April 2018 | Volume 13, Issue 4
How Safe is Your Tap Water?
EROSION: ONE OF THE GREATEST ISSUES FACING AMERICAN SOIL
System Spotlight: FIRST OF ITs KIND AURORA BRULE SDSU'S NEW PRECISION RURAL WATER SYSTEM AGRICULTURE MAJOR
MANAGER’S REPORT | AUDIT RECAP | YEARS OF SERVICE MILESTONES MANAGER’S REPORT JakeMatt FitzgeraldOedekoven, P.E. Manager, West River/Lyman-Jones RWS
hope 2018 has started out well for everyone. 2017 was a busy year for WR/LJ BOARD OF DIRECTORS IRural Water. Early summer hot and dry conditions pushed us to implement Dave Fuoss, Draper – President system-wide water conservation measures. The system sold 1,166,611,000 gallons Richard L. Doud, Midland – Vice President Dodie Garrity, Hayes – Sec./Treas. of water which is a record high for us. WR/LJ wells near Wall supplied 14% of the Paul Goldhammer, Wall total and the remaining 86% was furnished by the Mni Wiconi Water Treatment Kirk Cordes, Creighton Plant located north of Ft. Pierre. Because demands continue to increase year after Jim Schaefer, Kennebec year, the WR/LJ Board of Directors and I will continually explore potential options Veryl Prokop, Kadoka to increase source capacity, which would include additional well development and/ Casey Krogman, White River or surface water from the Missouri River. Brad Smith, Vivian Dean Nelson, Murdo We expect 2018 to be a busy year for us as well as we work on several operational Marion Matt, Philip – Liaison for West projects. The operations staff has recently installed two electric mixers in our River Water Development District Kadoka Rural and Badlands National Park Tanks. The submersible mixers we MURDO PROJECT OFFICE used are compact and were installed while the tanks were full and in service. Tank mixers help maintain water quality by thoroughly mixing the entire tank volume 307 Main Street PO Box 407 ...continued on page 14 Murdo, SD 57559 Jake Fitzgerald ...... Manager Amy Kittelson ...... Office Manager Kati Venard ...... Billing Secretary Brandon Kinsley...... O & M Foreman Ed Venard ...... O & M Steve Baker ...... O & M Brian Flynn ...... O & M Ph: 605-669-2931 or 1-800-851-2349 Fax : 605-669-3022 E-Mail Address: [email protected] PHILIP FIELD OFFICE PO Box 144 Philip, SD 57567 Mike Vetter ...... O & M Foreman Eddie Dartt ...... O & M John Kramer ...... O & M Nick Konst ...... O & M Ph: 605-859-2829 • Fax: 605-859-2859 WR/LJ operator installing a tank mixer at the Badlands National Park
STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION: In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@ usda.gov. This institution is an equal opportunity provider. 2 | April 2018 AUTOMATED PHONE CALLS
WR/LJ has started using an automated system to contact our members by phone, text or email with matters regarding your accounts. Some examples of these communications are notifications of planned outages, delinquent accounts, and disconnect for non-payment. 2017 AUDIT THANK YOU NOTES Casey Peterson and Associates of Rapid City, SD were Thank you for the dry/wet vacuum I got at your annual in Murdo on January 23nd – 25th to perform the meeting. A huge thank you for the great water. The water 2017 audit of financial records. L to R: Matt Mickley, makes our household and ranch a much better place to live. Zach Van Sambeek and Trait Thorne. The audit provides management and the board of directors Thank you! an independent opinion as to the accuracy and – Noel Henriksen, Draper accounting compliance of the financial statements. The auditors review the billing of accounts, accounting procedures, and check inventory on hand. The results of the audit will be presented to the Board of Directors WE’RE ON FACEBOOK! at a later date. West River/Lyman-Jones Rural Water now has a Facebook page. Just log into Facebook and search for ‘West River Lyman Jones Water System’ and like our page. We HOLIDAY will keep you updated on water CLOSINGS outages and system news. Please do not use Facebook to In observance of the following holidays, report any emergencies. WR/LJ Rural Water offices will be closed on the following days: March 30 (afternoon) – Good Friday FREE SERVICE May 28 – Memorial Day WR/LJ provides 2 free trips each calendar year to In case of an emergency, please call the Murdo shut off/ turn on water at locations that will not be in use for a period of time. Please give advance notice area at 530-0932 or the Philip area at 530-1136 by calling the main office in Murdo a couple days for assistance. prior, so our field staff can make arrangements.
