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Southbrook Estates - Brookings, SD

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Serves 58 people - Test data available: 2004-2009

This drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) by the South Dakota Department of Environment & Natural Resources. It is part of EWG's national database that includes 47,667 drinking water utilities and 20 million test results. Water utilities nationwide detected more than 300 pollutants between 2004 and 2009. More than half of these chemicals are unregulated, legal in any amount. Despite this widespread contamination, the federal government invests few resources to protecting rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater from pollution in the first place. The information below summarizes test results for this utility and lists potential health concerns.

	This Drinking Water System	National Average
Exceed Health GuidelinesTests showing chemicals at concentrations above health guidelines established by federal and state health agencies. These guidelines are typically set at a levels that pose no significant health risk.	2 chemicals	4
Health Standard ExceedencesChemicals detected at concentrations above the legal limit, the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCLs) established by the U.S. EPA. Most MCLs are based on annual averages, so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance.	0 chemicals	0.5
Pollutants FoundThe total number of contaminants detected since 2004, according to data provided by the state water agency.	6 chemicals	8
Tests ConductedThe total number of number of water quality tests conducted by water utilities and recorded in data provided by the state water agency.	188 tests	420

Contaminants Exceeding Health Guidelines

Contaminant	Average/ Maximum Result	Health Limit Exceeded	Legal Limit Exceeded	Testing History -Tested      -Detected      -Over Health Guidelines      -Over Legal Limit*
Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium)Alpha particles are a form of radiation associated with radioactive mining waste pollutants and natural sources.	5.6 pCi/L 5.6 pCi/L	Yes MCLGA non-enforceable health goal that is set at a level at which no known or anticipated adverse effect on the health of persons occurs and which allows an adequate margin of safety. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.: 0 pCi/L	No 15 pCi/L
Radium-228Radium-228 is a radioactive element usually found around uranium deposits.	1.3 pCi/L 1.3 pCi/L	Yes MCLGA non-enforceable health goal that is set at a level at which no known or anticipated adverse effect on the health of persons occurs and which allows an adequate margin of safety. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.: 0 pCi/L	No 5 pCi/L
NOTE: Each dot in the above graph represents one month. * Water utilities are noted as exceeding the legal limit if any test is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Most MCLs are based on annual averages so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance.

Other Detected Contaminants

Contaminant	Average/ Maximum Result	Health Limit Exceeded	Legal Limit Exceeded	Testing History -Tested      -Detected      -Over Health Guidelines      -Over Legal Limit*
NitrateNitrate enters drinking water sources from fertilizer runoff, leaching septic tanks, and erosion of natural deposits; it is also emitted by chemical, petrochemical and metal-finishing industries.	1.99 ppm 7.46 ppm	No 10 ppm	No 10 ppm
Barium (total)Barium is a mineral that enters drinking water through drilling and mining waste runoff, discharges from chemical industries and erosion of natural deposits.	116 ppb 116 ppb	No 700 ppb	No 2000 ppb
Chromium (total)Chromium is a metal that pollutes drinking water due to discharge from steel and pulp mills and erosion of natural deposits.	7.5 ppb 7.5 ppb	No 100 ppb	No 100 ppb
Selenium (total)Selenium is a naturally occurring element that contaminates water due to mining or petrolum refining, fly-ash from coal-burning power plants, and irrigation of arid farmland soils high in selenium.	0.6 ppb 0.6 ppb	No 50 ppb	No 50 ppb
NOTE: Each dot in the above graph represents one month. * Water utilities are noted as exceeding the legal limit if any test is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Most MCLs are based on annual averages so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance.

Contaminants Not Detected - 53 chemicals

1,2 Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), 2,4,5-TP (Silvex), 2,4-d, 3-Hydroxycarbofuran, Alachlor (Lasso), Aldicarb, Aldicarb sulfone, Aldicarb sulfoxide, Aldrin, Antimony (total), Arsenic (total), Atrazine, Benzo[a]pyrene, Beryllium (total), Butachlor, Cadmium (total), Carbaryl, Carbofuran, Chlordane, Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Combined Uranium (pCi/L), Dalapon, Di(2-Ethylhexyl) adipate, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Dicamba, Dieldrin, Dinoseb, Diquat, Endothall, Endrin, Ethylene dibromide (EDB), Glyphosate, Heptachlor, Heptachlor epoxide, Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, Lindane, Mercury (total inorganic), Methomyl, Methoxychlor, Metolachlor, Metribuzin, Nitrite, Oxamyl (Vydate), Pentachlorophenol, Picloram, Propachlor, Radium-226, Radon, Simazine, Thallium (total), Total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Toxaphene

Pollution Summary

6	Total Contaminants Detected (2004 - 2009) Barium (total), Chromium (total), Nitrate, Selenium (total), Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Radium-228
2	Agricultural Pollutants (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms) Nitrate, Selenium (total)
1	Sprawl and Urban Pollutants (road runoff, lawn pesticides, human waste) Nitrate
6	Industrial Pollutants Barium (total), Chromium (total), Nitrate, Selenium (total), Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Radium-228
0	Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts (pipes and fixtures, treatment chemicals and byproducts)
6	Naturally Occurring (naturally present but increased for lands denuded by sprawl, agriculture, or industrial development) Barium (total), Chromium (total), Nitrate, Selenium (total), Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Radium-228

EPA Violation Summary

Violation Category	Number of Violations
MCL and Treatment (click see violations)close	1
Violation Date of Violation Treatment Technique No Certif. Operator 2007/02/01 - 2007/05/02
Reporting (click see violations)close	5
Violation Date of Violation Failure to report information to the public or state agency in the Consumer Confidence Report 2004/07/01 - 2004/09/30 Inadequate reporting of information to the public 2005/10/01 - 2005/12/09 Failure to report information to the public or state agency in the Consumer Confidence Report 2007/07/01 - 2007/07/03 Public Notification Violation for National Primary Drinking Water Regulations 2007/08/11 - 2025/12/31 Failure to report information to the public or state agency in the Consumer Confidence Report 2008/07/01 - 2008/10/01
Monitoring (click see violations)close	7
Violation Date of Violation Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule Chlorine 2004/04/01 - 2004/06/30 Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule Chlorine 2004/07/01 - 2004/09/30 Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule Chlorine 2004/10/01 - 2004/12/31 Follow-up and Routine Tap Sampling 2005/10/01 - 2006/09/13 Failure to monitor, Routine Minor (Coliform bacteria) 2007/04/01 - 2007/04/30 Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule Chlorine 2007/04/01 - 2007/06/30 Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule Chlorine 2008/04/01 - 2008/06/30

Information on violations is drawn directly from EPA's national violations database in the Agency's Safe Drinking Water Information System. Analyses by others have raised questions about the quality of the information in EPA's database. For the purposes of this investigation, EWG is not showing below or including in our analyses, those violations for individual water suppliers that occurred on days for which the total number of violations assigned by EPA to that water supplier was greater than 20. This criteria was based on common characteristics of incorrect violations data as identified by water utilities, from a review of EPA's violations data by several hundred utilities prior to the release of EWG's investigation.