Oglala tribal staff caps water well with uranium in it

PINE RIDGE – An official statement baring forbidden levels of uranium in drinking water from an Oglala Sioux tribal well has caused turmoil, but the supply has been capped along with any problem, a field supervisor assured the Native Sun News Today on Feb. 7.
The statement, dated Jan. 28, was entitled “Pine Ridge Water System has levels of uranium above the Drinking Water Standards.”
It was disseminated on letterhead from the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Water Maintenance and Conservation.
The announcement led to “turmoil” said department Field Supervisor Richard Kamerzell. “There’s been a lot of negative over that one well, but we’re not even using it,” he added.
“That well has been deactivated. It is no longer part of our system, and there’s nothing to worry about,” he said.
The well, located near O.C.S., was an old BIA well dating to before Kamerzell began working at the department 18 years ago, he said.
The tribal water department has 21 other drinking water wells. “We have increased pumping from other wells, and we are investigating a new well,” the announcement explains.
The department stopped using the contaminated well eight months ago in June, after monitoring showed EPA maximum contaminant levels (MCL) continually violated, it said.
“Our main priority is providing safe drinking water to our people,” Kamerzell said. “Our own families drink it,” he added.
Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, the maximum allowable level of uranium radionuclides is 30 u/gl (micrograms per liter). The closed well showed an average of 31 between the first and fourth quarter of 2019, as the department did follow-up monitoring.
Given the ongoing evidence, the department pulled the pump and motor from the well on Jan. 23, Kamerzell said.
“Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard,” the announcement said. “As our customers, you have the right to know what happened, and what you should do, and what we did (are doing) to correct this situation.
“This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified within 24 hours,” according to protocol, it said.
Rules EPA established for uranium radionuclides in 2000 required monitoring for them at the well or other entry point to the tribal water distribution system immediately and again after one year. If found to be delivering satisfactorily below detection level, the entry point would not require monitoring for that substance for nine years.
If found to be at half the maximum allowed level, monitoring would be required in six years. If over half, in three years. Finally, upon reaching the max, quarterly checks are required.
Kamerzell said most of the reservation well water quality is the envy of other public supply systems. “We do a lot of sampling for wells to stay in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“We do have very high-quality water, some of the best around,” he said. Like the adjacent Rosebud Indian Reservation, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has well water devoid of many chemicals of concern elsewhere, he added.
His department administers seven wells in Kyle, which tap into the Arikaree Group of water-bearing geologic formations. It operates four in White Horse Creek, five in Oglala and five in Pine Ridge, which tap into the Ogallala Aquifer, he said. They range from 200 to 500 feet deep.
Part of the tribal supply comes from blending the well water with surface water carried from the Missouri River through the Mni Wiconi Rural Water System pipeline.
The department advised people who have either a severely compromised immune system, an infant, a pregnancy or an elder to seek a health care provider’s advice about any effects.
“Radionuclides generally enter drinking water through the erosion or chemical weathering of naturally occurring mineral deposits, although human activity (such as mining, industrial or military activities that use or produce man-made radioactive materials) can also contribute to their presence in water, according to an EPA compliance guide.
Kamerzell said, “I can’t tell you how it got there,” in this case, because the department doesn’t know. He said the public can be assured all the remaining wells are safe.
“We’re putting a lot of hard work into protecting our people and providing safe drinking water,” he said.
Evidence suggests that long-term exposure to radionuclides in drinking water may cause cancer. In addition, exposure to uranium may have toxic effects on a person’s kidneys, according to the EPA.
The tribal government, grassroots organizations and individual tribal members have opposed local uranium mining in aquifers for fear of health, environmental and cultural impacts.