Visit us online at: www.wrlj.com
April 2018 | 3 APRIL JUNE 6-7 – JACKRABBIT STAMPEDE RODEO 1-3 – LAKE ANDES FISH DAYS The Jackrabbit Stampede is a National Intercollegiate Rodeo Kick off your summer with a weekend of family fun this June in Association approved rodeo that holds all the standard Lake Andes. Fish Days hosts the DC Lynch Carnival all three college rodeo events; Bareback Riding, Breakaway Roping, days, as well as lawn mower races, dart tournament, parade, Tie Down Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Goat kids games, fish fry, street dance, motorcycle blessing and Tying, Team Roping, Barrel Racing and Bull Riding. more. Check out our Facebook page for future updates (Lake www.sdstate.edu/jackrabbit-stampede Andes Fish Days). https://fishdays.wixsite.com/lakeandes
7-10 – SOUTH DAKOTA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL The South Dakota Shakespeare Festival features world-class MAY actors performing classic plays by William Shakespeare every 5 – FRÜHLINGSFEST AND SPRING MARKET June in the unique outdoor setting of Vermillion's Prentis Park. Sample a wide selection of craft beer from local and national Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy this family friendly event. Free breweries, while browsing dozens of local artisan booths Will donation. www.sdshakespearefestival.org and taking in live music at Main Street Square's fifth annual Frühlingsfest & Spring Market, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, in Downtown Rapid City. The event is open 9-10 – SIOUXLAND RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL to all ages. IDs are required to consume alcohol. http:// Come one, come all goode lords and ladies, merchants, mainstreetsquarerc.com/concerts-and-festivals/fruhlingsfest- yeomen, players, musicians, and peasants. Let us present to and-spring-market.html you the Siouxland Renaissance Festival! Here you can travel back in time to the glorious reign of Queen Elizabeth I. See the 18-20 – STATE PARKS OPEN HOUSE AND FREE FISHING sights, hear the sounds, and taste the food. Learn what it was WEEKEND like to live over 400 years ago as you take part in our historically The annual Open House Weekend includes free entrance to all flavored festival. The festival takes place on the grounds of the South Dakota state parks. (Camping fees do apply.) A number Sioux Empire Fairgrounds/W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls. of parks will also host special events to kick off the summer $10 for adults (13-65), $5 for seniors (65+) and children (4-12), and it is free fishing weekend, so licenses are not required. and free for children 3 and under. https://gfp.sd.gov/events/ 16-17 – SOUTH DAKOTA PEACH FESTIVAL 25-27 – SOUTH DAKOTA KAYAK CHALLENGE The annual South Dakota Peach Festival is two fun-filled days of Racers of the South Dakota Kayak Challenge face 72 miles of live music, activities, vendors and delicious foods. Enjoy fresh wind and waves on the Missouri River between Yankton peaches from the Georgia orchards and eat your way through and South Sioux City, Nebraska. Most of the course is in the the weekend tasting all things peach. This free event is sure to National Park Service’s Missouri National Recreational River, pack your Father’s Day weekend with fun for the whole family a unique waterway that is the only NPS property that holds at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls. Hours are 10 the designations of Wild and Scenic River, National Park a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Free and National Water Trail. Check-in takes place at Riverside admission. Park in Yankton. The race starts at 7 a.m. sharp on Saturday. $75 per paddler (spectators can watch for free). http:// 21-23 – CRYSTAL SPRINGS RODEO Located on a ranch “out where the pavement ends and the sdkayakchallenge.org/ West begins,” seven miles northeast of Clear Lake, the Crystal Springs Rodeo is the most unique rodeo you will ever attend. If you would like your event featured in the July The rolling Coteau Hills come together to form an all-natural 2018 issue of Quality on Tap!, please email your rodeo bowl with hillside seating. Bring your lawn chair or a event description to: [email protected]. July's issue blanket and enjoy the excitement of a PRCA rodeo all three will cover events taking place July - September nights. Get there early to reserve your spot - gates open at 6 2018. Event listings are subject to approval by the p.m. Browse the hillside vendors before the rodeo starts at 8 QOT Editorial Board. p.m. nightly. http://crystalspringsrodeo.com/
4 | |April April 2018 2018 EROSION: ONE OF THE GREATEST ISSUES FACING AMERICAN SOILS here are many issues facing the modern-day farmer, though their religion,” Peterson says. most of them are nothing that new. After all, nature has Talways kept us on our toes in the form of drought, flood, and The notion that conventional till decreases soil stability, soil other extreme events. You would think that with technological function and enhances erosion and runoff is a tough pill to advances and increased agricultural acumen, however, we swallow for many. After all, most farmers were raised to believe would have taken steps towards reducing the negative effects of that the very reason they should use conventional till is to help nature… or at least be part of the solution, not the problem. reduce such issues. Unfortunately, regardless of how strongly we Unfortunately, when it comes to erosion, it would appear that we adhere to our beliefs, that does not necessarily make them true. ourselves are the ones to blame for digging us into a deeper ditch. In this regard, Peterson doesn’t beat around the bush. Now certainly, erosion has always been in existence. It is not “There is no agronomic or economic reason for tillage to be necessarily a man-made problem, but unlike many other justifiable anymore,” Peterson says. “It destroys everything that agricultural issues, it has come to the forefront largely because restores soil function.” of human activity. