Terry Lauritsen The city of Bartlesville recently released its 2016 Water Quality Report, which looks at all drinking water contaminants detected by the city during the 2016 calendar year.
1 What are the city’s water sources and how does the city get the water from these sources to the water treatment plant?
The city utilizes three raw water sources for our drinking/potable water: Hulah Lake, Hudson Lake and the Caney River.
Water from Hulah Lake is pumped through a pipe to fill Hudson Lake.
Raw water from the Caney River is pumped through a pipe directly to the water treatment plant.
2 Why are some of the test results in the water quality report from 2011 for Beta/photo emitters, 2013 for barium and 2015 for copper and lead?
If there are no changes in raw water sources, treatment processes or elevated levels of Beta/photo emitters, barium, copper or lead detected through previous tests, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality permits the city to monitor these contaminants less frequently because their concentrations do not vary significantly from year to year.
3 Where are the test samples taken, and what steps are taken to make sure the distribution system from the water treatment plant to my house isn’t contaminated with lead or other chemicals?
The Water Treatment Plant is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days per week and water treated at the plant is constantly monitored and tested to ensure the water is safe.
All the test results are reported to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and are available online at: sdwis.deq.state.ok.us/DWW/ 4 Is the city studying or planning to study ways to keep the city’s water sources from contamination or to improve the water quality of the sources?