Milford residents may be concerned about a wave of nitrates in city water, but the city water department says there’s nothing to worry about at this time.
City staff went door-to-door the afternoon of Feb. 17, posting notices to residents that city water contained high levels of nitrates, a compound that can adversely affect how the blood carries oxygen through the body.
The notice warned residents not to give the water to infants under 6 months old or use it to make infant formula. Nursing mothers and pregnant women also should steer clear of the water, the notice said, as young babies cannot process nitrates in the same way as adults.
The notice was accompanied by a letter from Milford Maintenance Superintendent Gary TeSelle, who oversees the city’s water system.
TeSelle wrote that the water department had identified a down drive at a well that was not in service, and water from that well was not being blended into the main water supply.
“It was a testing issue,” TeSelle said in a follow-up phone call with The Milford Times.
“We haven’t run that well site for quite awhile, and it was not feeding into the main system, so there are not currently high nitrates in the water system.”
The water sample from the well was sent to the state lab as part of routine testing, which triggered the notice as required by state law, even though the nitrates have not contaminated the drinking water supply.
TeSelle said the notice would likely cause undue concern in this instance, but the city was acting with transparency and following the rules by posting the notice anyway.
The water department has repaired the faulty well drive and will conduct additional testing to monitor contaminants from that well when it is put back into use.
The well is one of three points where water enters the city water system. Each well can be turned off as needed. Blending water from two or three of the wells helps prevent high levels of contaminants, such as nitrates, which come up when the water is pumped from underground.
The city is in the planning stage of a $3 million water main replacement project, which will renovate the underground mains in the central part of town, as well as allow for additional testing as part of the city’s regular routine.
Of that $3 million, $845,000 will come from an American Rescue Plan Act grant from Seward County. The rest will come from the state revolving fund to be paid back through usage fees, Teselle said.
Work on the main replacement is expected to begin in mid-summer or early fall, though TeSelle said there has been a delay in getting pipe and valves because of a material shortage.
