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www.epa.gov/ord

FACT SHEET

EPA's Water Treatment Demonstration Project to Reduce
Amount of Arsenic in Three Forks

Researchers from EPA's National Risk Management
Research Laboratory (NRMRL), headquartered in
Cincinnati, Ohio, are working in partnership with Three
Forks, MT, and a contractor to install and operate a
water treatment technology aimed at reducing the level
of arsenic in local drinking water. Operation of the
demonstration project began in June, 2006, and is
being regularly monitored to determine progress.

Background

Arsenic is a naturally occurring contaminant found in
ground water in various locations throughout the United States. Research and development
efforts at EPA have identified certain technologies that remove arsenic from drinking water.
Some community water systems often face challenges in choosing the right technology to
reduce the level of arsenic. Therefore, in select demonstration projects across the country,
just like this one in Three Forks, EPA is partnering with municipalities and equipment
producers to bring the most appropriate drinking water technology into the field and
demonstrate their effectiveness.

The Project

New water treatment equipment is installed to reduce arsenic in a community's drinking water.
The water quality is then monitored to verify the effectiveness of the treatment. The equipment
used in Three Forks installation is produced by Kinetico, Inc., working under a Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement. The equipment was matched to characteristics of the
source water. While Three Forks will operate the new equipment, scientists from Battelle, an
EPA contractor in Ohio, will track the operation of the arsenic removal technology by analyzing
weekly water samples. EPA will use the results from this project and others like it to
demonstrate new methods for arsenic removal from drinking water.

more

, MT, Drinking Water

Three Forks' new arsenic water
treatment equipment

Bttiidinjj a sdifnti/Hc foundation for sound environmental decisions


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The Goal

The goal of this project is to demonstrate and verify the effectiveness of Kenetico, Inc.,
technology in reducing levels of arsenic in Three Forks's drinking water from around 64
parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb or lower. Operational cost is also being studied.

Expected Outcomes

•	Other small communities will gain knowledge about the performance of arsenic
removal technology through the results of the demonstration project. The results
will assist them in selecting the most appropriate and cost effective technology to
use at their sites.

•	Residents will benefit by having arsenic levels in their drinking water reduced
below 10 ppb, complying with the new EPA standard for arsenic in drinking
water.

Details about these demonstration projects can be found at this Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/dw/arsenic.

Technical Contact: Tom Sorg - (513) 569-7370 - sorg.tom@epa.gov

June 27, 2006


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