eLABorations

Montana Environmental Laboratory Newsletter

Updates from the MT Laboratory Services Bureau
800-821-7284
Lab Website

July, 2024

The Montana State Environmental Laboratory, is an EPA Region 8 certified laboratory, performing private well testing and Public Water Supply testing for many families, schools, cities, and towns across Montana.  We work closely with State and County health officials, and Tribal Governments, in responding to water emergencies throughout the state. The Montana State Environmental Laboratory is certified to perform Metals, Nutrient, Organic, Inorganic, and Microbiological testing on water and wastewater. We routinely work with private landowners as well as local, state, and federal programs providing testing services to characterize Montana water for the beneficial use of our citizens.

News and Updates

Manganese Testing Reminder

• Public Water Supplies

  • If you haven’t received a kit, be on the outlook for a Manganese testing kit. Our lab is in the process of sending out approximately 1600 bottles and forms to all the PWS systems that haven’t tested in 2023-2024. Expect one in the next few months. Compliance will be run after the December 31, 2024 required sampling timeframe.

• Private well owners- Consider testing your water for Manganese

  • Manganese is a naturally occurring element found in soil, water, and air. While our bodies require small amounts of manganese to stay healthy, too much is a health concern. Adults and children get sufficient manganese from the foods we eat, and infants and young children from breast milk, food, or formula.

  • 29 % of Public Water Supplies had measurable amounts of manganese in their water. while 5 % had high enough levels to warrant possible treatment.

  • Please contact us for bottles and sampling instructions. If you live in Lewis and Clark County, the L&C County Water District is in the process of setting up a testing program for county residents.

EPA Update

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

  • On April 10, 2024, EPA announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS.  To inform the final rule, EPA evaluated over 120,000 comments submitted by the public on the rule proposal, as well as considered input received during multiple consultations and stakeholder engagement activities held both prior to and following the proposed rule. EPA expects that over many years the final rule will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.

  • For the full article click here.

• $28.6M for Montana Lead Pipe Replacement

  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $28,650,000 from the federal government to help Montana identify and replace lead service lines, preventing exposure to lead in drinking water.  

  • For more information on this press release click here.

Reminders:

• Upcoming Montana State Environmental Lab Closures:

  • Independence Day: July 4th, 2024 (Thursday)

  • Labor Day: September 2nd, 2024 (Monday)

• Courier Service

  • The State Environmental Laboratory has a free courier service for water samples. Samples dropped off before the courier pick up time will reach the lab at 7:00 AM the following day. Samples delivered to the pickup location after the pick-up time will not reach the lab for two days. We recommend getting your samples to the drop off point one hour before the pick-up time. All total coliform samples must be to the lab within 30 hours of collection. HPC samples should be received within 24 hours of collection. Please keep this in mind when taking your samples. Please click here for our full courier schedule.

• Previous eLABorations Newsletters

  • All previous eLABorations newsletters can be found on our website on the column on the left hand side by selecting "Environmental Laboratory Newsletter". Here is the link to all our previous eLABorations newsletter.