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Sodium found in 70% of well water samples in Golden Gate Estates

Sodium found in 70% of well water samples in Golden Gate Estates

By Eric Staats (Contact)

Friday, March 16, 2007

A 2006 study of raw well water at 50 homes in Golden Gate Estates found

elevated levels of sodium at 70 percent of the homes, the Collier County

Health Department announced Friday.

The levels ranged from 33 parts per million to 380 parts per million,

according to test results. The state Department of Environmental

Protection’s maximum contaminant level for sodium is 160 parts per

million. The study also found elevated levels of chloride.

Sodium, a naturally occurring metal, and chloride, an inorganic ion,

combine to create table salt. Limiting the amount of sodium in drinking

water is designed to help people who are on a salt-restricted diet.

There is generally no health threat from elevated levels of chloride,

according to the health department.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that people on

a no-salt diet drink water with less than 20 parts per million of

sodium, according to the health department.

The DEP has established a drinking water standard for chloride of 250

parts per million. The Golden Gate Estates samples contained chloride

ranging from 60 parts per million to 900 parts per million, according to

test results.

Environmental Health and Engineering Director Ken Rech said in a

statement released Friday that raw water often has sodium in it as it is

found naturally in soils in Southwest Florida.

For most people, the higher levels of sodium are not a health risk, but

people with high blood pressure or kidney problems might want to consult

their physician if they drink well water on a regular basis, Rech said

in the statement.

Treating water with a reverse osmosis system or using bottled water may

limit the health concern, the statement said.

People concerned about sodium in their well water can call the health

department at 403-2499 to request a water test. The tests cost $30.

The health department study was prompted by a concern from a Garland

Road resident that his water was killing his plants, health department

spokeswoman Dep Millsap said. She said the study samples water at homes

north of Interstate 75, south of White Boulevard and east of Collier

Boulevard, within a 1-mile radius of the Garland Road location.

The samples were taken in January and February 2006. Samples were sent

to a state lab in Tampa. The health department sent notices of the

results in June to residents whose water was sampled.

She said the department did not release the results more quickly because

of staffing problems and other priorities. Millsap discounted the delay,

saying the results do not indicate a major threat to public health and

are mainly an opportunity to remind people drinking well water to

maintain their treatment systems.

Millsap said the health department doesn’t have an explanation for the

higher sodium and chloride levels, and plans no further study.

For more information about sodium and drinking water, residents also can

go to www.CollierPrepares.org and click on Environmental Health and then

Water Quality.