Water Contamination

[chloe]

So the city I live in sent me a notice that said they were found in some kind of violation and the residents water had been contaminated but now its all fixed, I've lived in this city about 4 years and this is the 5th letter I recieved being notitifed of water contamination. I started reasearching it further and found a gov doc mentioning my city as having 35% more of some substance then everyone else and also some kind of I think it said uranium? (I'm not home right now so I can't verify that yet) The report said that taking a 10 minute shower in this water daily is the same thing as basically drinking two liters of it unfiltered everyday. Is there anything I can do to make my city solve this problem once and for all?

[Gaffer]

Sounds like the mayor and city council need to be replaced asap. It appears the city needs a new water source or filtering system. Check where the notifications came from and contact them as to what you can do. The state needs to crack down on them if they are being negligent.

[hjmick]

What city do you live in? I need to mark it off of my map...

[chesswarsnow]

Sorry bout that,


1. I would think moving would be a good idea.



Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

[glockmail]

So the city I live in sent me a notice that said they were found in some kind of violation and the residents water had been contaminated but now its all fixed, I've lived in this city about 4 years and this is the 5th letter I recieved being notitifed of water contamination. I started reasearching it further and found a gov doc mentioning my city as having 35% more of some substance then everyone else and also some kind of I think it said uranium? (I'm not home right now so I can't verify that yet) The report said that taking a 10 minute shower in this water daily is the same thing as basically drinking two liters of it unfiltered everyday. Is there anything I can do to make my city solve this problem once and for all?Why don't you scan the notice and post it, or provide a link so we can know what the contaminants are?

[chloe]

Glock, hjmick I will have to scan it from my mom's house because I don't have a scanner and I'd rather not say what city I live inso i guess I can black the city out on the letter. Basically, the letter says it'ssomething called coliform but that they fixed the problem and that after they fixed it there was no e-coli or fecal coliform. But it gives a phone number for elderly people and people with severely compromised immune systems and infants. The letter doesn't say it's unsafe to shower that was in a gov doc I read online that some stranger must have scanned and uploaded, because its a long document with signatures. I go through this water problem every year. It's just that a few years ago i got really really sick, and when I went to the docotr he said I tested for a thing called giardia, and he said it could be from bad food or water, but I really ill over it. So I always worry if my city won't permanantly fix the problem that i will get that giardia again.

chesswarsnow it's hard to sell your houase in this market otherwise I would have left utah a long time ago. I will get to my moms house and scan the letter.

Thanks for the replies !

[chloe]

I will upload the letter later at my moms but since I get this letter every year since I moved here I started looking online to see how long they have been saying they are fixing the problem and found different docs on it and it goes back even longer then 4 yrs !

http://www.waterresources.slco.org/pdfMin/env20051206.pdf


http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2232760/Explanation-of-Significant-Differences

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=1210

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10126389-2ZcsqC/native/10126389.pdf




Health concerns: have prompted the proposed cleanup project, which is being overseen by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ). A major concern is the threat posed to municipal well fields of West Jordan and Riverton by the plumes of contamination.

The Project: Over a projected 40 years, large volumes of groundwater will be extracted from a large plume, which has been divided into two areas commonly referred to as zone A and Zone B. Zone A is particularly problematic because it contains a highly acidic core and higher concentrations of toxic metals.

* The "concentrates," or waste products, will be largely comprised of toxic metals such as aluminum, arsenic, cadmium and selenium, and are known to harm humans and wildlife. The Great Salt Lake is a unique ecosystem that should be protected and studied, not abused as toxic waste site.

Magna Tailings Impoundment: The current plan uses the Magna Tailings Impoundment for the disposal of extracted liquid from the acid core and "treatment concentrates" (wastes collected by the membranes) from the Reverse Osmosis plant.

