Kaktovik's do-not-drink notice stays until sharper lab results arrive

The Do Not Drink the Water notice remains in effect until officially lifted. Residents are still told to use another source for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice and other consumption uses. The water may still be used for showering, dishes and laundry.

Drinking water is available at the Kaktovik Water Treatment Plant. The village has bottled water, 5-gallon jugs and water-truck delivery. The nanofiltration and reverse-osmosis system is producing potable water, and the truck is approved to distribute it. Anyone worried about exposure can be evaluated at the Kaktovik Medical Clinic.

Samples collected Sept. 14 went to the laboratory for analysis using lower detection limits. Results are pending. The previous round did not clear the water: Sept. 7 samples showed no ethylene or propylene glycol above the laboratory's detection limits, but those limits were 12 mg/L and 5 mg/L, too coarse to rule out the 26 mg/L found earlier.

The North Slope Borough, working with the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, told residents Sept. 5 not to drink village tap water after lab testing detected ethylene glycol, an antifreeze compound. Boiling does not remove it. A Sept. 10 borough update put the concentration at 26 mg/L in the distribution system and traced an Aug. 16 South Tank contamination to a mislabeled chemical container used at the water treatment plant. DEC and the Alaska Department of Health advised that the concentration does not represent a known acute health risk for adults. It also exceeded drinking water health guidance, which is why the order was issued.

The South Tank was isolated and the village supplied from the North Tank, which the borough believed was unaffected. Glycol reached the distribution system anyway. A failed heat exchanger tied to the North Tank has been removed from the potable water system.

Kaktovik's emptied North Tank is scheduled to begin refilling Friday, Sept. 18, through the pipeline from the lake. The Kaktovik Water Incident Management Team says the process may take about a week, depending on weather.

Questions go to the Joint Information Center at [email protected], which will announce any change to water guidance.