Boil Order in Grimes

Boil Order: Don't drink the water in Grimes, unless you boil it first. The culprit: fecal bacteria. Here's the release from the city of Grimes:

City of Grimes has issued a BOIL ORDER

BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING

Fecal coliform [or E. coli] bacteria were found in the water supply on August 3, 2011. These bacteria can make you sick, and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

What should I do?

• DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT 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.

During our routine bacteriological testing one of five samples came back positive for coliform which triggered additional sampling. The original positive site came back clean, however another positive site came up positive for total coliform which triggered this action. It is of our belief that these negative results are isolated to the sampling sites and sampling methods but this precaution must be taken. We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 48 hrs.

For more information, please contact Grimes Water at 515-202-9028, email at srobinette@peopleservice.com or mailing at 1801 N. James. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1(800) 426-4791.

FYI - Because our permit was expanded the number of testing sites throughout Grimes was expanded and two new sites were added on. One of the sites was on North James. The sample was taken from an OUTSIDE faucet and the test result came back positive for Fecal Coliform. This prompted another series of testing and the house right next door to the one that came back positive was tested again using the OUTSIDE faucet. This one came back negative for Fecal Coliform but positive for Total Coliform. Total Coliform in itself doesn't prompt a boil order but because there had been a prior positive test for Fecal Coliform the two combined necessitated a violation and a mandatory notice requirement. Additional testing will be done using INSIDE faucets and we will know those results in 36-48 hours.

PLEASE NOTE - only one site was contaminated and it was an OUTDOOR faucet. The rest of the samples were fine.

ALSO NOTE - OUTDOOR faucets will not ever be used again (although it is allowed but not ideal) as they can harbor unknown contaminants and bacteria growths especially in warm or hot weather.

The DNR said that door-to-door flyers are not mandated and to use whatever methods we would normally use to distribute any other public notice information.

All three major tv stations will be notified as well as list serve and Facebook.

Here is the official LONG notice –

DRINKING WATER WARNING

Grimes water is contaminated with [fecal coliform] or [E. coli] BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING Fecal coliform [or E. coli] bacteria were found in the water supply on August 3, 2011. These bacteria can make you sick, and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

What should I do?

· DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT 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.

What happened? What is being done?

Bacterial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source (for example, following heavy rains). It can also happen due to a break in the distribution system (pipes) or a failure in the water treatment process.

During our routine bacteriological testing one of five samples came back positive for coliform which triggered additional sampling. The original positive site came back clean, however another positive site came up positive for total coliform which triggered this action. It is of our belief that these negative results are isolated to the sampling sites and sampling methods but this precaution must be taken. We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 48 hrs.

For more information, please contact Grimes Water at 515-202-9028, email at srobinette@peopleservice.com or mailing at 1801 N. James. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1(800) 426-4791.