MONROE - A city well has been taken offline due to the amount of radium in the water.
The amount of radium was above acceptable Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) guidelines, according to a Water Department notice sent with December water bills.
The notice was meant to inform the public, not cause people to worry, Water Department Supervisor Mike Kennison said.
The city took well No. 3, which was the deep-ground well that had the higher radium amounts, offline. Kennison said it will remain offline until the radium can be reduced. Liners can be installed in the well to prevent the problem from reoccurring.
Once the liners are installed, the DNR will check the well for the next few months before it's allowed to be used again, Kennison said.
According to the notice, the average sample from the city's water contained 5.78 parts per million of radium. The DNR requires water samples to be 5.0 or less, Kennison said.
People were told they didn't need to use alternative water supplies and that the amount of radium wasn't an immediate risk.
"If it had been, you would have been notified immediately," customers were told.
Kennison said radium got into the water because it is found in natural rock formations around the city's wells. As the rock formations deteriorate, the radium is released.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radium can be harmful and has the potential to lead to diseases including, bone cancer and leukemia. The diseases take years to develop. Kennison said that according to the DNR, no one was at risk due to the small amount of excess radium in the city's water.
"Someone would have to drink two liters of this water a day for 70 years to get sick," Kennison said he was told.
The amount of radium was above acceptable Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) guidelines, according to a Water Department notice sent with December water bills.
The notice was meant to inform the public, not cause people to worry, Water Department Supervisor Mike Kennison said.
The city took well No. 3, which was the deep-ground well that had the higher radium amounts, offline. Kennison said it will remain offline until the radium can be reduced. Liners can be installed in the well to prevent the problem from reoccurring.
Once the liners are installed, the DNR will check the well for the next few months before it's allowed to be used again, Kennison said.
According to the notice, the average sample from the city's water contained 5.78 parts per million of radium. The DNR requires water samples to be 5.0 or less, Kennison said.
People were told they didn't need to use alternative water supplies and that the amount of radium wasn't an immediate risk.
"If it had been, you would have been notified immediately," customers were told.
Kennison said radium got into the water because it is found in natural rock formations around the city's wells. As the rock formations deteriorate, the radium is released.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radium can be harmful and has the potential to lead to diseases including, bone cancer and leukemia. The diseases take years to develop. Kennison said that according to the DNR, no one was at risk due to the small amount of excess radium in the city's water.
"Someone would have to drink two liters of this water a day for 70 years to get sick," Kennison said he was told.