The Rubio Cañon Land & Water Assn. sent out a letter to shareholders last week saying it failed to monitor drinking water standards for uranium as required by the state health department during two quarters of 2010.
“Our water system failed to monitor as required for drinking water standards during the past year and, therefore, was in violation of the regulations,” said the letter, dated Sept. 30.
Lillian Woods, the water company’s director of operations, said that the water company did not complete all monitoring or testing of three water sources for uranium during the first and fourth quarter of 2010. She blamed a breakdown of communication between the water company and the lab that does the testing.
The three water sources, which include a well, a tunnel, and the stream in Rubio Canyon, come from a place with natural uranium, and are mingled with other sources in the treatment plant. The three sources are supposed to be tested quarterly, and samples are taken by a water company employee. Wood said that the uranium from the canyon water sources is usually so small, and so diluted when it leaves the treatment plant, that it doesn’t present a problem.
Woods said that water samples collected during the quarters before and after the missing test periods found the water met state standards for uranium content.
However, because the company did not meet state-mandated monitoring requirements, it has to notify its shareholder/customers, including school employees, students rental property tenants, and employees of businesses that are supplied by the water company.
Woods said that there were no other fines or sanctions involved in the violation, and that new procedures were put into place to assure that it would not happen again.
by Timothy Rutt
“Our water system failed to monitor as required for drinking water standards during the past year and, therefore, was in violation of the regulations,” said the letter, dated Sept. 30.
Lillian Woods, the water company’s director of operations, said that the water company did not complete all monitoring or testing of three water sources for uranium during the first and fourth quarter of 2010. She blamed a breakdown of communication between the water company and the lab that does the testing.
The three water sources, which include a well, a tunnel, and the stream in Rubio Canyon, come from a place with natural uranium, and are mingled with other sources in the treatment plant. The three sources are supposed to be tested quarterly, and samples are taken by a water company employee. Wood said that the uranium from the canyon water sources is usually so small, and so diluted when it leaves the treatment plant, that it doesn’t present a problem.
Woods said that water samples collected during the quarters before and after the missing test periods found the water met state standards for uranium content.
However, because the company did not meet state-mandated monitoring requirements, it has to notify its shareholder/customers, including school employees, students rental property tenants, and employees of businesses that are supplied by the water company.
Woods said that there were no other fines or sanctions involved in the violation, and that new procedures were put into place to assure that it would not happen again.