nitrate sources. The most obvious potential source in the area is the agricultural industry because of the usage of fertilizers high in nitrate content, but the most important thing is to find exactly where the nitrates are entering the infiltration gallery and see if the situation can be fixed without being forced to move to a different water source. Water District officials say that the current infiltration gallery is unrivaled in the area as it provides a nearly endless water supply and prior to this occurrence the water has been of fantastic quality. If the nitrate problem cannot be resolved, a reverse osmosis system could be considered and would be able to effectively remove the majority of contaminants but an RO system would also be very expensive to put in place. Marilyn Tapia, Director of Environmental Health Services at Riverstone Health said at a meeting with the county commissioners that the WBYC Water District has gone beyond the minimum requirements asked of them in this situation by immediately notifying customers, issuing public notice, beginning an investigation, and notifying DEQ immediately. In addition to that, they are continuing to hand out bottled water, which they are not required to do at all.
Ionization systems like reverse osmosis are the only way to filter nitrates from water. The WBYC Water District wants to remind everyone that freezing, filtering, or letting water stand will not lower nitrate levels at all and boiling the water will increase nitrate concentration as it is left behind when water evaporates.
With football season about to start, concerns have been raised as to what the school will be doing to provide safe water for students and visitors to the school. Mark Wandle, Superintendent of Huntley Project Schools, has reportedly been buying large quantities of bottled water and according to officials at the WBYC Water District he seems to have plans in place to ensure the health of anyone who steps foot on school grounds.
People living in the area that use wells for their water needs are highly encouraged to test their well water for nitrates. The nitrate issue doesn’t just affect Water District customers, many wells have tested at similar and even higher levels of nitrates. It’s recommended that well water is tested for bacteria and nitrate every year at a minimum. The MSU Extension Water Quality Program says that if you are getting water off a well, you should ask yourself certain things to determine your risk of nitrate contamination: do you live near a location where agriculture operations apply pesticides and/or fertilizers to plants and soil? Is your well up to date with current best engineering practices to prevent contaminants from entering groundwater through the well shaft? Are your septic system and leach field located more than 100 ft from your well? Is your septic system functioning properly and maintained at the suggested interval? If you would like to test your well water to make sure it has avoided contamination, the MSU Extension Water Quality Program administers the WELL EDUCATED program which provides testing and education. You can pick up a test kit at the Yellowstone County Extension office at 217 N. 27th St. in Downtown Billings.
A public meeting will be held for community members to talk about this issue and have their questions answered at 6:30pm on July 29th in the Huntley Project High School gymnasium. For more information on this ongoing issue, contact Gary Fredericks at (406) 696-5507.