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the We saw strong evidence of this firsthand in South Dakota when Midwestern United States. Here, soil erosion has grown so the NRCS’ Jeff Hemenway walked us through an eye-opening extreme that Jerry Hatfield, director of the USDA-ARS National slake test comparing infiltration in no-till versus conventional Laboratory for Ag and the Environment, believes that we’re till soils. losing, on average, five tons of soil per acre per year due to erosion (with higher-end areas losing closer to 100 tons per acre “The tilled soil dissolves rapidly (in a slake test),” Peterson notes. per year). “In the presence of rain, without the glues or [root] exudates, the soil particles in the aggregates break loose, and they are very These numbers by themselves can be a bit staggering, but they susceptible to erosion.” become even more alarming when we consider soil replacement rates. Essentially, many believe we’re losing soil faster than soil EROSION: NOT SIMPLY AN ISSUE OF can be restored, thus, if nothing changes, the situation will only CONVENTIONAL TILL become more dire. It’s become easy for advocates of no-till and regenerative farming SOIL EROSION: DIGGING DEEPER to “bully” the idea of conventional till. Once again, however, a closer look at things makes it evident that converting to no-till “(Erosion rates are) all rainfall driven,” says Hatfield. This reality is not a fix-all. If we must view it in such terms, tillage is not the may seem to contradict the above statement that increased enemy. If a farmer adopts the first principle of soil health (do erosion is a man-made problem. As seems to always be the case not disturb), but neglects the other three, they’re only seeing a when it comes to agriculture, a closer look into things reveals the greater truth. fraction of the picture. When it comes to erosion and enhancing infiltration, the second principle of soil health (keep the soil Spring is generally the wettest time of year. For the farmer who covered) is just as crucial. This is one of the many reasons why has, say, a corn and soybean rotation whose fields lay fallow in cover crops have seen a significant rise in recent years. the spring, there’s no crop present to help transpire the water or protect the soil. Compounding this issue is the practice When you have a living canopy and live roots directly beneath of conventional tillage which exposes soil, breaks down soil the soil, you can reduce runoff head on. Instead of bombarding structure and thereby, decreases pore space and infiltration. the soil, rain hits the canopy and slowly trickles down the plant The result? Runoff which leads to erosion. There are even some into the roots. This slow-down effect on raindrop impact is one studies out there that suggest that erosion increases exponentially of the chief benefits of the third principle of soil health (keep as runoff increases. a live root in the soil as many days as possible). The result is infiltration as opposed to runoff and erosion. Still, there is some hope. Seven million acres have already been enrolled in the ¹Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) in In this way, it seems rather evident that the solution to high South Dakota alone to reduce soil erosion and improve water erosion rates comes through the application of principles of soil quality as of 2017. The reality is, however, that while this is a health. Specifically, through the use of no-till, diverse rotations needed step in the right direction, it’s more of a crawl than a and cover crops (i.e., no fallow periods) which keep the soil leap. So what can we do? Once again, if our research is of any covered and keep a live root in the ground year-round, we address indication, it appears that the four principles of soil health are the core issue that runoff and erosion are simply symptoms of: needed. This fact isn’t lost on Chad Watts, executive director of degraded soils. the Conservation Technology Information Center in Indiana. “Your soil is more than just the medium in which you grow “You protect land from erosion and reduce the amount of plants,” Watts says. “The downfall of many civilizations was sediment you put into streams with these (types of soil health) when they degraded their soil to the point that it was no longer practices,” Watts says, though he knows changing the hearts and productive. When soil degrades to the point of no return, that’s minds of traditional farmers will take more convincing. That’s when civilizations begin to fail. It behooves you to protect your where Midwest native and soil health specialist Doug Peterson soil.” comes in. To learn more about conservation practices, “The practice of tillage is more ingrained in most people than visit the NRCS’ Soil Health Page at http://meritormyth.com/
April 2018 | 5 First of Its Kind: SDSU’S NEW PRECISION AGRICULTURE MAJOR The new bachelor’s degree is the first in the country and has gained industry attention
By Sydney Sleep strategies can be used for those sensitive areas and that information can be better determined and utilized using Precision The new precision agriculture major at South Dakota State Ag techniques.” A final point from McMaine was that “if there University has gained significant attention from the agricultural is a sensitive aquifer or an aquifer with limited capacity then industry. Precision Irrigation techniques can be used to greatly decrease Introduced to students during the Fall 2016 semester, SDSU is the amount of water that's used.” the only university in the country to offer a four-year degree The major provides students with training from the Agronomy, in precision agriculture. Precision agriculture is a management Horticulture and Plant Science Department and the Agriculture approach utilizing cutting-edge technology to increase yields, and Biosystems Engineering Department, with additional classes improve soil health and optimize inputs. from the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering. Students are John McMaine, Assistant Professor learning how to integrate math, statistics, computer science and in the Department of engineering concepts into agricultural