* Transferring the wastes from underground to the surface is a poor option no matter how you look at it. Instead, Kennecott should be required to initiate a pilot project to recover the metals. Liquid mining of aluminum and other metals could prove to be a lucrative endeavor both environmentally and economically as it would provide a desirable "recycled" product, as well as future jobs.

* If wastes are disposed of in the Magna Tailings Impoundment, what efforts will be made to keep them from moving offsite through wind, rain and other natural forces, including earthquakes?

Jordan River: Wastes from the reverse osmosis system in Zone B are proposed to be disposed into the Jordan River through a water discharge permit, recently applied for by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District.

* If wastes cannot be processed for recycling, they should be shipped to a secure location where they will not cause further harm to public health or the environment. It is unacceptable to dump waste into a river simply because it is cheaper than paying for the cost of disposal. This disposal option is particularly unacceptable in Utah where water resources have become increasingly scarce. If Kennecott had managed its waste properly by isolating it from the environment rather than in unlined reservoirs and evaporation ponds, they would have saved much money and avoided environmental damage. This mistake should not be repeated.

Residential Wells: Extracting huge volumes of water from the aquifer is likely to significantly lower the water table, consequently causing residential wells to go dry. It is also possible that fluctuations could result in unpredictable diversion and flow of the contaminated ground water plume, possibly resulting in the contamination of residential wells.



1) Sulfate Plume Zone A - Pumping wells, with a combined capacity to extract up to 3,000 gallons per minute (gpm) will draw water from the large sulfate plume. Delivered by pipeline, the water will be treated by Kennecott, using reverse osmosis - a system that forces water through a series of membranes to remove contaminants. The treated water will be made available for municipal use. The wastes collected by the membranes will be disposed of in the Magna Tailings Impoundment.

2) Acid Core Zone A - The highly acidic core of Zone A will be extracted and sent to the Magna Tailings Impoundment where it will mix with tailings slurry, wastes from the reverse osmosis membranes, and possibly with lime to assist in neutralizing the acidity.

3) Sulfate Plume Zone B - Considered less contaminated than Zone A, this sulfate plume will be treated with reverse osmosis membranes, most of the water made available for municipal use and the wastes collected by the membranes are proposed for discharge to the Jordan River.

So what's the problem?

Rebates for Kennecott: Bound by a legal agreement, in the mid 1990's Kennecott deposited $28 million to an interest-bearing account earmarked for ground water cleanup. That fund is now worth $48.1 million. Under the current arrangement, Kennecott is to fund expenses related to the treatment projects; however, if treatment projections are met, 15% of the fund will be refunded to Kennecott annually for five years. After 5 years, Kennecott will receive the balance of the monies in the fund.

* Why is Kennecott being rewarded for cleaning up their own pollution? They should be required to pay for the cleanup AND pay a fine, as has been the case with other polluters.

* What incentive will Kennecott have to continue treating the groundwater once the balance of this money has been given to them? What happens if Kennecott decides to dodge their responsibility and follow the lead of other corporations and file bankruptcy?

* Kennecott/Rio Tinto should provide a long-term trust fund to ensure their commitment to the community in which they have operated and made their profits. Taxpayers should not end up footing the bill for remediating the groundwater.

[chloe]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
Test Show Coliform Bacteria in ======= City Water
Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this is not an emergency, as our customer, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do and what we are doing to correct the situation. We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminates. The standard is that no more than 1 sample per month or 5 percent of our samples may do so. During the month of August, we exceeded the 5%.

You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective action. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.
People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at an 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.
What does this mean?

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.
Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we do follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E. coli, are present. We did not find any of these
bacteria in our subseauent testing. If we had, we would have notified you immediately. What happened? What is being done? Since the positive testing, ======== City has continuously flushed the water system, used chlorinated
water, and taken repeat samples.

For more information, please call 000-000-0000
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example: people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses.) You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
This notice has been sent to you by --------------Water System IF#
Date Distributed 10-26-09


I had my mom scan the letter but she scanned it and emailed it back to me from her house as an attachment so I just copied it to a clipboard and manually blocked out info that is on a need to know basis. This is the letter minus my address and stuff.

