By Theresa Ekdom
ROSCOMMON – Village Manager John Rosczyk announced Friday, Aug. 5, they have stopped chlorinating the water in the village.
‘In the past 24 hours we have notified DEQ our intent to discontinue chlorination and no objections have been raised,’ Rosczyk said.
‘The last thing to do to get ready (to quit chlorinating) was to get appropriate testing sites,’ he said.
The village had used a number of locations to test their water in the past. In Aug., 2015 the village was mandated by the DEQ to chlorinate the water system at least two months because of the total coliform bacteria found in the water. It recommended the treatment continue for a year.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, (www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/Documents/Pubs/331-181.pdf) total coliform bacteria are common in the environment (soil or vegetation) and are generally harmless. Coliform bacteria are unlikely to cause illness. If a lab detects only total coliform bacteria in drinking water, the source is probably environmental and fecal contamination is unlikely. However, if environmental contamination can enter the system, pathogens could get in too. It is important to find and resolve the source of the contamination.
‘Dave (Linderman) and the DPW staff explored many options and came up with the idea of setting up new, specific sampling sites,’ Rosczyk said.
The village has installed two stand alone sites that tap directly into their water system. Those sites have been operational for approximately a month.
Linderman collected the required water samples at both locations on Tuesday, Aug. 2 and received negative results for bacteria on Thursday.
