Local News
Water fails test
But there’s no need to boil
OTTUMWA — The city’s water system recently violated a drinking water standard, but most people won’t be boiling water.
Rodney Hamilton, acting manager for Ottumwa Water Works, said the violation was the same kind as in January and came from the same general area.
“We’re allowed one sample a month and it’s not a violation. But, if we have two in a month, then it’s a violation,” Hamilton said Monday.
That means the city has to tell citizens there was a violation.
“Years ago, all the industry worried about was E coli. Later, they decided to include coliform, too,” he added.
Hamilton had to test again, which meant collecting samples up and down within five taps of the violation. He also took one from the original place.
All of the tests “came out good” except for the original place, which is a public restroom.
“There’s one tap in a public restroom and it’s failed me three times,” he said. “We may change our test distribution plan.”
Hamilton “totally believes” there is has good, residual chlorine in the city’s water system and “the water is excellent.”
“Public restrooms are never known to be good for samples. We end up testing the environment and not the water itself,” he added.
Hamilton’s report noted water is routinely monitored for the presence of drinking water contaminants. Crews collected 25 samples for coliform bacteria during January and two of them showed the presence of coliform bacteria.
The standard is that no more than one sample may do so.
What should citizens do?
• You don’t need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.
• People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.
Officials said this isn’t an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. Total coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves.
Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially-harmful, bacteria may be present. Coliforms were found in more samples than allowed and this was a warning of potential problems.
City officials hope citizens will share this information with others people who drink city water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses).
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.
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