Also if you want to check your city for contaminated water you can. At the epa website and it will list more detailed contaminates

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/sdwis/sdwis_query.html

If anyone knows what I can do to get my city to fix this since this has happened more then 4 times since 2005 let me know, you can PM me. Thanks

[HogTrash]

Move to the country and drill a well...Seriously!

I have lived in the city most of my 58 years.

I hate to think of what my family and I have injested.

If my children were young again I would do it very differently.

I don't believe in man-caused global warming but there is polution.

[HogTrash]

chesswarsnow it's hard to sell your houase in this market otherwise I would have left utah a long time ago. I will get to my moms house and scan the letter.

Thanks for the replies !You are in Utah?...I was looking at some properties in southwest Utah and possibly relocating there.

You are scaring me chloe...I was thinking of Utah as being the land of pure clean country air and water.

[chloe]

You are in Utah?...I was looking at some properties in southwest Utah and possibly relocating there.

You are scaring me chloe...I was thinking of Utah as being the land of pure clean country air and water.

yeah well it is clean looking but I guess the water is not. I wish they would fix whatever the problem is that we keep getting contamination notices. My city has them more then most cities in Utah.

[chloe]

Move to the country and drill a well...Seriously!

I have lived in the city most of my 58 years.

I hate to think of what my family and I have injested.

If my children were young again I would do it very differently.

I don't believe in man-caused global warming but there is polution.

yeah I was reading how pharmaceuticals sometimes seep into drinking water too. I can't drill a well, but nice thought :cool: You can look up your city in the link I provided just click the state then it will have boxes for you to check/uncheck labelled small medium large etc and its asking you to pick size of city from the state map then it will list all the cities you click on your city and it they have any contamination or violations it will be listed there.

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Coliform bacteria, e-coli and giardia are all indications that animal wastes and or human wastes are seeping/leaching or being introduced into the so-called fresh water supply.

Are there large farms upstream from where your city gets its drinking water? What kind of reservoir system does the community use to store its fresh water supply, a lake...maybe a stream fed lake? Is the city/community attempting to recycle waste water into fresh water?

It sounds like someone is falling down on their responsibility to ensure that the source of the water is safeguarded from contamination in the first place. It is much harder to kill off bacteria that has been allowed to enter the water supply than it is to safeguard the supply. If farmers are allowing runoff into streams, rivers and lakes, then they need to be made to clean up their farms.

[chloe]

Sounds like the mayor and city council need to be replaced asap. It appears the city needs a new water source or filtering system. Check where the notifications came from and contact them as to what you can do. The state needs to crack down on them if they are being negligent.

Maybe you could visit them and give them a good bitchslappin......:laugh2:

[chloe]

Coliform bacteria, e-coli and giardia are all indications that animal wastes and or human wastes are seeping/leaching or being introduced into the so-called fresh water supply.

Are there large farms upstream from where your city gets its drinking water? What kind of reservoir system does the community use to store its fresh water supply, a lake...maybe a stream fed lake? Is the city/community attempting to recycle waste water into fresh water?

It sounds like someone is falling down on their responsibility to ensure that the source of the water is safeguarded from contamination in the first place. It is much harder to kill off bacteria that has been allowed to enter the water supply than it is to safeguard the supply. If farmers are allowing runoff into streams, rivers and lakes, then they need to be made to clean up their farms.

Well we get a notice every year since I moved here and they never fix it. I guess Im going to print out the epa report which lists individually all the contaminates, coliform is practically generic when I look at all the poisons 20 freakin pages over the past 4 years!!!

[crin63]

Gather up some friends and neighbors to file a class-action lawsuit against the city. Contact your congressman. Write letters your local newspaper. Start going to town meetings at your city hall and complain.

If you can afford it, put a whole house water filtration system in.

