For Immediate Release City of Flint Boil Water Advisory has been Lifted, All Testing Indicates Contaminant Free Water throughout the City. Flint, Michigan – August 20, 2014 – The City of Flint’s Utilities Department has received word today from the Department of Environmental Quality that the boil water advisory issued for a small portion of the city has been lifted. Testing that occurred over the past 24 hours as part of the City’s normal water quality monitoring has returned showing no signs of coliform bacteria in any of the sampling areas throughout the city. Following the initial positive test result on August 12, resampling was done on August 13th. One sample did yield a positive result for fecal coliform bacteria. On August 14, another round of resampling was done and two locations tested positive for total coliform bacteria. August 16’s samples resulted in two positive samples for total coliform. August 17’s samples resulted in one sample testing positive for total coliforms. Each day samples were collected within the boil water area, both upstream and downstream from the initial location. To address the total coliform issue the City increased the Chlorine and flushed more fresh water into the area. Flushing was to add chlorine to the boil water area. Whenever a sample results in a positive for total coliform, a second test is performed for E. coli. No samples following the initial fecal coliform positive test have shown any E. coli bacteria. The city of Flint Utilities Department in conjunction with the MDEQ worked to investigate possible causes of the positive sample results in this area; these could have included water main breaks, loss of pressure, cross connection, unauthorized connection to the water system, and sampling error. Follow-up testing needed to continue until three days of sampling showed negative results for E. coli. That testing concluded with negative results as of yesterday. The DEQ’s advice to continue the boil-water advisory was due to an abundance of caution. Total coliform is a naturally occurring and generally harmless. Total coliform positive results generate more testing, but do not initiate a boil water notice. When total coliform is detected, follow-up tests are conducted to determine if the water contained the more problematic E-coli bacteria. DEQ sampling protocols allow for 5% of the samples to contain coliform without need for immediate concern or notification. All subsequent testing to date has indicated no E-coli. “We’ve gone above and beyond the DEQ sampling requirements to verify that the City’s water is safe in all areas. We are working closely with the MDEQ and pleased to announce their authorization to lift the Notice. The continuation of the Notice was at the request of the DEQ so we could include the normal City wide test results”, said Flint Utilities Director Daugherty Johnson. Drinking water contamination due to E-coli or coliform bacteria is very rare due to the fact that the bacteria cannot survive in the water for very long. The colder temperature of water in the system coupled with the regular blending of chlorine into the water makes for a hostile environment for these kinds of bacteria. Mike Prysby, district engineer for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said, “The Flint Water Treatment Plant has met all applicable drinking water standards during the entire episode including total fecal coliform bacteria. This episode was isolated to the distinct section (of the city).” Testing of the drinking water is a part of the routine process for ensuring the quality and safety of the system which happens weekly at ten different sites around the city. The Flint Water Treatment Plant works diligently to provide water of the highest quality to everyone in the city.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:12:44 +0000
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