When Kotzebue resident Wynonna Sours’ children got sick earlier this month, she blamed the city water. She compared its color to a popular beverage.
“Coca-Cola, that dark brown, looks like soda,” Sours said. “It stinks. We try to boil it and it's still brown.”
The discolored water is the latest in a string of problems for the city of more than 3,000 since its new water plant went online last year. City and state officials say the water is safe to drink. They also point to another possible cause of the recent discoloration: the flushing of city fire hydrants.
The reddish-brown color comes from elevated levels of manganese, a mineral that humans need in trace amounts for immune system function, digestion and bone strength. But high levels of manganese could have long-term health effects.
The EPA has linked long-term exposure to high levels of manganese to a neurological condition similar to Parkinson's disease. Sours’ family members didn’t experience anything that serious. They had runny noses, coughing and some gastrointestinal issues.
Kotzebue City Manager Tessa Baldwin said the city does not know why the manganese levels in the water are increasing. She said the treated water is not a danger to the public.
“I think it's just been at a microscopic level because of the fact that we got a multimillion-dollar new water treatment plant and that’s been a high topic and a high concern for community members,” Baldwin said. “However, this has always happened and will continue to happen.”
According to Kotzebue’s public works director, Russ Ferguson, the highest manganese reading last week was about 0.04 milligrams per liter. That is about one-sixth of the level the EPA considers a health concern.
Still, several residents are worried. Many, like Sours, blame the new plant.
“We've never had this problem,” Sours said. “I've never seen it, my whole childhood. And our waters have been like this since Kotzebue switched to the new water system.”
A troubled rollout
Since January, the city has issued more than two dozen water quality notices. These include boil water notices, discoloration notices, pressure warnings and water conservation notices.
The city blamed supply chain issues for some of the troubles. Parts for a backup generator and transfer switch have been on back order. Without the generator, every time there is a power outage, pressure in the filtration system drops. That triggers a citywide boil-water notice.
A couple of months after the plant went online, Matt Lazarus, supervisor for Kotzebue’s water treatment plant, said he was sometimes working 12 or more hours a day trying to sort out problems. Occasionally he slept there.
Lazarus said one of the plant’s challenges is a delayed reaction with potassium permanganate. The plant uses that chemical to remove iron and manganese.
“Kotzebue’s water is very cold, it has a low pH and has high organics,” he said. “So instead of that reaction, taking 30 to 40 seconds, it can take 30 to 40 minutes.”
Lazarus said the water is discolored because the plant cannot remove all of the manganese. He said the city is still experimenting with various fixes to the issue.
State says water is safe
“It is more challenging to deliver safe drinking water in the Arctic than it is in other climates,” said Cindy Christian, program manager for the drinking water program at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The department regulates Alaska’s public water systems, including Kotzebue’s.
Christian confirmed that Kotzebue’s drinking water is safe despite the manganese.
Water is tested at four stages of the filtration process before it reaches residents. The tests sample for chemical and microbial contaminants. They also check temperature, alkalinity, cloudiness and color.
The Maniilaq Environmental Health Lab also regularly tests the water samples before they go to the state.
“They actually take six bacteria samples a month, and all of those samples have been good,” Christian said. “We haven't had any positive samples.”
Christian said another reason some residents are seeing brown water is that the city began flushing out its fire hydrants late last month. Kotzebue has a loop, or grid, water distribution system. Each of its five loops is flushed separately.
Flushing hydrants is routine maintenance, usually done in spring. This year, the city postponed the work because of low water levels in the system. Christian said brown water during flushing is normal. It happens because sediment, including iron and manganese, is being cleared out of distribution pipes.
Although city and state officials say the water is safe to drink, many residents are shying away from it. Some are buying cleaner water at $13 a gallon, and elders have been collecting rainwater.
The city said concerned residents can fill water jugs for free at the water treatment plant.