[chloe]

Gather up some friends and neighbors to file a class-action lawsuit against the city. Contact your congressman. Write letters your local newspaper. Start going to town meetings at your city hall and complain.

If you can afford it, put a whole house water filtration system in.

Thanks Crin, I am printing the report from the epa website listing all the specific poisons, and making copies for all the residents. I wish i could afford an attorney or water filtration system. I have thought about contacting get gephart he's a news guy that uncovers injustice here in utah.

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Well we get a notice every year since I moved here and they never fix it. I guess Im going to print out the epa report which lists individually all the contaminates, coliform is practically generic when I look at all the poisons 20 freakin pages over the past 4 years!!!

Yep, until they address the source of all that contamination it will continue to rear its ugly head. Somebody has to know something and is just refusing to deal with it....probably financially and/or politically motivated to sweep it under the rug.

Go get 'em Chloe....nothing to get you fired up like fighting injustice.

[glockmail]

[LEFT]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
Test Show Coliform Bacteria... The standard is that no more than 1 sample per month or 5 percent of our samples may do so. During the month of August, we exceeded the 5%.

....
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.
Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we do follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E. coli, are present. We did not find any of these....

As the letter says, coliforms are naturally occurring bacteria present in soils, and its usally a problem with the distribution sytem. In layman's terms: the pipes are dirty.

They subsequently tested for, and did not find, fecal coliform or E. coli. In layman's terms: the problem is not associated with the water source; there's no shit in your water, just some dirt.

From your other post it looks like your City uses wells as the water source. These are a natural filter, and there probably isn't any more filtering done in the system. They may use some chemicals to get rid of minor amounts of contaminants that can color the water, usually they add alum (an aluminum salt) that causes the microscopic particles to clump together, then they settle out the clumps and send the water downstream.

One of the last steps in the water treatment process is chlorination, followed by retention to give the chlorine time to kill all bacteria in the water. Fecal coliform gets killed more readily then coliform, so they test for coliform to see if they killed it all. The chlorine that is not used up in the process is called "residual", and they rely on that to keep the water disinfected in the distribution system. In the US, water suppliers are required to have a residual with a narrow range. The sampling point for this is the customer's tap, one which may be located right next to the plant, and another that may be located far away, at the end of a long pipe run.

My guess is that there are some dead end streets in the water system that don't see a lot of flow. Water that sits in the pipes for a long time loses its chlorination residual, then dirt bacteria in the system can start to repopulate.

If the plant director is diligent, he'll routinely test at these dead end locations in order to test the worst possible water in the system. This type of sampling regimen is preferable to "random" sampling, where the dead ends may be more often ignored. Although the reported results may alarm some residents, this may actually be proof that the director is doing his job correctly.

[chloe]

As the letter says, coliforms are naturally occurring bacteria present in soils, and its usally a problem with the distribution sytem. In layman's terms: the pipes are dirty.

They subsequently tested for, and did not find, fecal coliform or E. coli. In layman's terms: the problem is not associated with the water source; there's no shit in your water, just some dirt.

From your other post it looks like your City uses wells as the water source. These are a natural filter, and there probably isn't any more filtering done in the system. They may use some chemicals to get rid of minor amounts of contaminants that can color the water, usually they add alum (an aluminum salt) that causes the microscopic particles to clump together, then they settle out the clumps and send the water downstream.

One of the last steps in the water treatment process is chlorination, followed by retention to give the chlorine time to kill all bacteria in the water. Fecal coliform gets killed more readily then coliform, so they test for coliform to see if they killed it all. The chlorine that is not used up in the process is called "residual", and they rely on that to keep the water disinfected in the distribution system. In the US, water suppliers are required to have a residual with a narrow range. The sampling point for this is the customer's tap, one which may be located right next to the plant, and another that may be located far away, at the end of a long pipe run.

