Annual Drinking Water Quality Report 

Introduction                                                       
The purpose of this report is to inform you of the quality of the drinking water that we provide. We are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test our water frequently for the presence and concentrations of over 80 different substances. The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reviews all of our testing data to ensure that 1) we are providing safe drinking water to our customers, and 2) we are complying with EPA regulations.

We want you to fully understand the information contained in this report. If you have any questions, please contact:

Douglas Anderson
Sioux Rural Water System, Inc.
45703 176^th Street - Watertown, SD 57201
Phone: (605) 882-1321

Where does our water come from?
The source of our drinking water is ground water from the Big Sioux Aquifer. The Big Sioux Aquifer is a saturated layer of sand and gravel that is approximately 40 feet thick. We have 6 wells that are about 35 feet deep. They are located in the Big Sioux River valley in northern Hamlin County.  We serve more than 2,985 customers an average of 328,700 gallons of water per day.

With assistance from both the South Dakota Department of Environment & Natural Resources and the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems, we are developing a plan to protect the quality of the water that we pump from our wells. This plan is called a wellhead protection, or source water protection, plan. After we have completed the plan, we will make it available for your review.

Why do we test our drinking water?
The water we pump from our wells is from an underground aquifer. The water originally comes from the surface, and very slowly seeps down into the aquifer. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Too much of any substance, either naturally occurring or resulting from human activities, can be considered a contaminant.  The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells.

Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of  oil and gas production and mining activities.

Information provided by the EPA
In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

What treatment does our water receive?
After we pump the water from our wells, we aerate the water to remove iron and manganese. Although the iron and manganese in our water does not pose a health concern, these two naturally occurring substances can cause the water to appear brown or rust-colored, and can stain clothes and plumbing fixtures. We therefore treat our water to remove these esthetically objectionable substances.

The water is pumped into a detention tank, where chemicals allow the iron, manganese, and other particles to settle out. The water is then filtered to remove bacteria, viruses, and iron and manganese. The water then flows from the filters and we add chlorine and fluoride before the water goes into a storage tank called a clearwell. We pump water from the clearwell to the water towers. The water then flows by gravity from the tower to your home.

About Sioux Rural Water System, Inc.
Your system is composed of six wells, two water treatment plants, about 1.090 miles of distribution pipe ranging in sizes 1 1/2" to 10", five elevated towers, three standpipes, two ground storage reservoirs, five booster stations. We also have 1,245 active services.

Sioux Rural Water System has seven employees. They consist of one manager, one office coordinator, one billing clerk, one part-time summer meter reader, and three operators that operate the system. We are certified as a Class II system.

Detected Contaminants
The attached table lists all the drinking water contaminants that we detected during the 2002 calendar year.  The presence of these contaminants in the water does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.  Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done January 1 - December 31, 2002.  The state requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.  Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.