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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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Chlorinating with the flip of a switch
Staff Writer With the flip of a switch Tuesday afternoon, Brainerd started the process of removing coliform bacteria that was found in its water delivery system.
Pumping through the city's water pipes will be chlorine, about one gallon of the chemical for every million gallons of water. The water will still be safe to drink, Brainerd Public Utilities Superintendent Tom Phelps said.
"The main thing you will notice is a discoloration in the water," said Phelps, who along with Dave Schultz of the Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday morning briefed the Public Utilities Commission on the total coliform bacteria detection in the city's water system.
The total coliform bacteria was discovered Friday near the South Eighth Street utility reconstruction project, said Darwin Cole, Brainerd Public Utilities water supervisor.
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Darwin Cole, Brainerd Public Utilities water supervisor, monitored the city's water delivery system Tuesday at the utility office after flipping the switch to start chlorinating the Brainerd water system to remove total coliform bacteria, which was first detected Friday.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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Total coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves, are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other potentially harmful bacteria may be present.
If only total coliform is detected without the presence of more harmful fecal coliform or E. coli, as is the case in Brainerd, the source is most likely from contamination from the environment, introduced during construction or while repairs to plumbing or a water main were under way.
Schultz said the Department of Health considers total coliform bacteria to be a non-acute violation. He said there's never been a report of anyone getting sick from drinking water contaminated with it.
As a precaution, he said people with compromised immune systems - young children, the elderly or people with health issues - or people who are concerned about the water can seek other alternatives, such as bottled water or free filtered and tested water in the blue tanks at the Water Treatment Plant on East River Road near Kiwanis Park.
Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and day care providers have been notified of the issue by Brainerd Public Utilities. Information also is available online at www.bpu.org.
"People are going to be concerned about it, they always are, especially with water," Schultz said, "but since it's a non-acute violation with the intent to chlorinate and disinfect the system I think people will understand."
Cole performed more tests Friday on the water delivery system both upstream and downstream from the initial site, with three tests showing positive for coliform bacteria. He then notified the Department of Health.
Utilities crews spent the weekend flushing its system and on Monday the Department of Health suggested the city disinfect the system with chlorine and notify residents of the problem.
Phelps said the city's water treatment plant was tested and the results were negative for coliform bacteria.
The cause of the bacteria is most likely from one of a number of construction sites in the city where crews have been working with water pipes in the soil, Phelps said, but the source has not been pinpointed.
"It's just something that happens," Phelps said.
Along with adding chlorine to the water, Brainerd Public Utilities will be testing water throughout the city, starting at the exterior of the system and working inward.
"We want to see where the concentration of our problem is right now and then from there we'll pull the water that way with our flushing," Phelps said.
The last time Brainerd's water delivery system was disinfected with chlorine was in the mid-1980s. Schultz said it could take two weeks or more for the entire system to be disinfected.
"It's difficult to chlorinate the system because it's so big and so extensive," Schultz said. "We've got to make sure we get good chlorine residuals throughout the distribution system, flush it out before we re-sample."
Schultz said the amount of chlorine to be added to Brainerd's drinking water is about the same levels used by cities, such as Baxter, that permanently chlorinate municipal water systems. Schultz made a pitch to the Public Utilities Commission to have the city permanently chlorinate its water, which would prevent coliform bacteria from being present in the water delivery system.
The commission did not take any action Tuesday on the suggestion.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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