Water Quality

Update: 03/04/2020

Water Quality monitoring for the City’s utility system is ongoing. In February 2020, we completed the first round of sampling for the EPA’s Fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. Results are expected to be returned from the EPA Approved Laboratory within 120 days. The next and final round of sampling will take place in August 2020.

Total Trihalomethanes and Halocetic Acids samples were taken for this past quarter in February. Results have been updated below in the chart under the heading "Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products."

The mission of the City of St. Cloud Environmental Utilities Department is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water.  We are proud to state that our drinking water meets all federal and state requirements.

On an average day the City’s Water Treatment Plants produce almost 7 Million gallons of drinking water.  The water is drawn from an underground fresh water reservoir known as the Floridan Aquifer.  Water from the aquifer is pumped from 6 wells and is treated by a MIEX system and chlorinated for disinfection purposes.  The drinking water is used not only for consumption, but also for irrigation and fire protection. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain compounds in water provided by public water systems to ensure that the water is safe to drink.  Drinking water, including bottled water, may contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. However any mineral or chemical compound which could pose a health risk is required to be at or below the level established by state and federal regulators which are protective of public health. More information about contaminates and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. Below is a summary of the classifications of parameters which are regulated by the Florida Department o f Environmental Protection (FDEP) and EPA:

Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products

Microbial contaminants such as bacteria, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and viruses, are often found in source water and can cause gastrointestinal illness. Illnesses include diarrhea, vomiting, cramps and other health risks. In many cases, water needs to be disinfected to inactivate (or kill) these microbial pathogens. However, disinfectants can react with naturally-occurring materials in the water to form byproducts including:

• Trihalomethanes (THM)
• Haloacetic acids (HAA)
• Chlorite
• Bromate

Long term exposure to these disinfection by-products can increase the risk of health effects. 

EPA has developed the Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products Rules to limit exposure to these disinfectant byproducts.

The City’s most recent Disinfectants and Disinfection By-products results:

Inorganic Contaminants

Inorganic Contaminants are elements or compounds found in water supplies and may be natural in the geology or caused by activities of man through mining, industry, or agriculture.  It is common to have trace amounts of many Inorganic Contaminants in water supplies.  Amounts above the Maximum Contaminant Levels may cause a variety of health effects body depending upon the inorganic contaminant and level of exposure.

The City’s most recent Inorganic Contaminant results:

References:

Environmental Protection Agency. (2019) National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.  Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations

South Dakota DENR. (2019) Inorganic Contaminants.  Retrieved from https://denr.sd.gov/des/dw/IOCs.aspx

WATER TREATMENT PLANT NO. 4 POLISHING FILTER REPLACEMENT PROJECT

Update: 03/04/2020

The two stainless steel polishing filters at Water Treatment Plant #4 are operational as of December 2019. They are currently filtering all finished water leaving the treatment process. The turbidity of the finished water has improved since the polishing filters have gone online.

The polishing filters are online and working, however, the replacement project is not yet complete. There are still adjustments being made to the filter backwash controls to ensure efficient cleaning cycles. Also, there are some valves and actuators that are being replaced that tend to stick. The contractor for the project must meet a performance standard for two years until final project completion.

There are two Polishing Filters at Water Treatment Plant No. 4.  They are designed to remove and trap resin (small particles from the breakdown of the acrylic resin beads) prior to finished water chlorination and fluoridation.  The filters had been in-service for 9-years.  In 2016, the operations staff noticed that vacuum conditions were occurring in the Polishing Filters during backwash events.  To trouble shoot the problem, the City operations staff replaced all of the air release valves that were located on the inlet feed and effluent discharge on the filters, and performed a number of weld repairs to the upper polisher roof seams and intermediate floor plates that have been damaged.  In late 2017,the polishing filters failed again and the City made the decision to replace the filters.

The City contracted with Jones Edmunds, an engineering firm, to conduct a hydraulic evaluation of the polishers, identify design modifications to prevent vacuum conditions from occurring, provide corrected actions to repair structural damage of the polishers and present replacement options.  The design was completed, the project was bid out, and the project began in October 2018.

In July of 2019, the new stainless steel Polishing Filters were delivered to Water Treatment Plant No. 4.  The new Polishing Filters were designed to fit in the same footprint as the past filters and utilize the same piping connections.  Advanced 3D surveying techniques were used by the contractor, Prime Construction, to ensure that everything matched up correctly.      Once installed, the Polishing Filters under went pressure and bacteriological testing.  During the pressure tests, issues were discovered with some gate valves and the actuator controls.  Final performance testing is on hold until the actuators controls are completely operational.  The City anticipates the controls to be repaired, final performance testing, and the Polishing Filters operational before the end of November 2019.

UNIDIRECTIONAL FLUSHING PROGRAM

Update: 03/04/2020

The City’s Unidirectional Flushing Program is temporarily suspended during the ice pigging effort. The program will begin again after the ice pigging has been completed. Notice will be given to residents prior to restarting the Unidirectional Flushing.

The City’s Unidirectional Flushing Program is our main tool in tackling the water discoloration and sedimentation issue in the distribution system.  Unidirectional flushing is different from conventional flushing in many ways.  It involves manipulating valves to divert flow and create high scouring velocities in the pipes to flush out the accumulated resin sediment. The Unidirectional flushing program is progressing in a systematic manner through the portions of the water distribution system most impacted by the resin sediment. The City anticipates that it will take several rounds of the Unidirectional flushing to clear the distribution system in these most affected areas.

The Unidirectional Flushing Program is intended to be City-Wide, to flush every water main that is larger than 10”in diameter.  The flushing program was designed as 10 different zones to be flushed sequentially.  The program starts in the South-West portion of the Utility Boundary area near Water Treatment Plant No. 4 and progresses North and East. 

Currently, the City is only concentrating on Unidirectional Flushing within the zones experiencing frequent occurrences of water discoloration.  Once the first round of unidirectional flushing is complete, the City will immediately begin a second round of the program and flush additional areas within each zone where there is evidence of discolored water.

FIND YOUR ZONE

ZONE 1:

Keystone Pointe ·  Christy Lane/Michele Lane · Villagio ·Oak Ridge Place· Canoe Creek Lakes· Teka Village · Sawyer Estates · Woodland Terrace · Crestwood · Inglewood Meadows·  Pine Chase Estates · Cypress Point · Canoe Creek Villas · The Estates –Stevens Plantation ·  Magnolia Green· Verandah Lake ·   The Grove · Sanctuary · Sweetwater Creek

ZONE 2:

Nachez Trace · Pine Lake Estates · Anthem Park · St. Cloud Villas · Heather Hall Neptune Elementary· Magnolia Glen · St. Cloud Regional Medical Center

ZONE 3:

Royal Gardens of St. Cloud - Assisted Living Facility • Palamar Oaks Village• St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church • Sugar Mill park • Lakeview Elementary School •Old Sugar Mill Lane • Neptune Middle School •Battaglia • Neptune Bay Apartments •Mickey Johnson Court & City of Life Church • St. Cloud Village Apartments •Pemberly Pines • Personal Mini Storage •Beehive Circle Drive • Summer Cove Apartments • Businesses along US192 from Big Sky Boulevardto Brown Chapel Road

ZONE 4:

Sweetwater Creek • Camelot • Nick’s Plaza • Canoe Creek Estates • Canoe Creek Woods • Southern Pines • Indian Lakes • Chris Court • Villas Del Castillo