Contamination from disinfection byproducts found in Pawhuska water

OklahomaCommunity IndigenousEnvironment
Contamination from disinfection byproducts found in Pawhuska water image
Collaborator: Osage News
Published: 06/19/2025, 1:53 PM
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Written By: Chelsea T. Hicks

(OSAGE RESERVATION) Pawhuska residents who have a compromised immune system, an infant or who are elderly should seek advice about drinking water from their health care provider, according to the City of Pawhuska. A memo from the city was sent to billing addresses in June, notifying residents that excessive levels of the contaminant total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) were present in their water as found by a January 2025 quarterly water test.

Read this story on Osage News here. 

DEQ Communications Director Erin Hatfield confirmed that the City of Pawhuska did not receive their notice of violation for the January contamination until May 8, 2025. “It has to go through several things on our end to get that notice of violation,” said Hatfield. “Then, they have a thirty-day deadline to [notify the public].”

The City of Pawhuska informed residents of the contaminant violations in June, explaining via a memo how the sample was collected and the degree of the violation: “[The test result] is determined by averaging all of the samples collected at each sampling location for the past 12 months. We have two sample locations and we sample every three months. The level of total trihalomethanes average at our system’s two locations at that time was 0.083 and 0.075 mg/L. After the next samples in April 2025, the level of total trihalomethanes average at our system’s two locations was 0.077 and 0.071 mg/L, so we are back in compliance.”

Hatfield emphasized that even though the TTHMs found in the Pawhuska water were a violation of maximum contaminant levels, she wants the public to understand that Pawhuska water is being properly disinfected. “[Total trihalomethanes] are byproducts of the disinfection process. The water [Pawhuska residents] are being served is being properly disinfected,” Hatfield said.

According to the National Library of Medicine, TTHMs are byproducts of the disinfectant process found in municipal water supplies; exposure to these byproducts is linked to cancer, as well as adverse reproductive outcomes.

Ben Gray, the superintendent at the city’s water treatment plant, estimated that the TTHMs contaminants were likely present in the water for no more than a period of two weeks. He said they were cleared via flushing stations, which his team has increasingly begun to employ.

“It’s not an exact science, we have to adjust it,” said Gray. “We started flushing at 1,000 gallons … we’re up to almost 3,000 gallons, so 6,000 with two [flushing stations] running.”

The City of Pawhuska pumped 44 million gallons of water in the month of May. The flushing stations currently used to clean Pawhuska water are located in Nelagoney, and to the north of Pawhuska, near Williams Park. Additionally, Gray noted, the Fire Department can flush the whole of the city’s water supply.

Although Gray believed the water to be clear of excessive TTHM levels within two weeks of the violation, it was not until April 2025 that the next quarterly test officially declared the water to within standard levels of contaminants.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), there are nine contaminants, including TTHMs, that are present in Pawhuska water and which are in excess of health guidelines. A passing grade from the federal government does not mean the water meets the latest health guidelines, the EWG advises. As a nonprofit aiming to educate the public about water safety, the EWG’s water safety analyses are based on test results conducted by the DEQ as well as information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Enforcement and Compliance History database. All nine contaminants in Pawhuska water increase the risk of cancer.

“It was just barely over the level,” said Kelli Rasberry of the TTHM levels. Rasberry is the utility clerk in the City of Pawhuska’s Utility Office and has made water distribution reports for the city. She explained, “you get that water that just kind of sits in the pipes, … I do know that it’s a random address that they are told to do [testing at] … no one actually lives there. Usually, once they get flushed for a few minutes, that stuff gets flushed away.”

Pawhuska City Manager Jerry Eubanks said it is best to react immediately when in violation of water standards. “The best way to do it is to get [the announcement] out immediately. It should’ve been posted on our Facebook [page]. We’re not required to do it on Facebook, but we also try to get it out on Facebook. Sometimes that [doesn’t] always happen. The surefire way is to get it through our billing [mailing addresses],” he said.

The City of Pawhuska Facebook page did not announce the contamination alert online, but they did announce eight real-time water issue updates in 2025. However, none of those real-time updates pertained to water contamination issues. Instead, timely updates informed residents about low water pressure, leaks, breaks and instances of no water.

According to DEQ Environmental Programs Specialist in Water Quality Clay Padgett, public notification protocols at the DEQ vary from 24-hour deadlines to up to a month or even a year. A city system, such as Pawhuska, that waits until they have received a full notice of violation from the DEQ to notify the public is common practice, said Padgett.

Besides Gray’s two week estimate of the period of contamination and flushing, it is not formally known for how long the water had excessive levels of TTHMs. The public notice advises residents that they do not need to do anything “unless you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant or are elderly. These people may be at increased risk and should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers …

“This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. However, some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL [maximum contaminant level] over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have increased risk of getting cancer.”

The memo also explained that the maximum contaminant level from the January 2025 test result violated the TTHMs standard of 0.080 mg/L. According to Gray, that standard had recently been placed on a lower threshold. “They dropped the number,” he said of the Environmental Protection Agency and the DEQ.

“The water is still good,” Gray said, advising that the city will continue testing and increase flushing stations if needed.

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