On Friday, ADEQ issued a Public Health Warning indicating that Johnson Utilities’ water was unsafe to drink due to elevated levels of nitrates. ADEQ is advising that the water should not be given to infants under 6 months old or use it to make infant formula.
The ADEQ advisory reads:
“The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) learned today that drinking water test results of Johnson Utilities water exceeded the federal drinking water standard for nitrate. Because Johnson Utilities has not contacted ADEQ or responded to our inquiries, ADEQ is not able to verify whether Johnson Utilities has completed the required notification to its customers about this important water quality concern.”
Water sample results collected 10/27/2016 and 11/21/2016 showed nitrate levels of 12 mg/L and 11.4 mg/L, respectively. This is above the nitrate standard, or maximum contaminant level (MCL), of 10 mg/L. Nitrate in drinking water is a serious health concern for infants less than six months old.
Nitrate in drinking water can come from natural, industrial, or agricultural sources (including septic systems and run-off). Levels of nitrate in drinking water can vary throughout the year.”
Johnson Utilities issued a statement claiming that “the condition that existed in a small portion of our water distribution system discovered during the annual nitrate testing on 10/27/2016 and with the confirmation sample performed on 11/21/2016 no longer exists today. Our water is under the allowable limits for nitrates and is safe to drink.”
“Repeat samples more recently show that the nitrate levels were far below the maximum allowable limit,” notes Johnson Utilities. “We believe the original samples were not correctly performed or read and we have sampled twice since then. OUR WATER IS SAFE TO DRINK.”