Moses Lake Water Quality: Ensuring Clean and Safe Water for Your Community

Understanding Moses Lake's Water Quality

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found in a 2024 report conducted by the Washington State Department of Health and the EPA that Moses Lake has 27 total water contaminants, 11 of which exceed EWG Health Guidelines.

Contaminants	Contaminant Level	MCL	EWG Standards
Bromodichloromethane	0.252 ppb	No legal limit	0.06 ppb
Dibromoacetic acid	0.480 ppb	No legal limit	0.03 ppb
Dibromochloromethane	0.543 ppb	No legal limit	0.1 ppb
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)	1.44 ppb	60 ppb	0.1 ppb
Haloacetic acids (HAA9)	3.39 ppb	No legal limit	0.06 ppb
Nitrate	0.592 ppm	10 ppm	0.14 ppm
Nitrate and nitrite	0.516 ppm	10 ppm	0.14 ppm
Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHXS)	2.14 ppt	10 ppt	0.001 ppt
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)	1.70 ppt	4 ppt	0.3 ppt
Total PFOS and PFOA	52.2 ppt	No legal limit	0.007 ppt
Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)	3.32 ppb	80 ppb	0.15 ppb

Factors Affecting Moses Lake Water Contaminant Levels

The water sources of Moses Lake, Washington include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water moves above and below ground, it interacts with soil minerals, absorbing various contaminants from multiple sources. This form of water also includes rain that becomes stormwater, which, according to the Washington Department of Ecology, is one of the most significant contributors to water pollution.

Inorganic Contaminants

Salts and metals are commonly found in urban stormwater, industrial wastewater, and residential wastewater.

Radioactive Contaminants

These can come from natural soil deposits, oil and gas production, and mining activities.

Organic Chemical Contaminants

These include synthetic and volatile organic chemicals originating from industrial and petroleum by-products, urban stormwater, and septic systems.

Microbial Contaminants

Viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms can enter the water from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, wildlife, and agricultural livestock farms. Natural occurrences, such as blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) growth, are common in Moses Lake, especially during the summer heat, producing harmful toxins.

Pesticides and Herbicides

Runoff from farms, urban stormwater, and residential water waste contribute to these contaminants such as phosphorus.

Solutions for Improving Moses Lake Water Quality

The City of Moses Lake is actively collaborating with Washington’s Department of Health (DOH) to monitor water quality and reduce PFAS levels in tap water.

In the meantime, the DOH advises pregnant and breastfeeding individuals and those preparing infant formula to use an alternative water source or install a filtration system to lower PFAS and other contaminants. It’s important to note that boiling water does not remove PFAS chemicals.

Here are filters that can reduce contaminant levels found in Moses Lake water. Out of the three, reverse osmosis filtration systems are most recommended.

Contaminants Above EWG Health Guidelines	Activated Carbon	Reverse Osmosis	Ion Exchange
Bromodichloromethane
Dibromoacetic acid
Dibromochloromethane
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Haloacetic acids (HAA9)
Nitrate
Nitrate and nitrite
Perfluorohexame sulfonate (PFHXS)
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)
Total PFOS and PFOA
Total trihalomethanes (TTHMS)

Moses Lake Water Quality: Ensuring Clean and Safe Water for Your Community

Understanding Moses Lake's Water Quality

Factors Affecting Moses Lake Water Contaminant Levels

Solutions for Improving Moses Lake Water Quality

Professional Water Quality Testing for Moses Lake Residents

References

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