LIHUE » Kauai officials are reassuring residents that their drinking water is safe from the chemical herbicide atrazine.

The Garden Island reports that more than 300 people recently attended a presentation by the manager of the Kauai County Department of Water.

David Craddick told them that the department has been monitoring the water from the Waimea-Kekaha water system for decades. He says no trace of atrazine has ever been found in the Waimea-Kekaha water system.

Honolulu-based attorney Gerard Jervis says the U.S. Department of Agriculture found atrazine in water samples taken at Waimea Canyon Middle School in 2011. Craddick says the chemical could have traveled through the air.

Atrazine is banned in Europe due to groundwater contamination risks. Studies suggest it is associated with a number of serious health problems.