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Gov’t eyes equipment for water testing
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Posted on Feb 14 2000
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday said he is in favor of acquiring an equipment for chemical testing for the Division of Environmental Quality to help lower the cost of the required water testing.
Mr. Tenorio has assured the business sector that the CNMI government will find ways to cut cost and still implement the needed requirement to protect public health by ensuring that their water is analyzed for microbiological and chemical contaminants.
The business sector has asked the government to look for various ways to reduce the financial burden as most revenues have declined as a result of slowdown in the island’s tourism economy.
DEQ has said it is looking at the possibility of acquiring an equipment which will be used in water testing as samples would have to be brought to the United States for analysis due to lack of facility here.
The water testing is part of DEQ’s CNMI Safe Drinking Water program aimed at regulating all water systems or facilities that provide water for human consumption to 25 or more people. Based on the CNMI regulations, public water systems are required to take sample for solvents and other man-made organic chemicals every three years.
Within the initial period covering 1999-2001, a water system must collect on sample every three months for four 60 consecutive quarters. DEQ has emphasized the importance of the sampling program in the CNMI because of the contamination of groundwater that may have occurred in the past.
In the limited amount of testing that has been performed on the island to date, numerous man-made industrial solvents have been found.
In one case, contamination was found at a concentration greater than 60 times the CNMI Drinking water standard.
“The potential risk of adverse health effects, ranging from gastrointestinal disorders to diseases of the liver, circulatory system, reproductive system and cancer, are very real and can no longer be ignored,” said DEQ Director Ike Cabrera.
