Broken pump plagues Port City water supply
WebPosted Apr 19 2004 12:03 PM EDT

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SAINT JOHN ― Thousands of people living in east Saint John are still boiling their water after a chlorine pump failed Friday morning.

City officials are meeting Monday morning to find out why the public wasn't warned about the problem until Saturday, more than 24 hours after the problem surfaced.

The city admits many people were drinking straight lake water from their kitchen and bathroom faucets. Tests revealed that unchlorinated water contains E. coli and other coliform bacteria.

Workers at the water treatment plant on the city's east side tested water downstream on Friday, after the equipment failure. Those test revealed enough chlorine in the water to keep it safe for drinking.

But more test results on Saturday showed insufficient chlorine in the water. The chlorine that was present had not killed enough bacteria, and the city issued a boil water order at 4:30 p.m., affecting 60,000 people.

The boil water order impacts approximately two-thirds of the city's population, including people in Millidgeville, uptown, east side, and Kennebecasis Park.

Tests show the water quality is improving, but it still isn't safe to drink. Residents are advised to boil water for two minutes before drinking it, washing vegetables or brushing teeth.

Chlorination has been restored and clean water continues to work its way through the system. City officials are now waiting for results from tests taken on Sunday.

LINK: City of Saint John website

Regional medical health officer Dr. Scott Giffen is worried people were exposed to coliform bacteria, but says it's unlikely anyone will get sick from the water.

Giffen blames Saint John's outdated chlorination system for the breakdown. "If indeed it had a full treatment as it should have, then the failure of the chlorine should not have had such consequences."

Giffen says this shows why Saint John should overhaul its water system.

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草，做饭的水都没烧过

煮过了，应该没事吧。

看晚了，已经喝了一天圣水了，晕倒，，，，，，

什么时候好啊?

这个再听市政通知吧。现在还不清楚

难怪这几天去了好几个快餐店，都没有pop了。

学一单词 coliform bacteria 大肠感菌

还好没喝生水的习惯。。。

无所谓的，这里水再有问题也比中国的干净点，在国内什么时候不喝生水。。中国人就是适应能力强
煮水。。2分钟。。。再晾凉了。。。等不了。。

有消息说什么时侯好了吗？

那学校的饮水机里面的水也不能喝吗？？

发这个消息之前我就已经喝了很多生水了，而且已经产生了剧烈的反应了，现在总算知道是怎么回事了，弄得我一开始是一头雾水，心里不明白没有任何原因的无缘无故的腹泻，哈哈！！！

是一定要煮吗？用过滤器过滤了应该也没问题吧？

过滤也没有用，只可以有煮沸这一种办法，因为我喝的水都是用过滤器过滤后使用的，但是没有用啊！！！

一定要煮过的。大家可以看到快餐店里不卖饮料了，TIMS不卖French Vanella, English cafe了。

如果正常情况下，明天晚上就会恢复了。管道今天已经修好了。要等质检结果出来。

Saint John boil order persists another day
WebPosted Apr 20 2004 03:16 PM EDT

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SAINT JOHN ― A boil order for half the city of Saint John is expected to be lifted on Wednesday, five days after Public Health found traces of E. coli and other bacteria in tap water.

The Public Health department says there were problems with the way the boil order was handled in the first place and wants changes to prevent the problem from happening again.
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Making coffee with bottled water

Anyone living and working east of the Reversing Falls has been asked to boil their tap water for at least two minutes before drinking, washing food or brushing teeth. The boil order persisted even though test results showed Monday that water samples were back to normal.

It's all because a chlorine pump failed Friday morning. Crews discovered the broken pump early in the day, he city did not warn the public, or inform public health of the problem until Saturday afternoon, more than 24 hours after the incident. That meant pure, untreated lake water was flowing from many household faucets. Tests revealed that water contained E. coli and coliform bacteria.

From April 19, 2004: Broken pump plagues Port City water supply


Samples have returned clean

After reviewing the protocol, the city says changes are being made. From now on, Public Health will get the first call when a chlorine pump goes down.

Saint John's water manager Peter Hanlon says the city has learned from its mistake. "It would mean that somebody else with responsibility of safe drinking water, but maybe with a slightly different perspective, is looking at the same situation and may come to a different conclusion."

It means the city will get a second opinion when it comes to making the call on when to notify the public or issue a boil order. "It's really an important step in my view to have another agency who can step in and look at the overall picture and make the tough decisions," says Dr. Scott Giffen, chief medical health officer for the region.

Carolyn McNulty of the Romero House soup kitchen says she didn't hear about the water problem until Sunday afternoon. By then she had served meals to about 500 people. But even with the warning, she says it was unclear what needed to be done.

"I'm concerned that nobody knew specifically what to do even when we did find out, which was too late," McNulty says.

Paul Groody, head of municipal operations for the city, says after the chlorine pump broke, crews thought there was enough chlorine in the water to kill any bacteria. When tests showed that wasn't the case, they acted quickly. Groody says those procedures are now under review.

Saint John's water manager Peter Hanlon says next time, his department will move faster to inform the public. He says as soon as there's a glitch, his people won't wait for test results, they'll pick up the phone and call public health.

Mayor Shirley McAlary also says the city will review the way it issues urgent public messages.

At Monday night's Common Council meeting, McAlary told councillors the city did the best it could. "You know we go to all the media outlets available when we have a message to give out," she says. "And to the best of my knowledge that was done. That was done through our staff. People have said we don't listen to the media on the weekend, we don't listen to the radio, they don't watch television and they thought there may be a better way to get the message out."

McAlary says people have suggested better ways to deliver the message, including voice mail and flyers, but the mayor says those methods have their problems as well.

靠

今天已经解除了

好像水已经可以安全饮用了.

Boil Order Lifted

The City of Saint John, in conjunction with Department of Public Health and the
Department of Environment & Local Government, Province of New Brunswick, wish to
advise that the boil order has been discontinued.

The City would like to thank the public for their cooperation and support.