Researchers Find Low Water Quality On Nebraska Reservations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - University of Arkansas researchers have found that the percentage of contaminated wells on two American Indian reservations in Nebraska exceeds state and national averages. This may point to a national problem with water quality on tribal lands, the researchers contend.

Shelley McGinnis, a research assistant in the environmental dynamics program, and Ralph K. Davis, assistant professor of geosciences, reported their findings this week at the south-central section meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Previous environmental quality surveys of American Indian tribes have shown that water quality on the reservations was a perceived problem with water-borne disease outbreaks a primary concern. But to date there have been no comprehensive surveys comparing levels of water quality on reservations to state and national water quality levels.

McGinnis and Davis looked at water quality data from wells on two tribal reservations - the Santee Sioux Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska in the eastern part of the state. They compared the data to national and state water quality statistics and found that the reservations had a significantly higher percentage of wells with nitrate-nitrogen levels and coliform bacteria levels that exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for safe drinking water. On the Omaha reservation, 24 percent of the wells sampled exceeded the EPA’s MCLs in both nitrate-nitrogen and coliform. On the Santee Sioux Reservation, 29 percent of the sampled wells exceeded MCLs for nitrate-nitrogen and 40 percent exceeded MCLs for coliform.

The EPA’s 1990 National Survey of Pesticides in Drinking Water Wells found that 2.4 percent of domestic wells nationwide exceeded acceptable nitrate-nitrogen levels, while in 1991 the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Program found excessive nitrate-nitrogen levels in 15 percent of wells in agricultural areas and in 7 percent of wells in non-agricultural areas nationwide.

Nebraska water-quality statistics collected from 1,808 wells in 1994 and 1995 showed that 19 percent exceeded the acceptable contaminant levels for nitrate-nitrogen and 15 percent exceeded acceptable contaminant levels for coliform.

High nitrate-nitrogen levels can cause "blue baby syndrome," where the baby looks blue and has trouble breathing, in infants under six months of age. It can be fatal if not treated immediately. And high coliform bacteria levels indicate the possible presence of potentially harmful infectious bacteria in the water supply.

"People take clean water for granted," McGinnis said. "But it is not always available to everyone."

No pesticides show up in tests done on the wells, so the researchers believe the pollution source is probably animal wastes or septic systems, as opposed to agricultural fertilizers, McGinnis said. Land use practices, including having livestock near wells, may contribute to the problem, as may poor quality of well construction. A too-shallow well or one with cracks can allow contamination to seep in. And well owners may not have the necessary funds to improve their wells, McGinnis said.

"Water systems are expensive and many tribes lack the financial resources to address this issue," she said.

In a 1992 study, the EPA’s Environmental Equity Workgroup found that American Indian tribes face their own set of environmental problems. The tribes often lack the physical infrastructure, institutions, trained personnel and resources to resolve these problems. This may be linked to the lack of funding slated for reservations in the original versions of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act and Superfund Act. These oversights are now being corrected and the tribes are striving to utilize funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and other sources to develop comprehensive environmental programs within their lands, Davis said.

The researchers hope to extend their research to tribes across the country to give a comprehensive view of water quality on reservations.

"The goal is to provide technical assistance and training to help build tribal environmental self-sufficiency," McGinnis said.