production Agricultural & Biosystems “Over about the past 10 years, there have been several classes tied Engineering, states that to precision agriculture offered on campus and student interest “decreased in the classes was growing,” says Van Kelley, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department Head. As a result, several department heads on campus gathered together to discuss what the precision agriculture program parameters would be. They saw the rapid onset of technology being developed to assist farmers and their ability to be even better stewards of the land and resources, while at the same time increasing yields, improving livestock production methods and helping maintain water quality and wildlife habitat. Department heads were also influenced by requests from industry chemical professionals looking for technologically proficient graduates. and fertilizer application leads The new precision agriculture program was a motivating factor to decreased that led John Stubbendick to attend SDSU. The junior precision loss to sensitive agriculture major from Avoca, Nebraska, believes the major groundwater provides students with the tools to keep up with industry needs. and surface-water “The industry is very interested and involved in the program and resources. It could our classes, so I am very optimistic about what the major has also lead to potential to offer and the employment opportunities in the future,” changes in land use Stubbendick says. which would decrease the amount of marginal land Precision agriculture will allow producers to apply crop inputs in farmed.” exactly the right place in the right amount at the right time,” explains Bill Gibbons, Interim Director of the South Dakota He adds that “from a drainage Agricultural Experiment Station and Interim Associate Dean perspective, control drainage versus for Research. “This will allow farmers to save on input costs, conventional drainage, control drainage is a Precision technique maintain strong yields, and achieve unprecedented environmental in the sense that the process actively manages a situation based stewardship.” on information to be collected. Control drainage can reduce the loss of nutrients, particularly nitrate, from tile drain systems Gibbons continues, “As precision technologies continue to which reduces the impact of tile drainage on surface water.” advance, application rates that were once made on a per-acre basis are now being made on a square foot basis. In the future it Additionally, McMaine shared that “there can also be Wellhead is plausible that decisions and actions will be made on a per-plant protection of sensitive well areas or use less. It goes back to “less basis. By essentially ‘spoon feeding’ plants with required inputs, applied so less lost,” but also alternate crops or management farmers are dramatically reducing the amount of excess inputs 6 | |April April 2018 2018 that escape the field through surface or groundwater movement.” The new precision agriculture degree keeps students at the cutting edge of the rapidly evolving intersection of agronomics, high-speed sensor technology, data management and advanced machinery development. Students graduate with technical and management skills, and will be prepared for lifelong careers that support economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture. “Creating a minor in 2015 was the first step, but we felt like there needed to be more,” explains David Wright, Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Department Head. SDSU Vice President of Research and Economic Development Daniel Scholl says the major in precision agriculture is motivated by SDSU’s vision of inspiring the next generation of precision agriculture innovators and leaders. “Employers need, and are demanding graduates capable of leading decades of innovation in the rapidly advancing area of precision farming,” Scholl relates. “SDSU’s mandate as a land-grant university is to respond to changing needs with the degree offerings that will promote graduates’ abilities to take their roles as leaders in the economy.” INDUSTRY-DRIVEN The addition of the precision agriculture major was encouraged by industry leaders who became engaged in the development process and have remained involved. The two departments are “Prior to this major, students have been educated in specifics in planning a new research engineering and agronomy, but we wanted to marry these to and education facility that provide a more rounded skill set,” Kelley says. will house the faculty of the two Faculty are continually working with the industry to modify departments in one building while curriculum to include precision agriculture techniques. The new also providing students an opportunity for increased interaction. courses provide knowledge in areas such as using sensors and “The concept is to bring faculty together in a common geospatial statistics. environment,” Wright says. To help offer the best technology and education to students, the The goal of the facility is to provide better learning opportunities program has partnered with companies like Raven Industries, for the students and better facilities for research. John Deere Precision Planting, Kinsey Ag Services and the For example, in engineering classes students would work with Climate Corporation. These companies make frequent visits programs to develop new sensors and then in the agronomy to campus and remain in close contact with faculty to provide classes students test the sensors and make sure they provide the insight, donate technology and serve as mentors to students. needed efficiency for farmers. “Since the onset of the program, there has been a lot of industry Don Marshall, Interim Dean of the College of Agriculture and interaction; we are implementing more industry-related Biological Sciences, says the vision is to inspire the next generation projects to provide companies with opportunities to interact of precision agriculture innovators and leaders with high-quality with students,” explains Nicholas Uilk, precision agriculture classroom experiences and hands-on learning