BRANDON, S.D. (KELO.com) — A former Brandon City Councilor says testing proves that the City’s water contains radiation levels above Environmental Protection Agency standards.
Following the City of Brandon’s announcement yesterday it was holding a news conference on the issue today, former Councilor Tim Wakefield issued a news release about the issue.
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“The most concerning issue with this water test is that the test was completed after a highly touted IMAR filtration system was installed,” Wakefield said. “The system was supposed to remove the radium better than previous systems. If the new filter media failing clearly the older, less effective media had the potential to release above EPA limits of Radium.”
He says as a previous council member, he “experienced first hand the lies told to leadership by the staff.” He also says he experienced bullying tactics behind closed doors in executive sessions culminating with the need to hire his own attorney to represent him during executive sessions.
Wakefield was a citizen activist about water in Brandon prior to being elected to the Council.
KELO.com News has obtained a copy of the purported redacted test results, available above. There is a note at the bottom of the results which says, “Results exeed the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act standards,” but it does not reference which of the several categories that were tested.
Below is Wakefield’s full news release.
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Brandon, SD — Immediately — As a previous clean water advocate and member of the Brandon City Council, Tim Wakefield became known as the water guru, starting a Facebook Page called Brandon, SD Residents for a Sustainable Future.
Two years ago, Tim and many other residents brought up concerns on water quality and quantity issues plaguing the city. On July 28th a Facebook page named “City of Brandon, SD The Dirt” released test results clearly showing Radium levels in excess of the EPA Safe Drinking Water standards. Even in the lower comments of the test report the comment was made “Results exceed the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act standard.”
At that time, Tim Wakefield reached out to that page via messaging asking for a copy of the report to verify that the report was valid. The individual that completed the test asked that the company completing the test be kept confidential as well as the individual taking the test. The request was made due to fear that the city would retaliate against the individual.
The most concerning issue with this water test is that the test was completed after a highly touted IMAR filtration system was installed. The system was supposed to remove the radium better than previous systems. If the new filter media is failing clearly the older, less effective media had the potential to release above EPA limits of Radium.
As a previous council member Tim Wakefield experienced firsthand the lies told to leadership by the staff. Tim Wakefield also experienced bullying tactics behind closed doors in executive sessions culminating with the need to hire his own attorney to represent him during executive sessions. Tim Wakefield made the final decision to relocate his family outside of
Brandon, SD due to continued infrastructure concerns and ongoing fears that the city truly was not in compliance with their “award winning water” as the city would constantly brag about. Tim and his family sold their house to avoid further bullying from other members of city leadership and to provide the safest possible upbringing for his family. Tim has said it before and will continue to say it, “I do not even let my dogs drink this water.”
Tim Wakefield often would relay information to other members of the leadership which continued to fall on deaf ears. Issues such as residents concerned about cancer in their children,
one resident even heard their oncologist say, “we sure see a lot of cancer patients from Brandon.”
Tim Wakefield would be comfortable sharing the test results on behalf of the resident who wishes to remain anonymous.
