A boil water advisory for parts of Perry County, Kentucky has been issued according to Local media station WKYT (.com)
Officials say a Hazard Water System main water line broke and now the water could be contaminated. Residents of Middle Fork of Maces Creek from the pump station to Twin Rocks Bible Camp are urged to boil their water before consuming it. The advisory will stay in effect until they know the water is safe. We will keep you posted!
Southern Missouri residents need to take precautions with their drinking water because it may have been affected by electrical power disruptions caused by the latest winter ice storm, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is warning.
Due to the severe winter weather in the southern half of the state over the past few days, some public water systems have experienced low water pressure and, in some instances, complete water outages, the department explains in a news release.
The cause may be loss of power to pump water to people's homes or water lines breaking due to the extremely cold weather. Low pressure and broken lines allow contaminants to enter drinking water, so people in these situations need to consider boiling their drinking water.
While loss of pressure does not necessarily mean the water has been contaminated, it does mean there is the potential that contamination inside houses, businesses and factories could flow backward into the water system and be carried to customers. The normal pressure of the water supply system would prevent this contamination.
Boil Water Procedures
� Boil water vigorously for three minutes prior to use. Use only boiled water for drinking, brushing teeth, diluting fruit juices and all other food preparation or consumption. Use of bottled water may be a feasible, though relatively expensive, alternative to boiling tap water when under a boil water order.
� Do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker or use any ice made with un-boiled water from this system. Make ice cubes with water that has been boiled or purchase ice.
� Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersing for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
�Allow water to cool sufficiently before drinking.Water used for hand washing or bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing to ensure they do not ingest water.
A boil water notice is in effect for the area of Fort Myers bordered by Maravilla Avenue on the south, Braman Avenue on the north, Nelson Street on the east and Cortez Avenue on the west until at least 1:30 p.m. today.
Routine sampling of the city of Fort Myers water system identified total coliform and the E. coli bacteria in a customer’s water sampled Friday at 1810 Passaic Ave.; the finding was confirmed Saturday at 1820 Passaic Ave.
These bacteria can make you sick and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems. Do not drink the water before boiling it first. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute and let it cool before using or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems. The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.
City of Fort Myers staff is working with the Health Department to determine the source of the contamination. City staff will be conducting system flushing in the affected area. Resampling for bacteria also will be conducted until the source is found.
For more information, call the city at 332-6700.
After a city worker shut the wrong pump valve, causing the pressure to drop and leaving water vulnerable to contamination, the city was forced to issue a boil water order for West Palm Beach, Mayor Lois Frankel said.
Test results taken on Sunday do not show evidence of contamination but water officials wanted to make sure there was no contamination and that no one would get sick. This is the second boil water order for west palm beach in just over a month.
City officials say the order will most likely be lifted by the end of monday
Hyannis residents are being advised to boil their tap water before using, because of E. coli and coliform bacteria found in the system.
Town officials say routine testing showed the bacteria in a water storage tank.
People are being advised to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation.
Boiling for at least one minute kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
E. coli and coliform bacteria indicates the water may be contaminated with animal or human waste. Ingestion can cause diarrhea, nausea and headaches.
Infants, young children, elderly and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to become ill.
Town officials are flushing the system but don't have a timetable for when the water will again be safe for use.
The Virginia Department of Health in conjunction with the Scott County Health Department and the Town of Dungannon Water System advise residents to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution. This precaution is necessary because the water system has been taken off-line for repairs, which will result in lower pressures and may allow contaminated water to enter the distribution system.
Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, beverage and food preparation, and making ice until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. Boiling is the preferred method to assure that the tap water is safe to drink. Bring all tap water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.
Residents are advised to turn the power off to water heaters or they may drain and overheat causing permanent damage or fire.
If you cannot boil your tap water:
An alternative purification method for residents without gas or electricity is to use liquid household bleach to disinfect water. The bleach product should be recently purchased, free of additives and scents and should contain a hypochlorite solution of at least 5.25%. Public health officials recommend adding eight drops of bleach (about 1/4 teaspoon) to each gallon of water. The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use.
Water purification tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer's instructions.
Potable water is available at the Town Hall/Depot from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Elderly or handicapped persons unable to pick up water can call (276) 467-2522 for delivery.
The VDOH will inform residents when they no longer need to boil water. To address the problem, they are locating and reparing a broken water line. Citizens will be notified when the situation is resolved and the water is safe for consumption and use.
For more information contact Ray Blevins, P.O. Box 278, Dungannon, VA 24245, or call (276) 467-2522.
After 15 years of trying to remove the lead from public school drinking fountains, the Baltimore school system is choosing instead to install water coolers which will use purified bottled water.
Yesterday's announcement came after the city Health Department discovered that 10 fountains that had passed previous tests still contained unacceptably high levels of lead. Once schools chief Andres Alonso learned that it would be cheaper to provide bottled water to all schools than to continue lead testing, he said, the decision was a "no-brainer".
The Health Department collected water samples last month from 84 randomly selected fountains, all of which had passed previous inspections. While 74 of the fountains had lead levels below the limit of 20 parts per billion, 10 fountains had levels above the maximum allowed.
The 10 fountains, which were immediately turned off, were at four schools: City College, Carver Vocational-Technical High, Frederick Douglass High and Northwood Elementary. All those schools had bottled water already, so officials said students likely were not drinking regularly from the fountains.