opportunities. instructor. “Our students are putting knowledge and theory to use through Shane Swedlund, Facility and Engineering Manager for Raven relevant, experiential agricultural learning projects and have a Industries at the SDSU Research Park, notes that partnering competitive advantage as they enter the workforce, he states. with the SDSU precision agriculture program made a lot of sense Ultimately, SDSU’s precision agriculture program benefits both because a great deal of what Raven does is focused on precision food producers and consumers. “As farmers are provided with agriculture and they can work with students on projects. better technology, they can produce more food, more efficiently UNITED FRONT and sustainably,” Wright concludes. Working to connect precision agriculture majors with industry Learn more about the SDSU Precision Agriculture Program at leaders, students have been attending the National Farm www.sdstate.edu/programs/undergraduate/precision-agriculture-bs Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, for several years. or email [email protected], call 605-688-5133. April 2018 | 7 ecently the news has been full of dire warnings about chemicals, requirements for water systems to test for contaminants in the Rtoxins, bacteria, and other worrisome contaminants turning water to make sure standards are achieved. up in drinking water. National attention has recently been drawn to a public water system in South Dakota that has trace amounts Contaminants are introduced to water from one of two sources of Radium in their drinking water. How do you find out if the – they are naturally occurring or manmade. Radium, a naturally water coming out of your faucet is safe? It’s not occurring contaminant resides in rocks and as hard as you might think – there are great soil within the earth’s crust. Groundwater can resources out there if you know where to look. contain varying levels of radium depending on local geology. Deep bedrock aquifers used Public water systems in South Dakota are for drinking water sometimes contain levels required to meet the requirements of the Safe of radium that exceed health-based regulatory Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA is the standards. Check your system’s Consumer federal law that protects public drinking water Confidence Report (CCR) to determine if supplies throughout the nation, it was originally radium has been detected in your community’s passed by Congress in 1974 and has been water. periodically revised (with major amendments in 1986 and 1996). The SDWA requires systems to be operated by Land use has the greatest impact in terms of manmade certified operations specialists who are dedicated to delivering safe contamination of source water. It is nearly impossible to inhabit water to members. To ensure the highest quality product possible, a watershed without affecting the water quality in some way. the water is monitored and tested for over ninety potential Water readily absorbs constituents as it encounters them, so as the contaminants. amount of any constituent increases, the likelihood of it showing up in a water supply increases. The EPA sets national standards for drinking water based on sound science to protect against health risks, considering available The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) web tool aggregates technologies and costs. National Primary Drinking Water and analyzes publicly available data from nearly 50,000 public Regulations set enforceable maximum contaminant levels for water systems across the country. Using the database is an easy particular contaminants in drinking water or required ways to way to learn more about what's in your water, and it was quickly treat water to remove contaminants. Each standard also includes picked up by the media. But the way in which the EWG presents 8 | April 2018 its data could cause unnecessary fear. reduce or eliminate the contaminants or even bottled water for serious contamination. Both options, however, have caveats. Search the EWG database, and you are more than likely to find at least one "cancer-causing" pollutant at levels above "health First, not every filter is created equal. The popular Everyday Brita guidelines." But what that actually means creates confusion. Pitcher, for instance, only filters four constituents – chlorine In many cases, the EWG cherry-picks its benchmarks for (just the taste and odor), copper, cadmium and mercury. In fact, contaminants from the lowest recommendation available. Instead according to the company’s own website, Brita’s only product that of informing people about their water, it may leave them needlessly filters lead is its faucet system that attaches directly to your tap. worried. Search for just about any zip code, and users are shown a handful of scary-sounding chemicals, mated to the word cancer. There’s some debate that filters like Britas are only good for tastier water, not healthier water. It is important to note that unlike But is all the drinking water in the United States causing cancer? municipal water, personal filters aren’t subject to any government Of course it's not that simple. In the US, the EPA sets maximum oversight or regulation, but the independent, nonprofit NSF contaminant levels (MCLs) as part of the Safe Drinking Water International provides certification and standards for many filters Act. Because it found these lacking, the EWG based its analysis on the market. partially on its own standards. The EWG recommends that you install a water filter to remove "When official guidelines are not available or are insufficient to contaminants, which is not necessarily a bad idea. But the protect public health, we developed our own health benchmarks organization receives a financial incentive through Amazon's using publicly available scientific research," reads EWG's data affiliate program if you purchase a filter through its website. The sources and methodology page. more people who buy water filters, the more money EWG stands to make. Similarly, on its "EWG Standards" page, the organization notes the standards were devised using "the best and latest scientific As for bottled water, more than $100 billion is spent each year on evidence," but does not link to or mention any specific scientific bottled water around the globe, with Americans alone spending studies used. nearly $12 billion on bottled water each year. Clearly, there is a demand for bottled water, but is it any safer? An EPA spokesperson provided the following statement when asked for comment about the database: "America's drinking While surveys have found that more than half of Americans water remains among the safest in the world and protecting believe that bottled water is safer than their tap water, and nearly drinking water is EPA's top priority. We take our commitment two out of three Americans prefer the taste of bottled water to tap to protecting public health seriously and when issues arise, we water, "tap water and bottled water are generally comparable in work closely with states, local governments, and water suppliers terms of safety," Katherine Zeratsky, a licensed dietician with the to review and address, as appropriate." Mayo Clinic, states. But tell that to the residents of Flint, Michigan, who drank lead- "So, the choice of tap or bottled is mostly a matter of personal laced water for more than a year. Or the 218 million Americans preference," she adds. unwittingly drinking chromium-6 (the carcinogenic “Erin Brockovich” chemical) right from their faucets. In fact, some companies just sell bottled tap water from public sources. Bottled water companies may argue that their water is So how do you know if your water is safe to drink? For the most filtered or purified, but does that justify prices that are 240 to part, America’s drinking water is pulled from groundwater or over 10,000 times more per gallon than the water flowing from surface water sources and treated at plants to federal and state your tap? purity levels before arriving to your tap. Additionally, community water systems are required to publish all Unless you have a private well, the best way to find out if the their water quality tests; bottled water companies are not. The water flowing from your faucet is safe is by searching the DENR EWG found 38 contaminants in 10 popular brands. Not only Drinking Water System Information Page (http://denr.sd.gov/ that, some water bottles are made of #7 plastic, which can leach des/dw/sysinfomap.aspx) and finding your water system’s CCR. a harmful chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA) into the water it This annual drinking water quality report, which your system contains. Even if the bottle is made of recyclable material, most must complete by July 1 of each year, includes information on people do not bother recycling – about eight out of 10 plastic where your water comes from, the levels of detected contaminants bottles end up in a landfill or the incinerator. and your system’s compliance with drinking water rules. According to the EPA, the standards for bottled water in the U.S. For instance, take the CCR for the Mid-Dakota Rural Water are exactly the same as those for tap water – and bottled water System. After sampling results for over 90 substances and elements isn't subject to the same reporting standards as tap water. regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, the information provided indicated that they met all drinking water standards Here are some takeaways. You should definitely verify that your for the year. In fact, Mid-Dakota has received the Secretary’s local water supply is safe. If it’s not safe consider a filter system and Award for Drinking Water Excellence for 16 consecutive years of maintain the system as required. Utilize a reusable BPA free water providing safe water without a violation. bottle while away from home. Finally, other than convenience or personal preference, there is no reason to choose bottled water If you have determined that your tap water contains contaminants over the water flowing from your tap. So, raise a glass of tap water, that exceeds safe levels, you might want to consider filters to enjoy the refreshment and cheers to you! April 2018 | 9 SYSTEM SPOTLIGHT AURORA-BRULE RURAL WATER SYSTEM
urora-Brule (A-B) Rural Water System started as a steering gallons per day (MGD) to 2 MGD. The system has 560,000 Acommittee of farmers in 1970 that were looking for a source gallons of treated water storage at the water plant and seven of good quality drinking water for the rural areas of Aurora, storage tanks in the distribution system holding a total of 1.3 Brule and Buffalo Counties. The communities and farms were million gallons of water. using artesian water that was poor in quality, and most wells were 1,000 to 1,500 feet deep. The water system incorporated in May Manager Wade Blasius, who has been with the system for over 35 of 1972 and a five member Board of Directors was established. years, recalls, “Getting rural water was life changing for some, The Board hired HWS Engineering of Lincoln, Nebraska to because their well water quality was very poor. Many of the farm begin designing a water distribution system. The Board and engineers also went to work trying to find financing to begin construction.
Construction on Project I of A-B Rural Water System was bid in 1977 and construction began in 1978. This project consisted of 70 rural users and a 50,000 gallon storage tank south of Kimball.
After the pipelines were installed, Aurora-Brule purchased water from the Randall Community Water District to serve those 70 farms.
In 1980, the water treatment plant was built along the Missouri River south of Chamberlain. That same year, 325 miles of distribution pipeline was installed in western Brule County, which added another 300 farms and the towns of Pukwana and Kimball to the system. In the spring of 1981, the new water plant was put into operation, providing water to all 370 users on the system. Every year from 1982 through 1986, pipelines, pump stations and storage tanks were added to provide water to farms and communities in Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, Jerauld, Davison and Douglas Counties.
