But CUC said the presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.
Still, “some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the other people,” the report said.
CUC said immune-comprised persons such as those undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplant, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections.
These people, according to CUC, should seek advice from healthcare providers.
In an interview, CUC Deputy Executive Director Alan W. Fletcher said the taste of water on Saipan is different from the water on Rota.
On Saipan, he said the environment and water storage play an important role in the distribution of water from its sources to the household.
“Most people have water catchment and water tank. When that water stored is in tank in warm temperature, it will reduce the disinfection; the chlorine level — that’s where you may get different kinds of bacteria grow. The taste of the water may be impacted by that,” he said.
Fletcher said CUC is producing good water, but once the water goes to the distribution system and to homes, CUC has no control over what’s inside a consumer’s water storage or tank.
He said Saipan has 145 wells and water is drawn from different kinds of water quality.
“When you put together all the water quality you can get different characteristics: some are high in chloride, some are salty, some are high in minerals — so you have different tastes,” he said.
In December 2010, CUC began operating a slow sand filter to treat the rainwater collected from the Saipan Airport Rainwater Catchment.
CUC said this rainwater supplements the groundwater that supplies Chalan Kanoa, Oleai, Susupe and parts of As Perdido and Chalan Piao.
However, the primary source of water from Saipan comes from 145 groundwater wells.
One Maui-type well supplies all of CUC-Tinian’s water system.
On Rota, the water primarily comes from two surface water sources that are occasionally supplemented with groundwater from three wells.
