2023-11-11 21:49:35
GRAND FORKS – North Dakota is receiving almost $19 million from the Environmental Protection Agency for emerging water contaminants.
The grant will go toward improvement projects in the Northeast Regional Water District and East Central Regional Water District to improve the quality of the drinking water they provide. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality will receive the grant and disburse the funds to the regional water districts for their projects.
“The objective is to provide the infrastructure for these regional water districts to have the capacity and the ability to remove more manganese and then in the future hopefully connect residents that are struggling with their private wells with high manganese,” Bryan Schmitt, an environmental engineer with the NDDEQ.
While the projects that are being funded are in the planning stages, new transfer stations and improved water treatment capacity will be key aspects of the projects, according to the grant.
The EPA’s current guidance is a maximum manganese concentration of 0.3 milligrams per liter in drinking water for adults. Manganese can cause issues with the nervous at high levels and continued exposure, especially for infants under six months of age. It naturally occurs in North Dakota’s water and typically doesn’t bioaccumulate like lead or other contaminants.
According to the EPA, In high concentrations, manganese can cause water to appear brown or black, staining and a bitter metallic taste, and there are many ways to effectively remove it from the water.
“We are addressing it trying to get ahead of the game with getting as many people away from high levels as possible,” Schmitt said.
In October, the EPA provided North Dakota with additional funding
for the Tri-County water district to help bring water access to rural North Dakota. That was a $430,000 award in addition to the $280,000 previously received.
Voigt covers city government in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
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