‘Saipan water salty but drinkable’

Water produced by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has more sodium chloride, commonly known as salt, than recommended, but it is still safe to drink, said Derek Chambers, an Environmental Protection Agency adviser to the Division of Environmental Quality who works within the Safe Drinking Water branch.

“It’s safe to drink; it just might not taste good,” he said.

CUC water has 2,000 parts per million of sodium chloride. The common recommendation is 500 parts per million, Chambers said. In comparison, seawater has 35,000 parts per million.

Some people are under the assumption that the water is not potable, forcing them to buy bottled water, but in fact, the water is perfectly fine to drink.

“If it [salt levels] get high enough, people just don’t drink it,” Chambers said. The EPA does not set standards for sodium chloride because it does not have an adverse health effect, he added.

Depending on the location, the amount of sodium chloride varies, but the Kagman well and the well near the airport tend to be saltier, Chambers said.

Bruce Megarr, CUC deputy director for the Water and Sewer Division, said he has a set a five-year goal to have water that is not only safe to drink but is tasteful.

“We’re constantly looking for higher quality sources,” Megarr said. “I think five years is very doable.”

Chambers also said he thinks the goal is possible. “I’ve been here four years, and the first goal was to have 24-hour water,” he said, adding that 25 percent of the island had 24-hour water when he arrived, and now 63 percent have round-the-clock water.

Garapan still only has two hours of water a day because of the old pipes surrounding the area, Megarr said.

”Garapan is one of our biggest problems,” he said. “We pump 10 [gallons] down there and five disappear. There is a distribution problem.”

The distribution problem dates back to the Japanese era in the 1930. Instead of focusing on leak detection, Megarr said, CUC will be replacing the whole distribution section.

Many of the hotels in Garapan have their own water systems with 24-hour water, so tourists are not affected, Chambers said. The Hyatt Regency Saipan alone uses 100,000 gallons per day from its own supply.

Collecting rainwater is one way to make sure 24-hour water with less sodium chloride is available, said Chambers, who collects his own rainwater at his house.

The airport used to collect rainwater from the runway, but it was forced to stop the practice in 2003 because of an inadequate filter. There are plans to restore the practice, he added.