2023 Water Quality Report
Prepared for Montana State University by the City of Bozeman Water Treatment Plant
Pure and Fresh
We are pleased to present our 2023 Water Quality Report for MSU-Bozeman. We want to inform you about the water we deliver everyday.
We are proud to say the MSU-Bozeman’s drinking water meets or exceeds all applicable federal and state requirements. The water system for MSU-Bozeman had zero violations for 2023. Our goal continues to be to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water.
All sources of drinking water are subject to potential contamination by constituents which occur naturally or are manmade. These constituents include microbes, organic and inorganic chemicals, or radioactive chemicals. In order to ensure safe drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency established regulations limiting the amount of certain contaminants for public water supplies.
This report contains a list of all detected contaminants found in MSU-Bozeman’s drinking water.
Through a cooperative effort between MSU-Bozeman and the City of Bozeman, all required monitoring and reporting is conducted by the City of Bozeman Water Treatment Plant operators to ensure MSU-Bozeman’s drinking water is safe and reliable.
Water Sources
Montana State University-Bozeman is a consecutive system to the City of Bozeman. This means all drinking water for MSU-Bozeman comes from the City of Bozeman Water Treatment Plant. The sources of the City of Bozeman’s drinking water are the following:
Hyalite Creek
The water from Hyalite Creek flows into the Middle Creek Reservoir (Hyalite Reservoir) where it is stored for current and future use. This is a surface water source.
Sourdough Creek
The creek water is drawn from the watershed in Sourdough Canyon. No storage reservoir exists since the breaching of Mystic Lake Dam in 1985. This is also a surface water source.
Water from Hyalite Creek is diverted via an underground pipeline and is mixed with water from Sourdough Creek at the City of Bozeman Water Treatment Plant located on Sourdough Canyon Road.
The Sourdough and Middle Creek water sources are utilized at a 22 million gallon per day (MGD) microfiltration membrane plant with robust pretreatment. This plant allows the City to meet the service demands and comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MTDEQ) regulations.
Source Water Assessment
Bozeman’s watersheds are devoid of significant potential sources of contamination. The exception is the transportation corridor along Hyalite Creek, which has a high susceptibility to contamination by transportation of chemicals, especially vehicle fluids on Hyalite Road.
Water & Your Health
All drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immunocompromised persons, such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplant, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly people, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.
EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.
Listed in the tables inside are all the contaminants detected in MSU-Bozeman and the City of Bozeman’s drinking water during the 2023 calendar year. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) require monitoring of over 80 contaminants.
Definitions
| Action Level (AL): | The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment, or other requirements, which a water system must follow. Ninety percent of samples must be at, or below, this level. Lead and copper are measured at the 90th percentile. |
| Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): | The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety. |
| Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): | The highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water MCLs are set as close to MCLGs as feasible, using the best available treatment technology. |
| Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL): | The highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants. ( 4.0 mg/L) |
| Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG): | The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the bene- fits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants. (4.0 mg/L) |
| MFL | Million Fibers per Liter. |
| Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU): | The level of turbidity in filtered water. |
| ppm and ppb: | Parts per million and parts per billion |
| pCi/L: | Picocuries per liter (a measure of radioactivity) |
| Treatment Technique (TT): | Required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water. |
| Running Annual Average (RAA): | Average of the results of the most recent four quarters. |
| Locational Running Annual Average (LRAA): | Average of the results for a location of the most recent four quarters. |
| UCMR4 | Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule #4. Sampled at the entry point to the system and in the distribution system Disinfection Byproduct (DBP) sample sites. |
Tables of Contaminants
Chlorine and Fluoride are added and pH is adjusted by the City of Bozeman Water Treatment
Plant as water exits the treatment plant. Chlorine is added to maintain a measurable
chlorine residual throughout the entire distribution system. The chlorine residual
is measured daily in the MSU-Bozeman distribution system. Fluoride is naturally occurring
in nearly all water. Fluoride is dosed to meet EPA requirements (0.70 ppm). It is
measured daily in the MSU-Bozeman distribution system. The pH is adjusted for corrosion
control of lead and copper piping. The target pH is between 8.00 and 8.60 depending
on the time of year. The pH is measured daily in the MSU-Bozeman distribution system.
Total Trihalomethanes and Haloacetic Acids are measured at the Miller Dining Complex
and the Plew Building. They are measured quarterly as part of the MSU-Bozeman distribution
system for compliance with the Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts Rule.
* Lead sampling was performed in July 2021 for MSU-Bozeman. If present, elevated levels
of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young
children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated
with service lines and home plumbing. MSU-Bozeman and the City of Bozeman are responsible
for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials
used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you
can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to
2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead
in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking
water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from
the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
MSU-Bozeman
| Contaminant | Range | Detected Level or Average | MCL or AL | MCLG | Typical Contaminant Source |
|
Trihalomethanes (THMs) (ppb) |
11.0 - 36.0 8.2 - 43.0 |
DBP1 - Miller 21.3 DBP2 - Plew 22.6 |
80 | N/A | By-product of drinking water chlorination |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5s) (ppb) |
9.5 - 21.0 7.6 - 22.0 |
DBP1 - Miller 16.1 DBP2 - Plew 16.2 |
60 | N/A | By-product of drinking water chlorination |
| Total Coliform | 243 | 1 positive sample | <5% of samples/mo | 0 | Naturally present in the environment |
|
Free Chlorine (ppm) |
0.18 - 1.06 | 0.70 | 4 (MRDL) | 4 (MRDLG) | Water additive used to control microbes |
| Turbidity (NTU)** | 0.15 - 0.574 | 0.042 | TT=1 NTU TT=95% < 0.15 NTU | Natural result of soil runoff | |
| Alkalinity (ppm) | 62.4 - 102.4 | 85.1 | N/A | ||
| Calcium Hardness (ppm) | 46.0 - 100.0 | 64.2 | N/A | ||
| Total Hardness (ppm) | N/A | ||||
|
Specific Conductivity (uS/cm) |
81.5 - 198.5 |
147.1 | N/A | ||
| pH (SU) |
7.71 - 8.90 |
8.43 | 6.5 - 9.3 | ||
| Temperature (Celsius) |
5.8 - 17.8 |
12.1 | N/A | ||
| Fluoride (ppm) |
0.36 - 0.89 |
0.56 | 4 | 4 | Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth |
| Lead* (ppb) |
Zero Sites exceeded A.L. |
2 (90th percentile) | 15 | 0 | Erosion of natural deposits; corrosion of household plumbing systems |
| Copper* (ppm) |
Zero Sites exceeded A.L. |
0.042 (90th percentile) | 1.3 | 0 | Erosion of natural deposits; corrosion of household plumbing systems |
| Asbestos (MFL) |
|
<0.2 | 7 | Decay of asbestos cement water mains; erosion of natural deposits |
*Lead has not been detected in Bozeman’s source water. City of Bozeman sampling was
done February though March of 2022 in accordance with EPA regulations. Lead and Copper
are regulated over the entire distribution system (not by source) so these results
are not repeated for the Lyman Source.
**Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection
and provide a medium for microbial growth. The City of Bozeman’s filtered water must
be less than, or equal to, 0.15 NTU in at least 95% of monthly measurements, and it
can never exceed 1 NTU. The single highest measurement was 0.044 NTU. Bozeman’s average
daily turbidity was 0.017 NTU.