St. Cloud Boasts Excellent Water Quality as 2023 Report Shows Clear, Safe Drinking Water

(KNSI) — St. Cloud’s Water Quality Report is here.

The Drinking Water Treatment Facility has the capacity to treat 24 million gallons per day, and its distribution system consists of 305 miles of pipe. For context, laid end to end, that would stretch from the treatment facility to the City of Des Moines Water Works Facility. The water tower storage capacity is 7.5 million gallons, which is enough to fill more than 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The report contains monitoring results from January 1st through December 31st, 2023. The city says it is an excellent source of information for all aspects of water quality. Water from a system like St. Cloud’s is tested more thoroughly and regulated more closely than water from any other source, including bottled water.

Thanks to the city’s stormwater program, water taken from the Mississippi River is treated at the City’s Drinking Water Treatment Facility to remove harmful contaminants. Extensive testing is carried out to ensure the safety of drinking water from the facility to the tap.

The report shows that the water’s turbidity, also known as clarity, is absolutely perfect. The lowest monthly percentage of results in compliance was 100. The highest test result was .20%, which was well within requirements. Soil runoff is the typical source of cloudy water.

For copper and lead tested at residential taps, none of the 33 homes had high levels of either element. Ninety percent of copper results were less than .08 parts per million, and 90% of homes had less than 1.3 ppm. Ninety percent of lead results were less than 2 parts per billion, with 90% of homes having less than 15 ppb. The ideal goal for copper and lead for the Environmental Protection Agency is zero.

The EPA limit and goal for nitrates are both a maximum of 10 ppm. The highest average or single test result in the report is .85 ppm. Nitrates come from fertilizer, runoff, sewage and erosion of natural deposits.

Fluoride, a water additive that promotes strong teeth, also occurs naturally in drinking water. The report says that since studies show optimal fluoride levels in drinking water benefit public health, “municipal community water systems must adjust the level of fluoride in the water to an optimal concentration between 0.5 to 0.9 ppm to protect your teeth. Fluoride levels below 2.0 ppm are not expected to increase the risk of a cosmetic condition known as enamel fluorosis. The EPA limit and the EPA goal are 4.0 ppm. St. Cloud’s highest average or highest single test result is .68 ppm. The range of detected test results is .60 to .69 ppm.

The annual report’s purpose is to provide information on drinking water and its treatment while also providing information on how to protect valuable water resources. The 2023 Water Quality Report also includes new sections about treating drinking water, the federal Lead and Copper Rule, St. Cloud’s service line inventory, forever chemicals known as PFAS and other unregulated contaminants.

See it all here.

___