Drought contributing to high dissolved solids in water used in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and other towns
12/5/2022 12:58:37 PM
CATEGORIES:
Relief, Response & Restrictions
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Beadle County, SD
Huron, SD
Brown County, SD
Aberdeen, SD
Davison County, SD
Mitchell, SD
Minnehaha County, SD
Sioux Falls, SD
Start Date: 12/4/2022
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Sioux Falls’ water source, the Big Sioux River, has a high dissolved solids content, exceeding standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. A city water official stated that drought was responsible for the increased mineral content. The water was being treated to remove the salt and was safe to drink. The dissolved solids content was over 500 milligrams per liter, and the EPA advises systems to keep the content between 300 and 500 mg/l.
Other sources of drinking water in the report failing to meet the EPA standards include a section of the James River that Huron uses, and lengths of the Maple River and Elm River used by Aberdeen.
Firesteel Creek and Lake Mitchell were also not meeting EPA standards, but they are emergency backups for the City of Mitchell and were not in use.
South Dakota Searchlight (Pierre, S.D.), Dec 4, 2022
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