Cocopah Resort working with EPA to bring drinking water system into compliance

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reporting some issues with the Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort’s elevated water tank that could potentially affect their residents’ drinking water.

The EPA is the primary agency that regulates drinking water on tribal land. In May 2019, it found several ongoing issues while conducting routine sanitary checks of the resort’s drinking water system.

After completing a thorough inspection of Cocopah’s drinking water system, the inspection revealed problems with Cocopah’s water tank’s infrastructure.

EPA officials said the resort’s water tank and pipes weren’t properly sealed, and if it stayed that way it could allow bacteria and even rodents to get into the tank and contaminate the drinking water.

However, some residents of the resort aren’t too concerned about the issue because they say they never trusted the water enough to drink it in the first place.

One resident told News 11, ” For drinking water and ice and stuff, we use an R.O. system. It’s a reversed osmosis system. We’ve had it in our RVs and our homes because we like good clean water. It helps the taste. ”

Another resident said, ” Everybody has to buy water bottles. I had to go buy bottled water just because I don’t like the smell [of the water]. ”

Although the resort missed the mark under the standards of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA, the Cocopah Tribe, and residents confirm the drinking water is being tested monthly.

So far, no harmful bacteria has been found.

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort has partnered with the EPA to develop a better quality drinking water system by February 2020.