Alamosa, Colorado is recovering–and residents can drink the water.
The drinking water in Alamosa, Colorado tested positive for giardia, cryptosporidium and salmonella. All of these “critters” can cause stomach pain, diarrhea and fever. The elderly, the very young, and people with weak immune systems are especially at danger.
Since March 7, nearly 400 people have come down with salmonella, with 16 being hospitalized. One of the patients was an infant who had just had heart surgery and nearly died.
The city used a high-chlorine flush of the pipes to kill these microorganisms. But in the meantime the 8,500 residents of Alamosa have been under a “do not drink” order from March 19 until April 11. And during the chlorine flush, bathing, showering or even touching the water was banned due to the high chemical levels.
How did this happen? The city hasn’t been able to pinpoint the cause.
Alamosa had one of the few non-disinfected water supplies in the state. Because their water came from deep, uncontaminated wells, no disinfection was required. Unfortunately, water pipes can crack and let contaminants enter, water tanks might be susceptible to bird droppings if they aren’t properly sealed, or non-potable water sources can be cross-connected with drinking water pipes in the system.
According to the news reports, Alamosa will be disinfecting their water going forward.
Until something like this happens in your community, it’s hard to imagine what a true disaster contaminated water can be. Schools close. Businesses have to modify their operation or sometimes close their doors. The cost rises geometrically each day.
Can you imagine not even being able to take a shower for days or weeks?
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July 11, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Jason
An Environmental Working Group analysis of Nitrates and nitrites tests reported by 15,803 public water suppliers in 28 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 96.4 million people in 10,920 communities drank water contaminated with Nitrates and Nitrites. In 97 of these communities, tap water was contaminated at levels above health-based thresholds.
Texas had 1,302 water supply systems serving 13.9 million people contaminated with Nitrates and Nitrites, which was the highest state in the study. Coming in second was Washington with 1,257 systems serving 3.9 million people.
Nitrate & nitrite is a chemical that enters water from fertilizer runoff, leaching septic tanks, and erosion of natural deposits. Potential health impacts associated with Nitrate & nitrite include cardiovascular or blood toxicity, kidney toxicity, and reproductive toxicity.
The Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL) for Nitrates and Nitrites is 10 parts per million (ppm). Water suppliers report an average of 0.7 Nitrate and Nitrite tests per year. 23,948 water suppliers failed to report any Nitrate and Nitrite tests at all. Testing for Nitrate and Nitrite can be done by anybody, accurately and safely at home. Our water test kits provide the accuracy of a laboratory to everyone with fast and accurate results. Please visit our site H2OKits.com for more information.