City Manager Jacob Wood Gives Update on Salina Water Testing, TDS and Rust Concerns

Salina City Manager Jacob Wood provided commissioners with an update Monday on the city's water system, addressing recent state testing, concerns about total dissolved solids and the city's continuing response to reports of rusty water.

Wood said he had previously committed to providing regular water updates during City Commission meetings.

KDHE Testing Finds No Bacteria or Elevated Heavy Metals

Wood said a water sample sent to a Kansas State University laboratory several weeks ago eventually made its way to the Environmental Protection Agency, which contacted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

According to Wood, KDHE subsequently conducted testing at four locations along Dover Drive.

Wood said those results have now been returned.

“There were no bacteriological issues, so no E. coli, any bacteria in the water.”

Wood also said testing did not identify elevated levels of heavy metals.

According to Wood, results from the four locations were consistent with information already reported in Salina's annual Consumer Confidence Report.

“There just isn't any issues with the water that was tested.”

Wood said the EPA-related testing results will be made available to the public.

Wood Addresses TDS Concerns

Wood spent a significant portion of the update discussing total dissolved solids, or TDS, after residents began using commercially available meters to test their water.

TDS measures dissolved material in water, including minerals.

Wood said Salina does not treat specifically for TDS, explaining that the levels are largely related to the city's water sources, including the Smoky Hill River and relatively shallow groundwater wells.

According to Wood, the EPA has a secondary drinking water recommendation of 500 milligrams per liter for TDS, but the standard is not an enforceable health-based limit.

Wood said the concern would be if the dissolved material included a regulated contaminant, such as elevated nitrates.

“The city's water, even if your TDS is high, it is not unsafe to drink. It's not unsafe to bathe in.”

Wood said Salina's Consumer Confidence Report shows TDS measurements generally ranging from approximately 490 to 550.

He said levels can vary significantly between communities depending on their water sources and treatment systems.

City Does Not Plan to Treat Specifically for TDS

Wood said the city is not currently planning to add treatment specifically to reduce TDS.

He said reverse osmosis is one of the most common methods of removing dissolved solids but described such systems as expensive to operate and maintain, particularly for communities using the volume of water Salina does.

Wood cited Abilene and Hutchinson as Kansas communities using reverse osmosis systems.

“At this point, we don't treat for that. We're not planning to treat for that.”

Wood said that position could change if testing identified a regulated substance within the dissolved solids that presented a health concern.

Wood: Salina Water Is Safe

Wood repeatedly distinguished between the safety of Salina's drinking water and the separate issue of discolored or rusty water experienced by some residents.

“There is just not an issue with safety with our water.”

Wood said KDHE and the EPA would notify the city if testing identified a condition requiring action.

At the same time, he acknowledged that some areas of Salina continue to experience problems related to aging infrastructure.

“We certainly do have issues in certain areas of the community where we have rust that is in the water, and that is from the old pipes.”

About 49 Residents Sign Up for City's Water Program

Wood also provided an update on the city's recently launched program related to rusty water complaints.

He said approximately 49 residents have signed up, and the city has tested water at a number of those locations.

According to Wood, most of the recent samples have shown relatively clear water at the time they were collected, with only a small number showing notable issues.

Wood cautioned that those tests represent only a snapshot in time.

He acknowledged that a resident could have clear water when city employees conduct a test but experience greater turbidity or rust at another time.

City Asking Residents to Report Problems When They Occur

Wood said the city intends to continue working with participating households rather than treating an initial clear sample as the end of the investigation.

Residents who experience another episode of rusty or discolored water are being asked to contact the city while the problem is occurring so staff can return, test the water and document the condition.

“I'm not saying that we don't have an issue. We do have some rust in our water at times.”

Wood said the city's goal is to continue collecting information from affected properties to better understand when and where the problems occur.

The city is expected to make the recent EPA/KDHE-related testing results publicly available so residents can review the findings.