Throughout the 1990s and beyond, construction continued adding storage tanks and customers throughout the system. In 2004, Aurora-Brule collaborated with Davison Rural Water System and Randall Water District to provide water to eastern Aurora County, including the towns of Plankinton and Mt. Vernon.
The system’s latest project was a new Missouri River intake and raw water line. With the completion of this project, water is pumped from an 80-feet deep caisson (underground water collection chamber) located on the shore of the river, by two 200-horsepower vertical turbine pumps.
The original water treatment plant was upgraded in 2006, increasing the plant capacity from 1.2 million 10 | April 2018 DIRECTORS: AURORA-BRULE Ron Gillen, Chairman/SA Director RURAL WATER SYSTEM Tom Geppert, Vice Chairman Raymond Heath, Secretary Craig Swanson, Treasurer Paul Hettinger, Director
STAFF:
Wade Blasius, General Manager Mary Brainard, Bookkeeper Joe Priebe, Plant Operator Kraig Sinclair, Distribution Operator Gary Pierce, Distribution Operator women didn’t have washing machines because of the hard rusty well water. They had to bring their laundry to a Laundromat in town.”
Blasius said A-B Rural Water has seen areas of growth that will need to be STATISTICS: addressed in the future, and the system will continue to make upgrades to better serve its customers. Hookups: 1,350 Aurora-Brule’s water source has always been the Missouri River. The Miles of Pipeline: 1,000 treatment process utilizes water clarifiers and a chemical feed system to separate solids from the water, followed by gravity sand filtration. Chlorine Water Source: Missouri River and ammonia are added to generate chloramines for disinfection. Counties Served: Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, and portions of Jerauld, Davison, and Douglas Towns Served Individual: Aurora Center, Gann Valley Towns Served Bulk: Kimball, Pukwana, Stickney, White Lake, Plankinton
April 2018 | 11 April Fools $100 Grand Prize
SCRAMBLE ANSWER
1 2
3
4
5
6 7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14
15
16 17
ACROSS 13. The state or experience of finding 3. It's known as the best medicine 1. April Fool's Day doings something funny 4. Monkey business 5. Greatly astonish or amaze 16. An unexpected or astonishing event 8. Nitwit, dunce, or moron 6. A humorous or malicious deception 17. The day of the month on which April 10. A thing said or done for amusement 7. Funny or amusing in an odd way Fool's day occurs. 12. An amusing story or scene 9. Humorous entertainer DOWN 14. Deceitful, crafty, or skillful 11. Don't be left with this on your face 2. Silly or high-spirited behavior; mischief 15.The quality of being amusing
Use the colored squares in the puzzle to solve the word scramble above. Call your Rural Water System (See page 2 for contact information) or enter online at www.sdarws.com/crossword.html with the correct phrase by April 9th, 2018 to be entered into the $100 drawing. Online Entries - go to: www.sdarws.com/crossword.html Only one entry allowed per address/household. You must be a member of a participating rural water system to be eligible for the prize. Your information will only be used to notify the winner, and will not be shared or sold.
RULES Congratulations to Jean Lang who had the correct phrase of "Habits change into character" for January 2018.
12 | April 2018 RURAL WATER ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA RANDALL COMPLETES UPGRADE PROJECT
he Randall Community Water District’s Phase II Ground Storage Upgrade Project began in early May 2017. A three-million gallon Aquastore tank was Tadded approximately one mile east of the original tank site, with an October completion date and a total cost of $1.3 million. The new tank will have an expected life of sixty years. The addition of the new Aquastore tank will provide 4.5 million gallons of storage. This will allow RCWD to have one day of water available in the event of a major system breakdown. Its elevation level will create a free-flow of water to the southern part of our district. The P II Ground Storage Transmission Main Project connecting the new tank with the old has been completed. The 24” PVC pipeline is located along South Dakota Highway 50, east of Pickstown. Monday, August 14th marked the beginning of the construction, with the final tie-in on September 26th. A new transmission main from the Platte Intake and from the Plant to the P III Ground Storage was also completed late in 2017. Paralleling the existing ground storage main with a new 24” PVC pipeline will allow RCWD to better serve their northern-most customers. The Intake Transmission Main will increase the flow of water from the river to the plant. This will help them better utilize their state-of-the-art treatment facility south of Platte. Although near completion, the end of the construction season put the final phase of this project on hold until Spring 2018. The bid for the three transmission mains was approximately $4.1 million. Randall Community Water District takes great pride in its system. They work very hard to maintain their current treatment plants and distribution system, as well as making additions and upgrades to better serve its customers. RCWD is headquartered in Lake Andes and pumps their water from the Missouri River to over 2,760 hookups located in the counties of Charles Mix, portions of Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Douglas, and Hutchinson.
