The city of Darwin has taken steps to reduce the amount of arsenic in its drinking water to be in compliance with the Minnesota Department of Health.

Darwin’s water system was one of 18 community systems that exceeded the standard for arsenic in 2006, according to the Department of Health’s annual report released in June. The report is based on the results of water monitoring under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act for the past year.

After discovering the higher arsenic levels in Darwin, the city quickly fixed the problem.

“We don’t want to cause alarm over something that happened a year ago,” said Carmen Buhr, Darwin city clerk.

Although Minnesota’s water supplies are generally in good condition, some public systems in Minnesota are exceeding newly revised standards for naturally occurring contaminants, according to the Department of Health.

To lower the levels of arsenic, Darwin backwashed its system and added additional chlorine to the water. In most cases, chlorine can treat water containing arsenic.

And the amount of chlorine used to treat the arsenic was at a safe level, Jill Holte of Darwin’s Public Works Department.

The arsenic levels in Darwin’s water now comply with state and federal guidelines, Holte said. “The arsenic is at a safe level...well below (the limit).”

Read more in the July 5 Independent Review.

Story by Neil Polzin, a staff writer intern