Although water lines made with asbestos cement aren’t as prevalent or concerning as lead pipelines in Minot, asbestos is a potential contaminant on the radar of the state and city.

“In the City of Minot, we only have about 2,000 feet of AC pipe left in our system,” said Minot Utilities Director Jason Sorenson. There is a short section that runs along 16th Street Southwest from 16th Avenue to 17th Avenue before turning east and running to about 11th Street, he said.

Based on the limited amount of asbestos cement pipeline and the city’s water quality data, Minot has a waiver that requires asbestos testing only every nine years, which comes up again in 2028. However, once Lake Sakakawea water begins flowing through the Northwest Area Water Supply system – expected to happen later this year – it will trigger the need for additional monitoring, according to Greg Wavra, manager of the Drinking Water Program in the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ).

A change in water source creates the potential to change the dynamics within a pipeline and allow leaching of contaminants into the water. Once Lake Sakakawea water arrives, all area water systems within NAWS will need to have their distribution systems reevaluated through water sample testing, Wavra said.

Routine, ongoing water sample testing for water quality hasn’t indicated a need in the state to replace asbestos cement pipelines due to corrosive water, the NDDEQ stated.

However, the City of Surrey is moving forward with plans to replace a portion of its water distribution system consisting of deteriorated asbestos cement pipe, which also is undersized, according to NDDEQ information. The work is part of a larger project to rehabilitate the city’s sewer system.

Each of the state’s 320 public water systems must complete waiver paperwork every nine years, even if they do not have asbestos cement pipes. NDDEQ doesn’t have information on how much asbestos cement pipeline exists in the state because the waiver form only serves to indicate whether a water system has asbestos cement pipes.

If asbestos materials are present, then it comes down to whether the water system also has corrosive water, Wavra said. NDDEQ uses certain test results from water sampling to assess corrosiveness. A water system can get a waiver on sample testing for nine years if its water is determined to be noncorrosive.

In North Dakota, the asbestos program looks at both the source water and distribution systems of all public water systems.

Water systems that use surface water are eligible for a monitoring waiver if they meet specific treatment requirements that effectively remove any asbestos fibers.

Mineral deposits containing asbestos are not found above 15,000 feet in the western part of the state or above 700 feet in the eastern part of the state. Therefore, asbestos isn’t encountered at any well depths.

Because of this, NDDEQ grants a statewide source water monitoring waiver for asbestos to all groundwater systems with one exception. Groundwater sources that have asbestos in wells casings and that have potentially corrosive water must conduct source water monitoring if distribution system monitoring is not already required.

Public water systems receive a monitoring waiver on their distribution systems if they do not have asbestos cement in their well casings, well transmission lines or distribution systems. The waiver is effective for one nine-year compliance period.

Regulations specify where test samples must be taken within a system. Water systems could be subject to quarterly monitoring if a sample result exceeds the maximum allowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That stepped up testing lasts at least six months for ground water systems and a year for surface water systems.

If the quarterly monitoring shows an on-going violation, the water system must continue quarterly monitoring until the violation is remediated.

The EPA has regulated asbestos, a potential cancer-causing agent, in drinking water since 1992.