Creek County Rural Water District No. 2 recently violated drinking water standards, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has reported.
Testing results received April 2013 through March show that the district exceeded the standard or maximum contaminant level (MCL) for total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, the DEQ said. The district also exceeded the MCL as far back as January 2012 for trihalomethanes and as far back as October 2012 for haloacetic acids.
Rural Water District No. 2, headquartered within the Jenks fenceline, serves about 4,700 customers, including some in south Tulsa, Jenks, Mounds, Glenpool and Sapulpa, a spokeswoman said.
Fewer than 200 customers in Jenks are served by District No. 2, Jenks City Manager Mike Tinker said. The City of Jenks, which purchases its water from Tulsa, has about 7,300 customers, he said.
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The situation isn’t an emergency, according to a legal notice published on Tuesday, and tests show that the water is improving.
But infants, the elderly and people with a severely compromised immune system may be at increased risk and should seek advice from their health-care providers about drinking water. Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
Marty Lademann, field supervisor for District 2, said that for the past six weeks, workers have been flushing the system more often to produce a better quality of water. Water samples are being tested every two weeks instead of quarterly as required by governing agencies, he said.
The district has no treatment plant and purchases water from Creek County Rural Water District No. 1 and the cities of Sapulpa and Tulsa.
“We’re getting positive results,” Lademann said. “Our parameters are lowering, and we are close to the parameters set.”
