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Friday, August 10, 2007

We have what, in our water?

Earlier last night I found a note attached to the front gate in our yard.
Guess what it said at the top?

Public Notice to Boil Water

Then it goes on to state: "Due to an Acute Maximum Contaminant Level (AMCL) coliform violation, ..." Coliform violation? We have poo in our water?

I'll tell you what's violated... my water.

When I read the note I thought, "You've got to be kidding me! Is this a joke? I mean come on, the note doesn't even look official." Seriously, it looks photocopied and it's slightly crooked. I'm surprised it wasn't written in crayon.

You know what? They aren't joking, and I'm not laughing either.

I tried calling TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) to see if this note was legit, but since I didn't receive it early enough, they were already closed for the day. Wheee.

J called one of the other numbers last night to check on it. Yep, it's real. They don't know all the details, but the trace levels are enough of a warning for me. They should be letting us know sometime today if our water is safe to drink. Let me repeat that, sometime today.


Actually, I found out with a little research, that Coliform bacteria are an indicator of the sanitary quality of our food and water. The "good" thing is, in most cases, coliforms are not the cause of illness. The presence of the bacteria can suggest that other pathogenic organisms (of the fecal variety) might be present.

Oh, good. That makes me feel so much better.

I have been to a water treatment facility before. I know what goes on to clean and purify our water. They do a meticulous job. How did anything pass by? Let alone this bacteria? Maybe it's from all the rain and flooding last month when our street flooded again.

I boiled the water for our coffee last night. I figured one of us might forget in a sleep induced stupor, and we'd be drinking fecal tainted coffee. Heh, I guess I shouldn't use those words together in a sentence. Never mind.

I'm glad we had our Brita water pitcher already filled and in the fridge before this happened. That's how I will brush my teeth. It'll be kind of like our last backpacking trip. Ah, such fond memories.

I hope to have news later on today, that isn't full of crap.

3 thoughtful comments:

Biddy said...

can i just say...ICK!

When I go to Africa we always go straight to the Uchumi (grocery store) and buy a ton o bottled water. We don't mind bathing in the water, but drinking and brushing our teeth are a totally different story...

i can't imagine having to do that at home...

Jennifer said...

gross. I think (hope) you and I are on two different water supplies (I didn't get a note). I hope you hear something really soon!!!

Laura said...

Wow. Eew. I hope you hear something soon! It does seem weird that a water treatment plant wouldn't catch that. I hope it all gets figured out.

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