How often is the water tested?
For Central Arkansas Water, monitoring and testing of the water begins at the raw water source and-for some potential contaminants-continues to the tap. Our laboratory and treatment personnel conduct approximately 155,000 water quality test every year at the various stages of water production, treatment, and delivery-an average of 425 tests per day. In addition, the Arkansas Department of Health performs approximately 600 water quality analyses on samples collected from our raw water sources, Lake Maumelle and Lake Winona; our treatment facilities, the Jack H. Wilson Treatment Plant and the Ozark Point Treatment Plant; and our distribution system of more than 2,200 miles of water mains.
Tate Monroe Water tests daily for free chlorine,combined chlorine, fluoride, pH, and hardness. Weekly tests include iron , manganese, stability (pH and alkalinity), and for microbiological contaminants. We test quarterly for total trihalomethanes (TTHM’s), iron, manganese, and inorganics on each well, total organic carbons (TOC’s) and microbiological contaminants, (Treatment Plant and Wellfield), and haloacetic acids (HAA5’s). Nitrates are tested for on an annual basis and at various other times as required by Ohio EPA we test for bromate , chlorine dioxide, chlorite, arsenic, asbestos, inorganics, nitrite, radiological, volatile organic chemicals (VOC’S), lead, copper, synthetic organic chemicals (SOC’s), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), and NH3 (ammonia).
During the summer, ocean water is sampled either once a week, every two weeks, or monthly based on the priority ranking of the beach. The priority is determined by beach use, pollution hazards, previous monitoring results, and input from coastal stakeholders. When a sample exceeds the state standard a water contact advisory is issued and resampling occurs within 96 hours. During the winter, water is sampled every two weeks at the beaches that are used most for winter water recreation. No resampling is conducted during the winter.