For more information click the title link.
The state Health Department has issued a boil-water alert for customers who receive their drinking water from the town of Leakesville. This affects about 1,500 customers in the city limits and east of the Chickasawhay River in Leakesville.
Water should be boiled vigorously for at least one minute before it is consumed.
Water system officials told the health department that there was pressure loss from one or more line breaks. When a distribution system loses pressure, contaminants can siphon back into the water.
Public health officials consider any system with pressure loss to be contaminated until tests prove otherwise.
Some people who live in Wyoming will have to boil their water after the city found E-coli and coliform bacteria in a sample.
The sample taken near R.W. Berends Drive on Thursday tested positive for the bacteria Saturday. The city has to let the sample incubate for 48 hours before testing it.
Because of the test results, the City of Wyoming issued a boil water order for residents and businesses in a small section of the city bordered between 44th Street, Burlingame and R.W. Berends Drive.
This also includes all residents living along R.W. Berends Drive.
City officials say the presence of coliform and E-coli bacteria indicates the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. The contamination can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. They may also pose a health risk for infants, young children and people with severely compromised immune systems.
The city's Utilities Department is collecting other samples for testing and will do that until the tests come back negative, but the boil water order could remain in place until at least Tuesday.
The city has set up a bottled water pickup in the parking lot of the Wyoming Cattle Company Restaurant, near the intersection of R.W. Berends Drive and 44th Street.
For more information about E-coli bacteria, click here.
For more information about the detection and diagnosis of E-coli bacteria, click here.
Many people use the same plastic bottle over and over, trying to save money on buying new bottles. How many of you WASH the bottle before reusing!? Read this article for more on how bottled water can become contaminated
Northern Virginia Drought to Blame for Contamination of Water Supply
October 9th, 2007
The Virginia Department of Health cited the city for reporting too much Trihalomethane in the drinking water last week.
When Trihalomethane is ingested in large quantities for more than three consecutive months, the substance can cause health problems, including illness, and animal testing has shown it can cause cancer. No related problems have been reported from this particular contamination.
Please look into water purification options if you live in this area and have not done so already!
October 6th, 2007
The boil-water order was lifted late Friday (October 5th) for Palm Beach, South Palm Beach and all parts of West Palm Beach south of Okeechobee Boulevard. The rest of the city, including all areas north of Okeechobee Boulevard, remain under the boil-water notice until they test negative for fecal contamination for two days.
City officials confirmed that they are investigating Gold Coast Linen Services after discovering that the laundry store had illegally hooked pipes up from their well water to the city's water supply and this is "highly suspected" to be the source of the contamination. Engineers have sealed the Laundry off from the city water supply to prevent further contamination.
Please go to www.sun-sentinel.com to view a local news station video clip and read the full story.
October 5th, 2007
West Palm Beach's woes began after routine tests found evidence of coliforms - bacteria found naturally in the environment as well as the digestive tracts of humans and animals.
Mandatory follow-up tests found a narrower subset called fecal coliform bacteria, including E. coli, which provide firmer evidence that animal or human waste may have gotten into the water.
Other possible causes for the outbreak that city officials have stated are Bacterial films, including E. coli, which can thrive in warm water, parts of the pipeline that have low pressure, standing water, runoff water from recent rainfall's drainage or possibly areas where there are low levels of chlorine present in the water. Human's are not meant to ingest these substances! Our bodies have just gotten better at fighting them off, why continue ingesting these harmful
substances when we can purify the water ourselves and be ASSURED that our
drinking/bathing water is pure and healthy?
Check Florida Counties for Contamination - www.dep.state.fl.us
Here is some data on skin absorption of dangerous contaminants, taken from
http://www.pristine-water.com/Chlorine%20Hazards.htm
Toxic effect of chlorine skin absorption
Hazards in the bath & shower
Chlorine chemically bonds with proteins in the hair, skin and scalp. Hair can become rough and brittle and lose color. Skin can dry out with itchy, flaky scalp occurring. Chlorine can aggravate sensitive areas in the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Chlorine combines with organic substances forming Trihalomethanes including Chloroform. The most common volatile compounds found by the EPA in drinking water supplies are: trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, benzene,1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, ethylene chloride,1,1 dichloroethylene, bis-1,2-dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, and trichlorobenzene.
Inhalation
Chlorine, trichloroethylene (TCE), chloroform, benzene and other vapors are readily absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream. Chloroform (a Trihalomethane or THM) and TCE are two highly volatile toxic chemicals that have been identified in many municipal drinking-water supplies. The National Academy of Sciences has estimated that hundreds of people may die in the U.S. each year from cancers caused by ingesting these contaminants in water. However, the major threat caused by these water toxins is far more likely to be as air pollutants in the home according to a study by Dr. Julian Andelman. He found that in the shower when temperature and chemical concentrations increase and diameter of shower head holes decrease, volatilization increases. His data indicate that hot showers can liberate about 50% of the dissolved chloroform and 80% of the dissolved TCE into the air. Both the heat and the large surface-to-volume ratio of small droplets increase vaporization.
American Journal of Public Health May 84
Science News Sep 86
Pool & Spa News Oct. 86
We will continue to look for news of areas that have posted water warning's recently or even if old warning still exist or have not been improved to a quality standard.
References:
Robert P. King - PalmBeachPost.com
