Excessive levels of E.coli found in 3 of 5 samples on Aug. 6
By Randy Arrington
STANLEY, Aug. 14 — Test results could come in Friday or Monday that would lift the boiling advisory for water customers in the Town of Stanley issued over a week ago. Town residents were told “do not drink tap water [from the Town system] without boiling it first” in an Aug. 8 notice published by the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Water Programs. The advisory was issued after three of five samples from the Town water system taken on Tuesday, Aug. 6 showed excessive amounts of Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Town officials are required to test five water samples each month to ensure that the system is meeting the proper limits of containment for various contaminates. When the Aug. 6 tests results showed that E. coli levels had exceeded state limits, Town Manager Terry Pettit immediately ordered additional tests from a third party.
“When something like this happens, we have to resample… so, to err on the side of caution, we hired a private contractor who collected five [more] samples on Friday [Aug. 9] and I told them we needed the results in 24 hours,” Pettit told PVN this week.
On Saturday, Aug. 10, those results came in around 3 p.m. and showed no signs of E. coli in all five samples. In order to lift the “boil water” advisory, the Town must record two sets of “clean” samples from subsequent tests. Samples for the second round of testing were taken Wednesday morning, with results expected either Friday or Monday.
“We encourage those who don’t feel comfortable to boil their water,” Pettit said, “but I never stopped drinking it, and I haven’t had any problems.”
Several members of the Stanley Council stated during Wednesday’s meeting that they too had also continued to drink Town water without any ill effects. However, a few Town residents have reported not feeling well over the past week — without knowing the exact cause — and associating it with the water issue. According to the VDH advisory, the presence of E.coli indicates the presence of human or animal waste, which can cause “short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. They may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems.”
VDH put out the advisory before even notifying Stanley officials. Pettit was alerted to the advisory after being contacted on Thursday, Aug. 8 by Matt Cronin, the county’s director of Emergency Management (Fire and EMS), who in turn had received the state notice.
Tropical Storm Debbie did not influence the negative test results, as the higher levels of E. coli were found in tests taken two days before Debbie hit the region.
With such a quick turnaround with positive results — just three days after the negative test — the Town Manager believes that something as simple as “artificially contaminating” the samples could have resulted in poor readings.
“We wore gloves and everything else, but those samples are easy to contaminate,” Pettit said.
As a result of the negative tests, Pettit said that state officials have recommended corrective action and changing some practices that could help the sampling process and ensure more accurate results:
- Don’t take all samples on the same day;
- Use a torch (heat) and a Clorox-mix solution to sterilize faucets where samples are being taken;
- Increase the flush time for lines from five minutes to eight minutes;
- Increase the number of locations (homes) where these tests are conducted from 15 to 30 and move them around.
“That will all correct the sampling error, if there was one,” Pettit said. “It’s very easy to contaminate the sample.”
Additionally, the Town will be taking quotes soon to get trees trimmed near water tanks — another suggestion by the state. Regulations state that trees or tree limbs cannot touch water tanks.
Pettit told council members on Wednesday that, “I personally feel it is safe,” referring to the Town’s water supply, which has won numerous awards over the years for being among the top localities in the state for the “best tasting water.” However, he acknowledged Town Hall receiving “hundreds of calls” over the past week from concerned residents and business owners.
“Right now, we’re just waiting on these samples to come back,” Pettit said, noting that if the second set of samples since the problem come back “clean”, then the boiling advisory will be lifted. Those results are expected no later than Monday, Aug. 19.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
In other business at its Aug. 14 meeting, the Stanley Council took the following actions:
• Heard a report from the Stanley Police Department that there were 467 calls for service in July, with 302 calls self-initiated, and six citations served. The National Night Out event on Aug. 6 drew about 300 people to Hawksbill Park. Grant funds have been received to begin installing “tag reader” cameras at several locations in Town.
• Heard a Recreation Department report outlining damage from Tropical Storm Debbie that shut down the Hawksbill Pool on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 9-10. The flooding of the Little Hawksbill Creek pushed water and silt into the pool, washed away deck furniture, and downed several trees. The pool reopened on Sunday, Aug. 11. A recent Movie Night drew 82 swimmers. The Town is planning a Fall Festival on Sept. 28.
• Heard that the Stanley Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a FEMA grant of $761,904 to go toward the purchase of a new engine, estimated at a total cost of $1.1 million.
• Council members were told of a memorial service for former council member John Belton at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 25 at the fire station.
For more information on the Town of Stanley,
visit https://www.townofstanley.com/
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What is the acceptable limit of e.coli?
What level was in the test precipitation the boil water order?
What was the level at the latest test(s)?
This information lets us know how bad the problem is and what the range of acceptable tests is.