Report reveals water good at Luke

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeremiah Tinsley
  • 56th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Under the Consumer Confidence Reporting Rule of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, community water systems are required to report water quality information to the consuming public.

The report presents information on the source of Luke's water, its constituents and the health risks associated with any contaminants. Sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled 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 naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife. Inorganic contaminants, Report reveals water good at Luke such as salts and metals, which can be naturallyoccurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming. Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential uses. Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff and septic systems. Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Bioenvironmental engineering continually monitors the drinking water for contaminants. Luke's water is safe to drink. However, as with any water supply, some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Luke's drinking water is groundwater supplied through seven wells that pump from the West Salt River Valley subbasin within the Phoenix Active Management Area defined by the Arizona Department of Water Resources. The water from these on-base wells is treated with chlorine as a disinfectant at the well head, mixed within the distribution system, stored in three above ground tanks on base, and distributed throughout the base.

Luke is in compliance with all Federal and State drinking water regulations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires notice on the level of fluoride in the base drinking water. The drinking water on base has a fluoride concentration of 2.2 milligrams per liter. Federal regulations require that fluoride, which occurs naturally in the water supply, not exceed a concentration of 4.0 mg per liter in drinking water. This is an enforceable standard called a maximum contaminant level, and it has been established to protect the public health. Exposure to drinking water levels above 4.0 mg/l for many years may result in some cases of crippling skeletal fluorosis, which is a serious bone disorder.

Federal law also requires the Luke community be notified when monitoring indicates the fluoride in drinking water exceeds 2.0 mg/l. This is intended to alert families about dental problems that might affect children under age nine. The fluoride concentration of base water exceeds this federal guideline.

Fluoride in children's drinking water at levels of approximately 1.0 mg/l reduces the number of dental cavities. However, children exposed to levels of fluoride greater than about 2.0 mg/l may develop dental fluorosis, a brown staining and pitting of the permanent teeth.

Because dental fluorosis occurs only when developing teeth (before they erupt from the gums) are exposed to elevated fluoride levels, households without children are not expected to be affected by this level of fluoride. Families with children under age nine should seek other sources of drinking water for their children to avoid the possibility of staining and pitting. This notification should not be cause for concern. Water in the Luke distribution system contains naturally occurring fluoride from the local groundwater. The water tank that exceeded the SMCL is used primarily as a supplemental water supply. Although that tank had a concentration over the SMCL, its water is blended with the other sources in the distribution system so that the concentration of fluoride at the tap is less than the SMCL. Concentrations in weekly samples throughout Luke have always been within acceptable levels.