April 2018 | 13 Years of Service Milestones The South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems awarded pins to one WR/LJ employee and three directors for years of service in rural water. Congratulations to O&M employee Nick Konst for 10 years of service. Dedicated to serving on WR/ LJ Rural Water board for the past 20 years is Dodie Garrity, representing rural Stanley County north of the Bad River. Paul Goldhammer, representing municipalities in Haakon and Jackson Counties; Stanley County north of the Bad River; Pennington County east of the Cheyenne River has been on the Board for 30 years. Kirk Cordes, representing rural Pennington County east of the Cheyenne River, received a plaque and clock for 35 years of service. Dodie Garrity 20 Years of Service
Kirk Cordes Nick Konst 35 Years of Service Paul Goldhammer 10 Years of Service 30 Years of Service
Manager: continued from page 2 which prevent thermal stratification, inconsistent water age, the work needed on these tanks is not out of the ordinary. As we low disinfectant, and other disinfection by-product issues. We plan and move closer to these recoating projects, we will keep also noticed during very cold temperatures this past winter that everyone informed on temporary service interruptions that may the mixers did a great job in eliminating ice buildup which can arise. damage tanks. The mixers are connected to our SCADA system The WR/LJ operations crew is gearing up to re-locate existing which allows our staff to monitor and control the units from a pipelines in multiple areas that will be affected by the SD computer in the office. We plan to install two more mixers this Highway 83 road construction between Murdo and White River. spring. The first phase of the road project will take place between Murdo Each WR/LJ water reservoir is drained, cleaned and examined by and the White River, and the second phase will be constructed a certified tankinspector at a minimum of every three years. The later between the White River and the City of White River. water towers located in Presho and Vivian are nearly 20 years old Water service is likely to be temporarily interrupted during the and will need to be recoated on the interior and exterior. Typical pipeline re-location projects. We will do our best to give advance coating systems on these steel tanks have a life of 15-20 years, so notice to the users that will be directly impacted. 14 | April 2018 Bottled Water vs Tap Water
Do you drink bottled water for convenience or out of concern for the safety of your tap water? Consider the following: n 40% of bottled water is filtered tap water. n Millions of tons of plastic bottles end up in landfills. n Tap water is the most heavily regulated substance you can ingest. n Water from the West-River Lyman/Jones Rural Water System meets all state and federal drinking water regulations. n If you like the convenience of bottled water, fill a water bottle at the tap.
YEARLY GALLONS MULTI-YEAR GALLONS SOLD PER CLASS COMPARISON
April 2018 | 15 West River/Lyman-Jones Rural Water Systems Inc. PO Box 407 Murdo, SD 57559 605-669-2931 • www.wrlj.com
WATER MATTERS Aquatic Invasive Species: Zebra Mussels
WHAT IS AN AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES? Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) are organisms that invade ecosystems outside of 3 WAYS YOU CAN their natural or historic ranges. They are also known as exotic, non-native, or non-indigenous. They have spread outside of their ranges due to intentional or HELP PREVENT THE unintentional introductions. Ways they are spread include emptying aquariums SPREAD OF AIS! into lakes or streams, by way of watercraft and sea planes, or by recreational activities like fishing, diving, and hunting. 1. DO NOT RELEASE YOUR AQUARIUM PETS INTO THE WILD
2. DO NOT MOVE WATER, ANIMALS, OR PLANTS FROM ONE WATER BODY TO ANOTHER
3. LEARN HOW TO IDENTIFY THE COMMON INVADERS AND REPORT ANY PHOTO COURTESY OF SD GF&P SIGHTING TO SD GFP AT 605-223-7660 AIS SPOTLIGHT: ZEBRA MUSSELS The impacts of AIS vary greatly, depending on the organism. One of South Dakota’s most harmful AIS is the Zebra Mussel. Zebra mussels were first discovered in 1988, in the Great Lakes. They were brought to the United States from Europe in the ballast water of ocean-going ships. They likely made their way to South Dakota as hitchhikers on recreational watercraft. Zebra mussels have caused considerable damage to native ecosystems around the country as well as to industries, such as power plants and water suppliers. Zebra mussels can filter a vast amount of water altering entire aquatic food webs. They also have the ability to attach themselves to hard surfaces such as rocks and swim rafts, thus impeding water recreation. They also smother native mollusks as well as wreak havoc on irrigation intakes and boat motors. Zebra mussels PHOTO COURTESY OF SD GF&P currently infest Lewis & Clark Lake and McCook Lake in South Dakota. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA’S AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES VISIT HTTP://SDLEASTWANTED.COM