My guess is that there are some dead end streets in the water system that don't see a lot of flow. Water that sits in the pipes for a long time loses its chlorination residual, then dirt bacteria in the system can start to repopulate.

If the plant director is diligent, he'll routinely test at these dead end locations in order to test the worst possible water in the system. This type of sampling regimen is preferable to "random" sampling, where the dead ends may be more often ignored. Although the reported results may alarm some residents, this may actually be proof that the director is doing his job correctly.

so the 22 page report on the epa website with all the other stuff found in my water is nothing to worry about?:eek:

[glockmail]

so the 22 page report on the epa website with all the other stuff found in my water is nothing to worry about?:eek:Your letter only mentions coliform.

[chloe]

Your letter only mentions coliform.

but the report on the epa website goes for 22 pages, with all sorts of stuff why don't you comment on my thread about the swimmers getting poisoned locally in our swimming pool water? with the crpto whatever they called it....its in current events category because it was in the news today, some parasite made everyone sick.......I'm freaking out about our water:eek:

[glockmail]

but the report on the epa website goes for 22 pages, with all sorts of stuff why don't you comment on my thread about the swimmers getting poisoned locally in our swimming pool water? with the crpto whatever they called it....its in current events category because it was in the news today, some parasite made everyone sick.......I'm freaking out about our water:eek:
Did I miss a link?

[chloe]

Did I miss a link?

the swimming pool thread was on the current events section it was posted a few days ago. No I have not posted the epa link because it is detailed with my specific city and I worry about online stalkers sorry, but Im a single mom with kids so I have to be paranoid and not post to much stuff publicly and if I have time on my days off work I will type up a list of all the contaminants.

[chloe]

The Salt Lake Tribune

<!--date-->Updated: 05/16/2010 11:17:42 AM MDT
<!--secondary date-->


<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> var requestedWidth = 0; </SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').styl e.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').styl e.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } </SCRIPT>An order to boil tap water in northern Saratoga Springs has been lifted, officials said.

It was issued Thursday night after seven people were sickened in an outbreak of the food-borne bacteria campylobacter.
The city treated the water system with chlorine and traced the outbreak to one well, said Saratoga Springs police Cpl. Aaron Rosen. When random tests confirmed that well was clean, crews flushed the lines with chlorine and lifted the order about 6 p.m. Saturday. The order to boil water before using it for drinking, cooking or washing affected between 7,000 and 8,000 people in 2,000 homes.

City officials recommend that people flush the water in their homes by running each faucet, both hot and cold, for 5 to 10 minutes.
Campylobacter is a food-borne bacteria usually found in raw dairy products, though it can also be transmitted through feces. The usual symptoms are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. While it is not usually fatal, campylobacter can kill people with weak immune systems.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15093892

[Mr. P]

The Salt Lake Tribune

<!--date-->Updated: 05/16/2010 11:17:42 AM MDT
<!--secondary date-->


<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> var requestedWidth = 0; </SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').styl e.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').styl e.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } </SCRIPT>An order to boil tap water in northern Saratoga Springs has been lifted, officials said.

It was issued Thursday night after seven people were sickened in an outbreak of the food-borne bacteria campylobacter.
The city treated the water system with chlorine and traced the outbreak to one well, said Saratoga Springs police Cpl. Aaron Rosen. When random tests confirmed that well was clean, crews flushed the lines with chlorine and lifted the order about 6 p.m. Saturday. The order to boil water before using it for drinking, cooking or washing affected between 7,000 and 8,000 people in 2,000 homes.

City officials recommend that people flush the water in their homes by running each faucet, both hot and cold, for 5 to 10 minutes.
Campylobacter is a food-borne bacteria usually found in raw dairy products, though it can also be transmitted through feces. The usual symptoms are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. While it is not usually fatal, campylobacter can kill people with weak immune systems.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15093892

What's Bambam doing about this???

[chloe]

What's Bambam doing about this???


:laugh2: who's bam bam our undocumented illegal immigrant President?:salute: