DirtfreeWater News

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners recently accepted a revised drought contingency plan to face the drought conditions in the area. According to the Commission Chairman Charles Bannister, 2008 will be going to face severe drought conditions.

The Water Resources Department prepared various documents emphasizing on the ways to meet the water shortage conditions. Lake Lanier is the only source for the supplies of raw water to their water filter plants. But the county does not operate Lake Lanier and does not have control over its water elevation.

Banister showed concern with regards to the chances of unavailability of water and said authorities should take steps and work out the Lake Lanier plan. He also said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should take steps to allow the lake water elevation to approach the intake elevations.

County administrator Jock Connell ensured that the Gwinnett staff would provide continuous, safe and reliable services to its people let it be dry season or wet season.

West Palm Beach – Fecal bacteria outbreak in the city of unsurpassed beauty forced FBI officials to check old construction documents, analyze scientific data sheets and inspect everything from pipes to water tanks.

But last week, the review took a bizarre turn: At Mayor Lois Frankel’s request, FBI agents showed up at the city water plant asking employees about the possibility that water samples could have been sabotaged, causing phony hits for bacteria. The authorities were alarmed by the worsening situation. Officials on duty had been perplexed by the recent hits - at levels too low to require a boil-water order - since there is so much bacteria-killing chlorine in the water. The agents found no evidence of tampering after investigation. “We were just trying to cover all our bases,” Frankel said.’

But the search for the answer to the problem continued till Tuesday, November, 2007, when inspectors descended into an underground tank, scrutinized and confirmed that a pipe there should have been sealed off and it is the epicenter of all problems. The pipe, installed in 1926, should have been sealed in about 1993, when the city changed its treatment process to allow for more disinfections time.

Frankel said officials “still can’t say conclusively” that the improperly treated water was a factor in the bacteria outbreak, but she said it was a “significant finding” for plant operations. City officials Tuesday announced that a special chlorine rinse would continue through Nov. 20 to make sure that the bacteria problem is solved. Further review will yield the right conclusion that how much water ran through the old pipe improperly and where that water ended up.

It is advisable for all residents to use water filters at home to protect themselves from harmful contaminants.